After seeing just a handful of athletes reach the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic National Championships last year, 24 local athletes will make the trek to Augusta, Georgia, next week to represent Pojoaque and Northern New Mexico on the big stage.
“These kids have put in the work ethic all summer and it has really paid off in the end to be able to qualify for nationals,” coach Zeke Villegas said. “It’s not something everybody gets to do. Their work ethic and their determination helped them to get here.”
The athletes qualified by finishing eighth or better at the regional competition recently in Phoenix.
The 4×800, 14-under girls relay team of Alessandria Roybal, Delilah Maestas, Elenna Rubio and Lexi Oyenque won their event and are currently seeded sixth for nationals, Villegas said.
“That was a big step for us,” he said. “When you take top-three in regionals, you’re doing good things.”
Lucas Galvan was part of a 14U 4×400 relay squad that took second and the 14U 4×400 quartet of Aubrey Gallegos, Anjolie Gallegos, Elena Villegas and Lilianna Garcia was third. And in a notable performance, Oyenque and Rubio, along with Britta Vigil and Sarah Romero, also qualified in the 14U 4×400, Villegas said, giving local runners two qualifying groups in the same event.
“Every week, they’re all just getting better and better,” he said.
And that leads Villegas to be optimistic about the team’s possibilities.
“For nationals, my expectations, well I told them that the only thing you can control is yourself,” he said. “But I expect everybody to have PRs, personal records, for relays and individual. And they should bump a few spots from where they’re ranked coming in. I know all of them will have better times. And every meet, we also jump some spots.”
Distance running has long been a staple of local track teams, and cross country also has strong local appeal, so it’s not surprising that a distance race is gathering some notoriety.
“I really like the long distance and jogging,” Maestas, who is going into eighth grade at Pojoaque Valley Middle School, said. “I just felt that was kind of interesting. This is pretty big. I’m excited. It’s just a really good challenge.”
Going to a national meet to face teams from across the country could be intimidating, but not for this group.
“I think it’s going to be an amazing experience,” Oyenque, who is entering her freshman year at Pojoaque Valley High School, said. “I just want to see what the other kids can do. We’re also competing at that level so we know we’re the best, too. I think it’s going to be fun. We’re all there to have fun and succeed in track.”
Roybal, who has been running competitively for quite some time through the Girls on the Run program, will be entering eighth grade at the middle school.
“I feel like it’s going to be like any other track meet, just a little bit more challenging,” she said of running in nationals. “I just want to mainly PR and do my personal best.”
Running, Roybal said, is her happy place, especially since her dad helps train her.
“For me, it’s just really relaxing. It’s just something I kind of enjoy,” she said. “And I like the adrenaline rush and the runner’s high that you get from it, too.”
For Rubio, who will be a freshman at Pojoaque, it is amazing to think of Pojoaque runners going head-to-head with athletes from much bigger cities.
“It’s hard to imagine that,” she said. “But I feel so happy that I’m getting to experience that and going with my team and making some great memories. I know it’s going to be hard but also fun.”
The goal, she said, is to grab a podium spot.
“It’s going to be a lot of teams, but I feel like we can do it,” she said. “Everybody (going) can, not just the 4×800, but everybody can.”