New Mexico Runners on the National Stage

Millington last Fall

This last weekend there was some New Mexico rep at a few of the slew of huge meets going on around the country. Thought I'd pen a note of recognition.

The brightest performances came from a couple of UNM Lobo runners up at the University of Washington Indoor Invite. Senior Ross Millington torched a 4^th place finish in the mens 3000m finishing in 7:49.11. The performance ranks right about top-20 all-time for a collegian indoors, and sets a new UNM school record breaking the previous standard held by former NCAA champion Lee Emanuel (2010) (7:51:20). Junior Josephine Moultrie knocked five seconds off the two year old UNM indoor mile record with a 4:42.30 finish, good enough for 16^th place in the open womens mile. Moultrie re-wrote school indoor records in the 600m (1:33.21) and 800m (2:09.27) just two weeks ago at the UNM Lobo Invite here in Albuquerque. The 800m record had stood for over 30 years (Sue Vigil, 1979).

My favorite championship race, the US Cross Country Nationals was run Saturday out in St. Louis, MO. Santa Fe’s Ben Fletcher made a go of it, rolling to a 28^th place finish in the open men’s 12K, 39min9sec, following a 47^th place finish in last year’s race. WINGS of America runners dominated team scoring in the junior races. 

In winter news, last weekend was the legendary Crested Butte Alley Loop Ski Races. Los Alamos' Tarik Saleh and a contingent of the Southwest Nordic team were there and he has posted some photos and a sweet report.

Winter Weather and National XC and Steelers

Last week's fall-like weather has been done away with by Old Man Winter. He apparently is bringing the pain to make up for what he let inadvertently slip by. The bikes are back in the garage, (well one is in the living room actually), and the skis are back on deck. I plan to be up at Norski this afternoon and the Swnski track up in Los Alamos tomorrow morning.

Psyched to get out on the new snow! My man Perry Farrell knows what's up so I'll briefly defer to him..








On another quick note - the National Cross Country Championships are being run out in San Diego today. Don't know why this isn't a bigger race since cross country is the shiz. They ought to bring back Porter and Kennedy and Williams and Jennings and Drossin and just have an ol' timers race to show these young pups what they're missing. The starting list shows Ben Fletcher, unattached out of Santa Fe. Hopefully Ben can take it to a few of these dudes. In any case, it looks like there will be a live webcast here. Cheers, go Stillers.







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Weekend Results - Pajarito Trail Fest, Jaguar XC Races, the Chicago Marathon

A quick look back at the weekend.  We here at HighDesertDirt inexplicably missed the action at the Pajarito Trail Fest, but all the more reason to mark it on the calendar for next year.  Competition in the 10km and 15mi trail racing was stiff, but the Sunday run-bike-run trail duathlon had us tuning up the bike then regretting our no-show.

A review of Sat. podium finishers reads:
10km:   1) Hans Hanson, 50:38  2) Jesse Taylor, 53:49  3) Colin Hemez, 57:22    W1) Amy Lee, 1:04:45  W2) Marta Becvarik, 1:08:22  W3) Kim Katko, 1:10:59

Simpson closes in 4th

15mi:  1) Bill Crooks, 2:09:44  2) Daryl Dagel, 2:16:44  3) David Coblentz, 2:17:56     W1) Ruthanne Hamrick, 2:29:51  2) Sheila Van Cuyk, 2:38:52  3) Lynn Bjorklund, 2:43:36 (Lynn gets extra recognition for being a badass.  She still holds the women's course record in the Pikes Peak Marathon, 4:15:18, 1981).

My Santa Fe training pals blasted the course in 4th, Dave Simpson, 2:19:27, and 7th, Todd Schroeder 2:23:58 (both pictured at left).  Way to give 'em hell fellas -  I owe you two gentlemen a beer. 

A review of Sun. podium finishers reads:
Trail Duathlon:  1) Peter Doane, 1:17:13  2) Mike Slattery, 1:17:42  3) Clay Moseley, 1:17:54   W1) Cara Howell, 1:35:07  W2) Kim Katko, 1:43:03  W3) Jessica Kisiel, 1:45:38

Full results and photos of the weekend can be found here.
A first-hand race report from the Athena Diaries can be found here.

Schroeder right behind

Closer to Santa Fe, we had the 2nd Annual Jaguar Cross Country Races held in conjunction with the Jaguar Prep Invitational.  In the All-Comers 5K we saw area coaches and assistant coaches battling it out with local racing talent.  Not including the winner and runner-up, the field included a multiple sub-4 minute miler and La Luz champion (D. Maas), an IronMan and international triathlete (L. Sponagle), a 2:30 marathoner and multiple BigT champion (M. Ehrmantraut), a local track/xc/coaching legend (S. Gonzales), and a 2010 Boston marathon runner (M. Dobesh). Not a big surprise then that winner Elijah Wolfe recorded a new Open course record of 16min 57sec.

Podium finishers were:
1) Elijah Wolfe, 16:57  2) Leif Seed, 17:18  3) Sal Gonzales, 17:40
W1) Tanya Collins, 20:19  2) Liz Sponagle, 23:02  3)Shirley Van Slooten, 23:43

Race registration for this sweet local race was $5.  Top three men and women took home gift cards to the Running Hub which was a nice score from such an informal showdown, but it matched the talent of the field.  Grade school winners took home water bottles from the Running Hub, Cliff bars, chocolate, and other goodies.

The grade school division went off like a rocket!, and thankfully we lost zero competitors out on the course. The first four runners came in together.  The last half of the field was awash in drunken sailors weaving wildly in and out of the flagged race route (we're looking at you Helen Desmond).  Winners were as follows: 1) Dominic Roybal, 6:02  2) Beckett Maestas, 6:07  3) Tevin Flowers, 6:10.  G1) Judith Allison, 6:57  2) Hayden Colfax, 7:08  3) T'kyea Romero, 7:09

Full results can be found here or here.

*************

CHICAGO MARATHON - New Mexico Finishers

Lastly, we had several locals racing in Chicago on Sunday, at least five of which were racing under the Elite Development Program.  Albuquerque's Jesse Armijo was the top finisher in 2:26:16 (42nd); Santa Fe's Ben Fletcher was close behind in 2:28:18 (61st); Jacquelyn Gallegos, 2:50:16 (W55); Kris Houghton and Erica Baron both scratched from the race after strong starts.  Other top local finishers included Antonio Lopez, 2:49:10; Liz Jaramillo Lopez, 3:25:50; Myles Fitzgerald, 3:34:46; Harry Barnes, 3:48:23; Khawlah Munshi, 4:18:08; and Katy Fitzgerald, 4:18:18. 

Whoa, nearly forgot about the SFHS Demons.  Not the cross squad, but the football team:  A mercy-rule victory over Espanola Valley at Ivan Head on Friday night, 50-0.  That this actually happened is a testament to the adage that all things are possible.  If one were to look back over twenty years and tally all games in which the Demons either put up 50pts or held the opposing team to zero, this may be the only one.  Demons for the win baby.


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