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La Cueva jumper/sprinter Montaño will be a Texas Longhorn
La Cueva’s Tanner Montano, middle, won the boys 100-meter dash during the Richard Harper Memorial Track and Field meet April 26, 2025 at Albuquerque Academy. On Tuesday, he announced he is committing to the Texas Longhorns.
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The University of Texas has landed another elite New Mexico prep athlete.
La Cueva High long jumper/sprinter Tanner Montaño on Monday announced on social media his decision to compete for the Longhorns track and field program.
He took an official visit to Austin last weekend.
“I had made my mind up before the trip that if I liked what I saw, I was probably gonna commit,” Montaño, 18, said. “I went out there and it was even better than what I expected. Every single thing you could name, I was blown away by.”
Montaño last spring at the Class 5A state meet dramatically tied the longest-held New Mexico overall state field record, with a mark of 24 feet, 3¼ inches in the long jump. He hit that mark twice, actually — once with an illegal wind, the other with the wind within legal limits.
That long jump record had stood alone for 55 years.
Montaño also was the Class 5A 100-meter state champion in May. And he was a crucial part of the Bears’ relays.
The trip to Austin only helped to validate that he had made the right choice.
Montaño said he would do the long jump and sprints — including relays, like the 4x400-meter relay — for Texas.
Last month, JJ Utash, a corner infielder for the Los Lunas High School baseball team, committed to the Longhorns.
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Earlier this year, Montaño announced his intention to bypass playing receiver for the La Cueva football team in order to focus on his track and field endeavors.
“I’ve missed it so much,” he said of football, specifically mentioning La Cueva’s season opener versus Volcano Vista. “Making that decision over the summer, I kind of knew the toughest part was just telling my boys (that I wasn’t going to play).”
But he said he made the correct call to focus on his sprinting and jumping.
