Boys win four events at Bob Archibeque Invite
Getting the weekend started quite well, Ignacio High Track & Field traveled Friday, April 10, to compete at Montezuma-Cortez’s 2026 Bob Archibeque Invitational, with the ’Cats looking to build on successes had at their own Abel Velasquez Invite the previous Saturday.
And after succeeding on Panther Stadium’s track as well as its periphery, IHS’ boys left town with a fourth-place score of 76 points. M-CHS piled up a winning 148.5, with Bayfield (102) following and Monticello (86), Utah, ranking third, and the Durango JV ‘A’ squad (70.5) filling out the standings’ top five.
Senior James Martin won the meet’s 800-meter run, clocking 2 minutes, 9.1 seconds, and placed fifth in the 3,200 with his 10:59.19. Junior teammate Thunder Windy Boy, meanwhile, won that race in 10:35.89 and took second in the 1,600 with his 5:03.93. Senior Lincoln deKay competed in the 300m hurdles and won with his 42.47 effort.
Senior Trace Crane again impressed in the discus, throwing a first-place 122’4” maximum, and senior Evan Perkins placed second with his 116’10” best. deKay took third in the 100m dash, clocking 11.79 seconds, and IHS’ 4×400 relay posted a third-place 3:56.90. Additionally, Crane finished sixth in the 400 meters (52.86) and Perkins eighth in the shot put (33’9”).
Matrim Jones took 21st in the discus (68’6”) and 22nd in the shot (23’10”), Emmanuel Lucero ran 34th in the 100 (13.39) and 22nd in the 200 (27.33), and Peyton Zieske was 27th in the 400 (1:04.91) and 21st in the 800 (2:42.64).
The Lady ’Cats, unfortunately, did not earn any team points at the meet though freshman Justina Jessepe nearly snagged one via her ninth-place 4’5” in the high jump. Teammate Alishka Prokopova finished 12th in the specialty.
Jessepe also finished 13th in the 400 meters (1:10.79), with Andie Sanders coming in 16th (1:13.80). She also placed 16th in the 200 (31.91) and 17th in the long jump (10’8.5”), booking IHS’ only other top-20 result. Prokopova, however, ended up 21st in both the discus (58’2”) and shot (20’5”).
Fellow thrower Ireland Cates was 26th in the shot (18’6”) and 33rd in the discus (34’2”), while Mirra Bourriague took 30th in the shot (14’9”) and 34th in the discus (30’11”).
Racking up 183 points, Monticello held off Montezuma-Cortez (165) for the girls’ team title. Bayfield (90) came in third, followed by Mancos (58) and the Durango JV (52).
Looking ahead, Ignacio will next see action Saturday, April 18, at Durango’s Ron Keller Invitational, then begin preparing for the Mancos-hosted 2026 San Juan Basin League Championships on Tuesday, April 28.