Española had two qualifiers for the state track and field championships: sophomore Victor Parra and junior Alex Chavez.
Both competed on May 12 in Albuquerque at the UNM Track & Field Complex, and fell short of the medal stand.
“We came out and competed,” said first-year Española coach Daniel Velasquez. “Obviously, our marks aren’t where we want them to be. Nevertheless, they both came out and competed.”
Chavez qualified in the 200 meters with a second-place finish at the district meet a week prior. But his time in the preliminary race — 24.96 seconds — placed 12th and was not enough to advance to the finals.
“It was nice, a beautiful day to run,” Chavez said. “I kind of glided too long, and I feel like I drained myself a little bit. But everything else was nice, it was a good day.”
Parra competed in the high jump after a strong regular season where he met the state qualifying mark. He easily cleared the bar on his first jump, then made it over in his second attempt at 5 feet, 8 inches.
But he could only come close at 5-10. On Parra’s second attempt, he timed out after pulling up on his approach. And on the third and final attempt, he grazed the bar and watched it fall to the ground. A successful jump would have given him a chance for a medal, but instead he finished 11th.
“It was just fun to be here with everybody,” Parra said. “The top people at state, being with them, competing against them. Being able to be here with big schools.”
“I feel like he could have easily cleared 6 foot as well,” Velasquez said. “He is three inches over the bar, it’s just a matter of getting his legs over.”
Both athletes will likely have more opportunities to compete at state in future years, and they hope to inspire more athletes to join the track and field team at Española. Limited participation from the school’s top athletes, especially on the girls side, capped the possible success Española could achieve.
“Española’s going to be a track school next year,” Chavez said.
Española’s relay teams were hampered throughout the season by injuries, including to star distance runner Daniel Sanchez, and none qualified for state. Next year, they should be stronger, and Sanchez should be able to compete for medals in longer races.
“Once people see our success, they want to put their time in,” Chavez said. “We’ve got to be the bigger ones to show them, we could actually do this. Give them faith that we can go far.”
“There’s only one way to go, and that’s up, from here on out,” Velasquez said.
In the meantime, the two will focus on the upcoming football season, where Chavez is a running back and Parra a wide receiver, though both could take on new roles for next season.
“Never be satisfied, we can’t be satisfied,” Chavez said.