Led by sophomore distance runner Elco Garcia, Jr., the Ignacio boys’ track & field team placed fourth out of 13 scoring squads Saturday, May 5, at the 2018 Terry Alley Invitational in Pagosa Springs.
Able to win the 1,600-meter run in 4 minutes, 52.30 seconds—6.51 seconds ahead of Dolores’ Phillip Hufman—Garcia also won the 3,200 in 11:14.34, or 1 minute, 33.34 seconds ahead of Ridgway’s Cade Norwood, competing for Ouray. IHS’ Jonas Nanaeto also scored well in the 1,600 with his third-place 5:08.07, and scored second in the 400m dash in 54.34 seconds—trailing only the 53.51 of PSHS’ Isaac Munoz.
The hosting Pirates won the boys’ team title at the meet with 127 points, followed by Mancos’ 82, Monte Vista’s 78, and Ignacio’s 64. Pagosa also earned the girls’ championship with 102—well ahead of MVHS’ 56 and DHS’ 53. Telluride and Dove Creek tied for fourth place with 48 points, and IHS followed with 45.
As has become the norm, sophomore thrower Aliyana White won the shot put with a best heave of 36 feet, three inches—four feet, one inch farther than DCHS’ Cassie Gatlin and 6’9” farther than Creede’s Olivia Madrid—and also placed highly in the discus with her third-place 96’0.5”. PSHS standout Keena Murphy won the specialty easily with a 128’0.5” maximum, while Madrid placed second by half an inch over White.
The Lady’ Cats also got third-place points in the 1,600 from freshman Charlize Valdez, who clocked 6:22.24. She also finished sixth in the 800 with a time of 2:48.29, and Vanessa Gonzales did likewise in the 100 (14.55). Fifth in both the high (4’3”) and long (14’5”) jumps, junior Kiana Valdez was a team-best eighth in the 200 (30.77), and Emily Cundiff earned fourth in the 400 (1:12.61) with Gonzales sixth (1:15.66).
Jason Foutz won the boys’ pole vault competition by clearing 8’6”, and Natoni Cundiff won the discus with a peak throw of 135’11”. He also placed third in the shot (39’10.75”), with fellow senior Mitchell Neil fifth (36’3”).
Foutz also took tenth in the 800 (2:37.23) and 12th in the 1,600 (5:56.33), while Neil was 11th in the long jump (14’1”) and 13th in the 100 (13.27). Johnathon Paulsrud placed 13th in the long jump (13’7.5”).
Up next for Ignacio will be the May 10-11 Tiger Invitational in Grand Junction, hosted by GJHS at Stocker Stadium, with the Class 2A State Championships following May 17-19 in Lakewood for the fortunate few.
2018 TERRY ALLEY INVITATIONAL GIRLS’ TEAM STANDINGS
1.Pagosa Springs 102, 2.Monte Vista 56, 3.Dolores 53, T-4.Telluride/Dove Creek 48, 6.IGNACIO 45, 7.Center 41, 8.Alamosa 38, 9.Mosca Sangre de Cristo 37, 10.Mancos 32, 11.Creede 16, 12.Moffat 10, 13.Lake City Community School 3, 14.Ouray 2.
2018 TERRY ALLEY INVITATIONAL BOYS’ TEAM STANDINGS
1.Pagosa Springs 127, 2.Mancos 82, 3.Monte Vista 78, 4.IGNACIO 64, 5.Alamosa 56, 6.Dolores 42.5, 7.Lake City Community School 36, 8.Ouray 30, 9.Dove Creek 28, 10.Mosca Sangre de Cristo 24, 11.Creede 12.5, 12.Bayfield 8, 13.Telluride 2.