While the New Mexico weather patterns have been affecting track teams throughout the state, the Escalante team might have it worst of all.
Other teams have struggled to have meets, with many postponed or canceled due to snow. But up in Tierra Amarilla, it is hard to even find days to practice without experiencing the very cold if not precipitation.
“Come out, it’s snow, come out, it rains,” said Escalante coach Isaac Royston. “Wind, cold. So, it’s been a tough one. But the kids have really done the best they could. It’s been a rough season for us. But it’s been that way for everybody.”
The Northern Rio Grande track meet, held on April 21 at Escalante (but with Mesa Vista as the meet’s official sponsor), highlighted top small-school talent in Northern New Mexico and served as a sort of preview for the upcoming district meet.
With temperatures in the 40s and a cloud cover plus wind for most of the day, athletes had to find ways to fight the cold, often huddling with teammates under blankets. The moments before the start of races often saw the entire field jumping up and down or running in place, desperate to stay warm.
The NRG conference includes the six teams in District 5-2A, plus Pecos and Dulce.
In the first running event of the day, Peñasco freshman Rochelle Lopez beat out McCurdy eighth-grader Marisol Serna in the girls 3200-meter run.
Escalante’s boys had a strong day, with Leroy Salazar winning the shot put and Nate Martinez grabbing wins in the 110-meter hurdles and the long jump. Their relay team had a big win in the 4×400.
In the girls 4×100, the Lady Lobos had a deficit entering the final leg, while missing one of the team starters due to an injury. But Felice Baca took the baton and nearly made up the deficit.
“Our relays are new, and we’re learning from them, and we’re getting used to the changes,” Baca said.
The junior Baca only made state a year ago as part of the relay teams, though she was a key part there (she also qualified individually in 2021). This year, she has already qualified in the 200 meters. She said the difference has come in the blocks, where coaches have helped her get a faster start.
Dulce’s James Johnson won the 400 meters, and their team won in the sprint medley relay. Johnson is looking for a return to state, where he finished second in the javelin a year ago. He’ll also potentially compete in high jump, long jump and shot put, along with relays.
Dulce has also had to fight against weather canceling several of their meets.
“We try and take practice seriously,” Johnson said. “We’re showing up at the meets, and showing out and doing our best. So, I think we’re adjusting pretty well to the situation.”
Mesa Vista was led by Amarissa Quintana, who raced to victory in the 200 meters.
For McCurdy, so far Casey Nevarez has qualified for state in the 100 and 200-meter runs, and the girls 4×800 team has met the state qualifying standard. The rest of their competitors will look to qualify through districts. That includes the medley relay, where McCurdy disqualified what would have been a fourth-place finish because a runner stepped out of the lane.
“It’s definitely fueling our fire for this year,” said McCurdy girls coach Cecilia Brown.
Brown said they also have struggled to adapt to the state’s new mandatory electronic timing system, which was tough to operate throughout the day at Escalante.
“It’s made it a little bit harder to get into meets,” Brown said. “A lot of the smaller schools didn’t have meets this year because they didn’t have (automatic) timing.”
The district meet will be held also at Escalante on Friday, where athletes will look to qualify for state. Dulce’s district meet will be Friday at Laguna-Acoma.
Note (5/2/23): wording in this story has been updated to reflect the fact that Felice Baca qualified for the state tournament as an individual in 2021