Hailey Renteria and Neveah Cachora are on a mission.
The two athletes with the Española Valley track and field team were both a part of the medley relay team that marked the Sundevils’ only girls participation at the New Mexico Class 4A state championships last season.
Now they are looking to change that by also qualifying as individuals and sparking more teammates to follow their lead.
“I think it would really show that I’m pushing to the end,” Renteria, who has signed to run cross country and track at New Mexico Highlands, said. “It would mean a lot to me because it’s my senior year so I really want to be able to place at state.”
It’s the type of accomplishment that creates memories, Cachora said.
“It would mean a lot, especially me going to state for my second year, but this time as an individual,” she said. “Yes, individually, it would mean a lot.”
The Española girls are already in a much better position overall this season as the size of the squad has tripled from five members last season to 15 this year, coach Loren Martinez said.
“Overall, we have a lot of depth,” he said. “We have some athletes. I think we can make some noise.”
But it took a concerted effort to build that depth, Martinez said.
“I’m not a teacher, but I run the score clock for basketball games and I’d see a lot of students and I’d snag them as they were passing by. It works for a number of them. So I try to go out to the school events and try to get some kids to come out and run.”
The strength of the girls is the distance contingent, Martinez said, led by Renteria, who does the 400- and 800-meters, as well as the mile, and Cachora, who runs the 800, 1,600 and 3,200.
“I have very high expectations for my distance girls,” he said. “We have a handful of mid-distance and long-distance girls who can be some of the best in 4A.”
As for the sprint events there is no true burner on the squad, but the coach is optimistic about the group headed by junior Avery Schultz and senior Katie Alire.
“There are a handful of sprinters who have been with me a couple of years and they have some times that can compete for some of the top times,” Martinez said. “We don’t have that top-end speed, but we have a lot of depth.”
The boys are also looking pretty strong, Martinez said.
“I do have some high expectations,” he said. “We’re not a very large team. But we do have some high-end talent. I think we can get to state in our district with a few of our events and relay teams.”
Sprinters Victor Parra, Mike Maestas, Julian Gallegos and Joel Mendez not only have legitimate opportunities in the 100- and 200-meter dashes, but they form the core of the relay teams that expect to be competitive.
Parra, a senior who also plays football and basketball, said he’s looking to make some lasting memories in his final season.
“Right now, I’m setting a very high standard for myself,” he said. “I got a medal for medley in my second year, fourth place. That was good enough for then but now, that’s not good enough. I’m setting my sights higher. I want to do the best to earn respect for Española Valley, and show what our program is about and to represent.”
Parra is also a long jumper and a high jumper, having qualified for state in the latter event the last three seasons and expects to do so once again.
Sophomore Elijah Martinez is the Sundevils’ top distance athlete and it runs in the family.
“When I was younger, I ran a lot with my parents and cousins, because my parents used to have Girls on the Run program,” he said. “So I started running distance a long time ago. Then elementary meets got me into it more. Now, it’s just what I do.”
Elijah Martinez came close to qualifying for state last season, so that’s become a goal this year.
“There’s motivation, for sure,” he said. “Every time I miss a time or miss something, it’s something I strive to get. I use it in practice, working on finishing races. It’s where I lose time or gain time. It’s really key. So I work on getting faster.”