Gaining (or helping gain) Ignacio four top-four finishes, and thus the team points attached to each, one could say Azala Perez certainly put her best foot forward – just to try one-upping it with her very next stride – time and time again at the April 9, 2016, Abel Velasquez Invitational.
With the Lady Bobcats ultimately finishing fifth in their home meet’s final standings, the junior sprinter registered IHS’ top individual result against clock and competition; her 13.74-second effort in the 100-meter dash trailed only Dolores freshman Aryelle Wright (13.43) at the finish line.
Doubling the distance and placing fourth (in 29.35 seconds), Perez not only pressured Wright (2nd, 28.59) again but showed well in staying near 3A Bayfield juniors Maddi Foutz (1st, 27.92) and Amber Johnson (3rd, 28.61). Joining junior Jaylynn Herrera, senior Chrystianne Valdez and freshman Kiana Valdez on Ignacio’s 4x100m relay, Perez helped the unit clock a fourth-place 57.99, and did likewise with the 800m medley (2:16.11; same personnel, save for junior Rachel Cooper replacing the younger Valdez).
Cooper also placed seventh in the open 800, with a time of 3 minutes, 5.85 seconds.
In the field, Chrystianne Valdez took third in the pole vault with a best of 7’7”, and junior teammate Lea Monroe tied for sixth at 6’7”. Kiana Valdez placed third in the high jump, with her 4’5” only an inch short of both second-place Andie Miller of 3A Pagosa Springs and winner Cameron Elder of DHS.
Senior Lillianna Romero came in third in the discus, her best throw covering 84 feet, 11 inches. Freshman Rosaleigh Concepcion finished 15th at 53’4”, and fellow freshman Heather Kerrigan took 17th (43’0”) as PSHS’ Keena Murphy won with a 111’0” best and 4A Montezuma-Cortez’s Tayla Topaha followed at 108’1”.
And in the shot, junior Alana Watts earned the Lady Cats more third-place points with her 30-foot maximum, which trailed only Murphy (31’2.5”) and BHS’ Tiarra Christensen (31’4”). Kerrigan finished 16th with a 22’6” heave, and Concepcion’s 19-footer held up for 24th.
All told, IHS amassed 45.5 points at the event. BHS won with 153, M-CHS was second with 115, with DHS (98) and 4A Durango (53.5) following to fill out the top five.
Up next, Ignacio will compete at Bayfield’s Pine River Invitational on Saturday, April 16, then head down to Aztec, New Mexico, for its two-day B&B Invitational on the 22nd and 23rd inside Fred Cook Memorial Stadium.
2016 ABEL VELASQUEZ INVITE GIRLS’ STANDINGS
- Bayfield 153, 2. Montezuma-Cortez 115, 3. Dolores 98, 4. Durango 53.5, 5. IGNACIO 45.5, 6. Dove Creek 28, 7. Pagosa Springs 27, 8. Mancos 24.