A gutsy performance by injured senior Dionna Montoya and a strong anchor leg by junior Kimberly Babicke propelled the Pojoaque girls track and field team from fifth place into third place May 8 at the Class AAA state meet in Albuquerque.
Pojoaque, the defending Class AAA state champion, came home with a third-place trophy this year.
“After what we went through, we had to fight tooth and nail.” Pojoaque coach Bob Koski said. “Finishing third felt just as satisfying as winning it all did last year.”
The Elkettes’ 2010 season was plagued by weather postponements and nagging injuries. Pojoaque had to claw for every point to take home the trophy.
Going into the 1600-meter relay, Pojoaque was tied for fifth place at 32 points with Sandia Prep behind St. Michael’s in fourth with 35.5 points and Lovington and Robertson in second with 37 points apiece. Hope Christian had already sewn up the first-place trophy by scoring 87 points.
“I told them that we had to win or finish no lower than second to have a shot (at a trophy),” Koski said.
Freshman Amanda Babicke, Kim’s younger sister, ran the opening 400-meter leg. She handed to another freshman, Mikayla Garcia, for the second leg. Montoya, who injured her sciatic nerve in the long jump May 7 and was competing in pain, gritted her teeth and kept the Elkettes near the top on the third leg before handing to Kimberly Babicke, who ran the anchor.
Babicke, along with runners from Hope and Robertson, pulled away from the field down the back stretch. Rounding the turn, Hope’s Kessi Walsh, who had finished second in the 400-meter run earlier in the meet, took the lead and would not be caught, Babicke passed Robertson’s Kristen Montano to cross the line in second just behind Walsh.
“I pushed it,” Babicke said. “I was thinking, ‘I can’t let (being passed by Montano) happen.’”
The eight points Pojoaque earned for their second-place finish gave the team 40 points overall. Robertson scored six points and finished with 43 to grab second place in the team standings.
“I ran that last race and that’s what’s most important,” Montoya said. “It’s been awesome and I have a lot to be thankful for.”
Montoya, who had won the 800-meter run at state the last two years and the long jump in 2008, took second in the long jump despite her injury, but it cost her. She failed to qualify for the finals of the 400-meter run, and she gritted her teeth to finish fourth in the 800-meter run.
“It’s hard to get hurt because this is my last year,” She said. “It kills me because I know I can be so much better.”
Finishing fifth in the 800 was Pojoaque senior Sophia Torres. Better known for her prowess in cross country and at longer distances, Torres bettered her personal best time by seven seconds with a time of 2:26.
“It was a lot faster than I thought it would be,” she said.
Torres ran the 800-meter anchor leg of the Elkettes 1600-meter medley relay that took third, holding off a challenge from St. Michael’s Kate Norskog. The Elkettes finished fourth in the 800-meter and 400-meter relays. The 800-meter team of freshman Amanda Babicke, sophomore Marissa Martinez, junior Angela Lopez and senior Chelsea Hoffman turned in their best time (1:49.64) of the season.
“They were called on to do things they hadn’t done before and they were ready,” Koski said.
Kimberly Babicke contributed a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter run and a third-place finish in the 200-meter run.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Babicke said. “It’s been a tough year but that didn’t stop us.”
As the team posed for pictures laughing and smiling, Torres had a smile on her face as she watched her teammates enjoy the moment.
“This is why I do it,” she said.
Elks
Senior James Viarreal was Pojoaque’s only male athlete to qualify for the state track and field meet. He came in 10th among the 13 runners in the final of the 1,600-meter race.
Española
Española Valley girls and boys team had a few participants compete in the Class AAAA meet.
Española Valley failed to qualify for the finals in the boys and girls 1600-meter medley relay.
Sophomore C. J. Berryman finished 15th in the preliminary heats of the 110-meter hurdles and did not qualify for the finals. Junior Rudy Salazar finished last in the 800-meter run May 8 with a time of 2:11.92.
Senior Nisa Duran was 10th in the triple jump May 8 with a leap of 31 feet, 3.25 inches.