It was a local lady’s time to shine at the 12th annual Butterfly Run June 20 at the Pojoaque Wellness Center.
Sophia Torres, who graduated from Pojoaque Valley High School May 29, took advantage of a lack of competition from African runners to run to victory in the women’s 5-kilometer run.
Torres, the 2007 Class AAA state cross country champion, crossed the finish line with a time of 21:25 and was 18th overall in a field of 110 male and female runners. She is the first runner from Pojoaque to take the women’s 5-kilometer competition since Jackie Gallegos won in 2004.
Torres received $500 for her first-place finish and said she will donate her winnings to the Pojoaque cross country team. She plans to attend the University of New Mexico and is considering walking on to the cross country team, she said.
“I wish I had gotten a scholarship,” she said. “I guess I’ll have to work even harder to get one of those.”
Torres was unsure if she would run in this year’s Butterfly Run, but Pojoaque assistant cross country coach Abraham Kosgei made up her mind for her, signing her up before the race.
“I called her before the race and she said she didn’t think she was ready,” Kosgei said. “I said ”I’m going to sign you up.’”
Torres may have been a little out of shape. She was feeling it after the race when asked how she felt.
“It hurts,” she said. “I have to give these shorts back. I borrowed them.”
Torres finished two minutes ahead of the second-place runner. Meaghan Martinez-Palmer, of Chimayó, who attends St. Michaels High School in Santa Fe, crossed the line in 23:15.
Female runners from Kenya had dominated the Butterfly Run in recent years. Caroline Rotich, of Kenya, pulled off a rare double last year, winning the 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer runs. The absence of African runners this year in the 10-kilometer run helped give Santa Fe’s Lucy Ohleson an unexpected surprise. The 2010 Santa Fe High School graduate finished first in that race and 25th overall in a field of 63 runners
“I didn’t even know,” Ohleson said. “I‘m a little bit surprised.”
Ohleson said she is headed to the University of Oregon on an academic scholarship.
There were plenty of African runners in the men’s 5 and 10-kilometer races, and they dominated. MacDonald Ondarg, 25, of Kenya, won the 10-kilometer run. Aron Rono, 27, also of Kenya, won the 5-kilometer. Moroccan
Mo-Ho-med Fadil, 28, attempted to pull off a double by entering both races. He came up a little short, finishing second in the 5-kilometer by six seconds and third in the 10-kilometer.
Fadil said he enjoys training in New Mexico.
“I love it,” he said. “The weather reminds me of the town I grew up in (Immouzer).”
Local runners did make impressive showings in several age-group categories.
Scott Valdez, of Dixon, finished first in the 30-to 39 age group and eighth overall in the 10-kilometer.
“The competition makes you run faster,” Valdez said.
Pojoaque High School junior Sam Roybal won the 12-to-15 age group title with a time of 19:44 and finished 13th overall. Pojoaque sophomore
Albert Gallegos was just two seconds behind, taking second in the age group. Senior Craig Roybal finished seventh in the 5-kilometer and 17th overall in the 16-to-19 age group.
“I was hoping to run a 19:40 and I got a 19:44,” Roybal said.
Kosgei, who was fourth overall and first in the 30-to-34 age group in the 10-kilometer race, was glad to see his students competing.
“Absolutely, it’s good to see them getting ready for the cross country season,” he said.
Dominic Martinez, a 2010 Pojoaque graduate headed to Harvard this fall, came in fourth in the 16-to-19 age group and 10th overall. He is the son of Danny Martinez and Diana Candelaria, of Chimayó.
“I wanted to see if I could get into a top school,” he said. “They provided some good financial aid packages.”
Danny Jaramillo of Española, 55, was the last man to cross the finish line in the 5-kilometer, taking 107th place. Jaramillo, one of 26 members of the Khap’o Running Club of Santa Clara Pueblo who ran in the Butterfly Run, had already achieved a victory of greater importance running with the Club. He quit smoking.
“When I felt like smoking I’d take off on a sprint,” he said. “I always wanted to be part of something like this.”