Jehoran Quintana was District Champion in the javelin. With this performance, the Hilltopper Boys have an athlete qualified in all 20 events competed at State. Photo by Blake Wood
Matt Brousseau was District Champion in both the discus and shot put. He is one of three Hilltopper boy athletes who have scored more than 100 points this season, along with Melaki Gutierrez and Daniel Kim. Photo by Blake Wood
Gianna Benelli was District Champion in the triple jump. Photo by Blake Wood
SPORTS News:
Deteriorating weather couldn’t put a crimp in the Los Alamos High School Hilltopper Boys and Girls Track & Field teams at Taos High School on Friday afternoon and evening. Each handily won the District 2-4A Championship in a meet ending with rain and lightning.
The real story, however, was in how many ’Topper athletes qualified for next weekend’s State Championship. In Track & Field, an athlete can qualify for state either by achieving a performance standard, or by finishing in 1st or 2nd place in their event at the District Championship.
There were new qualifications by 14 girls in 11 events:
Allie Holland – 100, 200
Dayja Fellers – 400
Lucy Kelley – 800
Emmeline Keller-Moore – 800
Rebecca Beaux – 1600
Raina Passalacqua – 300h, Triple Jump
Gianna Benelli – High Jump, Triple Jump
Syana Sanchez – 4X400 Relay
Abigail Swigert and Sadie Evans – 4X800 Relay
Hannah Aslam, Maya Graves, Ensley Jorgenson, and Grace Montoya – 1600 Medley Relay
The Boys had new qualifications by 9 new athletes in 8 events:
Armando Inbody – 3200
Brayden Allen – 1600, 3200
Alex “Boom” Pasulka – 100
Daniel Kim – 400
Will Gartz – 800
Esteban Wright – 800
Zach Mauro – Triple Jump
Seth Javernick – Pole Vault
Jehoran Quintana – Javelin
With Jehoran Quintana’s individual win and qualification in the javelin, the Hilltopper Boys have qualified athletes in every one of the 20 events competed at State.
A highlight of the meet was the 4×100 relay team of Haiden Jorgenson, Rocco Quintana, Daniel Kim and Melaki Gutierrez breaking the LAHS School Record in that event (again – it was broken earlier this season) with a time of 41.62 seconds.
In addition, there were several new #2 all-time LAHS marks set at District. The 4×200 relay of Anna Wetteland, Syana Sanchez, Meredith Brown, and Evangelina Gutierrez ran nearly a full second faster than the State Record that the ’Topper Girls set at last season’s State Championship. Colette Bibeault lowered her own #2 all-time mark in the 100 m hurdles with a mark less than a tenth of a second off the LAHS School Record. And Melaki Gutierrez posted the #2 all-time mark in the 400.
Individual District Champions included:
Armando Inbody (3200), 4×100 relay (Haiden Jorgenson, Rocco Quintana, Daniel Kim, Melaki Gutierrez), Daniel Kim (110 hurdles and 200), Alex Paulka (100), Will Gartz (800), 1600 medley relay (Brodi Miller, Seth Javernick, Erik Fullmer, Benjamin Sanchez), Zach Mauro (triple jump), Aiden Manzanares (pole vault), Matt Brousseau (shot put and discus), Jehoran Quintana (javelin), Jaiya Daniels (100), Dayja Fellers (400), Lucy Kelley (800), Rebecca Beaux (1600), Colette Bibeault (100 hurdles and pole vault), Iris Purtzer (high jump), Gianna Benelli (triple jump), 4X200 relay (Anna Wetteland, Meredith Brown, Syana Sanchez, Evangelina Gutierrez), 4X400 relay (Colette Bibeault, Meredith Brown, Syana Sanchez, Anna Wetteland), 4X800 relay (Sadie Evans, Abigail Swigert, Ensley Jorgenson, Grace Montoya), and the 1600 medley relay (Hannah Aslam, Maya Graves, Ensley Jorgenson, Grace Montoya).
The State Championship is Friday and Saturday, May 17-18, at the UNM track in Albuquerque.
Lucy Kelley was District Champion in the 800. Photo by Blake Wood
Armando Inbody and Brayden Allen went 1-2 in the 3200 m run, thereby qualifying for next weekend’s State Championship. Allen also qualified in the 1600 m run. Photo by Blake Wood
Hannah Aslam completes the handoff to Maya Graves in the 1600 Medley Relay. Aslam and Graves, along with teammates Ensley Jorgenson and Grace Montoya, were District Champions in this event. Photo by Blake Wood