St. Mike's boys/girls sweep Class 3A track and field on a record-breaking day at UNM

May 11—If the second day of the Class 1A-2A-3A state track and field championships belonged to anyone on Saturday, it was Haden Judd of Logan.

The junior enjoyed a magnificent day at the University of New Mexico Complex, scoring 33 points.

He had victories in the 100, 200, the 300-meter intermediate hurdles and the pole vault, breaking state records — two of them his own — in the 100, 200 and 300 hurdles. And he was second in the triple jump.

Those 33 points were all important, as Logan, with an even 100 points, edged Melrose by two points for the Class 1A state title. (Other team champions appear at the end of this story.)

On an extremely long day that featured several lightning delays totaling well over three hours, Judd was one of the reliable components on a day that saw numerous state records fall, some of them in spectacular fashion.

Eighth-grader Chloe Grieco of St. Michael's had one of those records. She demolished the field in the 3,200-meter final, and her time (11 minutes, 3.48 seconds) lowered the Class 3A record by roughly 20 seconds. And it was half a minute faster than her previous best time in the race.

"I didn't know I had it in me," Grieco said. "So it was pretty cool. I had no idea if I was gonna win or break the record."

Sandia Prep's Kate Henderson, the 800 and 1,600 champ, had the fastest qualifying time by 24 seconds over Grieco. But Grieco controlled every bit of Saturday's showdown.

"I just went out there and ran as fast as I could," she said.

Oak Grove Classical Academy's Olivia Marquez shattered the Class 1A record in the 3,200, finishing in 11:33.97. That was 77 seconds lower than the old record.

And her older brother, Joshua, also broke a state record in the 3,200 — his own. He lowered his 2023 mark by over 25 seconds by finishing in 10:07.62.

Other siblings had success on Saturday, too.

The 2A boys champ in the 100-meter high hurdles, Jaren Johnson of Dulce, might have come as a bit of a surprise, as he became a rare state champion to win from the outside on Lane 8.

He suffered a hamstring injury early in Friday's prelims — "I decided to finish the race anyway," he said, "so I limped all the way down" — and he posted by far the worst qualifying time of the eight finalists.

"I was surprised (to even qualify)," Johnson said. "I wasn't finishing with the intent of making it to the finals."

But he finished in 16.54 seconds for the win. And he was limping afterward, having tweaked the hammy, he said, midway through the final.

His brother James later broke the state record in the 2A javelin, with a crowd-stirring toss of 183 feet, 10 inches. His best throw of the spring before Saturday? An even 160 feet.

Melrose's Gray Brandon was a Class 1A state record breaker in taking the 100 hurdles, in 15.52 seconds. It was part of a 1-2-3 finish in this event for the Buffaloes, and Brandon screamed as he hit the finish line.

"I've been working on hurdles this whole year. I was excited," he said. "My name is gonna be put on the school for years to come."

Speaking of outstanding hurdlers, Socorro's Braden Mounyo (14.89 seconds in the 100 and 38.10 in the 300) impressively won a pair of state titles to cap a tremendous season. He was 3A's high-point athlete with 28 1/2 .

Legacy Academy sophomore sprinter Taliyah Martinez was a triple state champion on Saturday. Her day started with a victory in the 100 (13.29 seconds), and later added victories in the 400 (1:00.86) and 200 (26.21).

"It's very exciting," she said.

Lexie Dixon of Sandia Prep was the girls 3A champ in the 100, as she outraced two Bosque School athletes, Ariella Rogahn-Press and Ainsley Capps to the line. Dixon won in 12.62 seconds.

"It was really fun, but mostly because I didn't think I could do it," Dixon said. "But I had a little hope. So it was really satisfying when I won."

Rogahn-Press later won the 400, with Dixon runner-up.

Both Sandia Prep's Henderson and Cecilia Campos of Chesterton Academy became double meet champions on Saturday with their victories in the 800.

The 3A matchup between Henderson and St. Michael's Raylee Hunt was one of the day's most anticipated races; Hunt led, but with 300 meters to go, Henderson burst into the lead and pulled away to win by nearly four seconds (2:17.26 for Henderson, 2:21.15 for Hunt). Ironically, Henderson came within .22 seconds of tying Hunt's existing 3A state record in that event.

TEAM: Hagerman's boys, led by Jevon Aguilar's 30 1/2 individual points, edged Texico 65-61 for the 2A championship. St. Michael's scored 73 1/2 points to capture the 3A crown, seven points in front of rival Robertson.

With Martinez showing the way (her 23 1/2 points led the division), Legacy Academy's girls, with 74 points, won the 1A championship. Melrose (46) was runner-up.

In 2A, the Academy for Technology and the Classics from Santa Fe scored 58 points, 10 more than second-place Menaul. ATC's Charli Koseoglu had multiple victories and led 2A with 28 individual points.

The top two in 3A came from Santa Fe: St. Mike's (Jada Lujan had three victories and a 3A-leading 21 points) with 101 points, Santa Fe Prep 40 points behind.