Storm boys and girls win their invitational

The high school track and field season began last weekend for Cleveland and Rio Rancho.

CLEVELAND: The Storm boys and girls opened the season with its own invitational.

The boys had 133 1/2 points, well ahead of runner-up Cibola (81).

The biggest highlight of the meet, Storm coach Kenny Henry said, was Cleveland sweeping the top three places in the triple jump (Nainoa Biggs, Kyle Petrey and Tyler Caldwell) and the high jump (Parker Jones, Nate Barnes and Jacob Earnest).

Jones also won the 110-meter high hurdles and 200-meter dash.

Aaron Flores took the 800, and Biggs was the champion in the long jump.

The 4×100-meter relay team of Levi Van Bastian, Jones, Brandon Lawrence and Nathan Muñoz placed first, as did the 4×400 team of Lawrence, Muñoz, Steven Steele and Matt Santacroce.

♦ The girls scored 112 points to capture first place. La Cueva (76 1/2) was second.

Cleveland had eight first-place finishes Saturday, and six state qualifying performances.

Alina Armstead won the triple jump with a school record mark of 34 feet, 1/4 inch. Alex Winebark was the winner in the shot put, with Alex Williams taking first in the javelin. Nia Powdrell raced to victory in the 100.

The relay teams were dominant, with four wins.

In the 4×1 and 4×2, it was Audrey Martinez, Elicia Gallegos, Larimar Rodriguez and Nia Powdrell. In the 4×400, Martinez, Gallegos, Rodriguez and Erin DeBee took first place.

DeBee, Laura Rice, Eliza Mauk and Cassandra Brownell won the medley relay.

RIO RANCHO: The boys won the Bernalillo Invitational with 155 1/2 points, with Hope Christian a very distant second.

Event winners included Dallin Brady in the 100, Tristen Foley in the 400, Fernando Lucero in the 800, Preston Charlie in the 1,600, Matt Jackson in the 110 high hurdles and Kody Doyebi in the javelin.

The Rams also had three first-place finishes in relays, in the 4×100, 4×200 and medley.

On the 400 relay, Foley was joined by C.J. Williams, Ben Garcia and K.J. Jiggetts. Williams, Garcia and Brady were on the 800 relay squad, along with Mike Littman.

Brady and Littman competed in the medley with Richie Getchell and Adrian Dominguez.

♦ The girls also won first place, scoring 99 points. Hope (89.67) was second.

Individual event winners for the Rams were eighth-grader Leilani Baker in the 100, Brianna Pribble in the 800, Nicole Pendley in the javelin and Amaris Blunt in the shot put.

The medley relay team of Mackenzie Lester, Santana Orozco, Baker and Joana Fernandez took first place.

Softball

For the first time, Rio Rancho and Cleveland are taking part in the Albuquerque Public Schools Metro Championship.

The two-day event begins Friday and concludes Saturday at Bullhead Park in Albuquerque.

The Rams are the No. 4 seed, and open against No. 13 West Mesa.

The Storm is the No. 6 seed, and face 11th-seeded Sandia in the first game.

The Rio Rancho game begins at 11 a.m. Cleveland starts at 9 a.m. Friday. Both will have a second game Friday, as well, plus two more Saturday.

Volcano Vista, Cibola and La Cueva are the top three seeds.

State Spirit

Rio Rancho and Cleveland will be at the Santa Ana Star Center on Friday and Saturday for the State Spirit Championships. Both have cheer and dance teams entered.

There are sessions in the morning and afternoon Friday, and a final session for both cheer and dance squads on Saturday afternoon.

Bernalillo’s cheerleaders are entered in 4A.
— This article appeared on page 21 of the Albuquerque Journal