Solidifying his status as Ignacio High’s lead sprinter this spring, and atoning for his absence at the IHS-hosted 2A/1A San Juan Basin League Championships three days earlier, senior Mike Perez performed as he would have likely expected at the April 24-25, 2015, Aztec (N.M.) B&B Portable Firefighting Units Invitational.
Having qualified fourth overall in the 400-meter dash with a day one 53.62-second time, Perez stomped on the proverbial gas pedal on day two, trimmed his time to 51.82 and finished behind only Trayer Martinez (51.68) of the event-hosting, Class 5A Tigers. 5A Farmington (N.M.) Piedra Vista’s Jacob Brown was third in 52.69.
But odd as it may seem, Perez’s work was not the Bobcats’ top individual effort at the 19-team event.
That distinction went to senior Kyle Bailey, whose 6’0” best in a head-to-head high jump-off on day one bettered 5A Farmington, New Mexico’s Chayton Salcido for first place. 3A Pagosa Springs’ Ben Miller outdid 3A Bayfield’s Conner Kennedy at 5’8” for third.
The Lady Bobcats’ top result was junior Chrystianne Valdez’s seventh-place 7’9” pole vault on day one which, in a vault-off, bettered the same height of FHS’ Emilee Herman and BHS’ Maddi Foutz.
The girls’ 4×100-meter relay (Keli Baker, Sky Cotton, Isis Gonzales and Jaylynn Herrera) was tenth in 56.16 seconds, Azala Perez was 11th in the 100m prelims (13.91s), and Gonzalez was 17th in the 400m prelims (1:08.73).
Herrera was 22nd in the long jump at 13’4.75” and Perez was 28th at 13’2”, but Cotton – one of the event’s higher seeds – did not partake.
Ignacio’s boys’ 4×1 (Blaine Mickey, Lorenzo Peña, Perez and Tyler Riepel) was eighth in 47.92 seconds during the heat races, but did not qualify for the finals. Riepel was eighth in the pole vault at 10’3”, tied with AHS’ Alex Stalcup and Zane Bradshaw and PVHS’ Benjamin Van Otteson.
Perez placed 11th in the 100 preliminaries, clocking 12.04 seconds, but did not make the finals.
Parker Smithson was 46th in the long jump (13’4.25”) and Colten Smithson 26th in the triple (27’0”).
Mickey was 30th in the shot put with a best heave of 35 feet, nine inches, and Natoni Cundiff was 27th in the discus at 98’4”.
Up next for IHS will be PSHS’ Terry Alley Invitational on Saturday, May 2, starting at 9 a.m.
AT THE SJBL’S
Welcoming their fellow league members to their all-new track on April 21, the Bobcat boys’ and girls’ teams each placed fifth out of seven squads, and nearly managed to amass identical point totals.
Ignacio’s girls registered 48 points, well behind both Dolores’ and Telluride’s matching first-place 160’s. Ouray was third with 69.5, Mancos took fourth with 56.5, and Dove Creek (37) and Nucla (9) trailed IHS.
Two-spring-sport junior Ellie Seibel won the high jump at 4’5” over Dolores’ Shavargus Noyes, and Valdez was the only competitor in the pole vault, winning with a 7’0” effort.
Cotton was second in the long jump with a best bound of 15’9”, and also ran a leg on the second-place girls’ 4×1 (55.24 seconds) with Baker, Herrera and Azala Perez – who placed second (in 13.63s) in the 100m dash.
The sprint medley relay of Baker, Cotton, Gonzales and Herrera took fourth in a time of 2:05.81.
On the boys’ side, MHS prevailed with 150 points, THS followed with 141, and DHS (89) and OHS (65) bridged the gap back to the ’Cats (46). NHS placed sixth with 15 points and DCHS (13) brought up the rear.
Mickey copped a league title in the shot with a best of 38’3.75”, and Cundiff did likewise in the discus with a 101’7” maximum. Riepel was best in the pole vault (10’1”) over teammates Mickey and Colten Smithson.
Bailey was second in the high jump with a 5’11” best, and the 4×1 (Keith Joosten, Mickey, Lorenzo Peña and Perez) was third in 48.77 seconds.