Los Alamos Hilltopper Track & Field Teams Set Records At 2024 Larry Baca Memorial Invite

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on May 7, 2024
- 9:37 am

Meredith Brown completes the handoff to Syana Sanchez in the 1600 medley relay. With teammates Colette Bibeault and Anna Wetteland, these ‘Topper Girls shattered the LAHS School Record in this event by more than 7 seconds. Their time of 4:03.88 is the #5 high school performance this season in the entire US! Photo by Blake Wood

Jaydon Dudley threw the discus a PR 111′ 6″. He qualified for the State Championship in the shot put with a throw of 45′ 4″. Photo by Blake Wood

By BLAKE WOOD
Assistant Coach
LAHS Track & Field

The Los Alamos Hilltopper Track & Field teams continued their winning, record-setting ways on Saturday before a home-town crowd at Sullivan Field in the 2024 Larry Baca Memorial Invitational.

A new LAHS School Record in the 1600 medley relay was set by the quartet of Meredith Brown, Syana Sanchez, Colette Bibeault, and Anna Wetteland. Their time of 4:03.88 was more than 7 seconds faster than the old record, and is the #5 high school time run this year in the entire US!

Wetteland and Bibeault didn’t stop there – Wetteland broke her own LAHS School Record in the 400 m, with a time of 56.51 seconds, and Bibeault posted the #2 all-time LAHS performances in the 100 m hurdles and 300 m hurdles, with times of 15.33 and 44.98 seconds, respectively.

And if that wasn’t enough, Grace Montoya broke the freshman school record in the 800 m, with a time of 2:22.29. Fellow freshman Ensley Jorgenson was also under the old record with her 2nd place finish in 2:25.69.

For the second time this season, the Boys set a new LAHS School Record in the 4×400 m relay, this time with the team of Julian Singell, Daniel Kim, Melaki Gutierrez and Alex “Boom” Pasulka. Their new record is 3:15.96.

Like the Girls, the Boys set a new LAHS School Record in the 1600 medley relay. The team of Julian Singell, Melaki Gutierrez, Alex “Boom” Pasulka and Grafton Urbatsch set a new standard of 3:31.38. The Boys Track & Field team has now set new LAHS School Records this season in all five relay events – the 4×100, 4×200, 4×400, 4×800, and 1600 medley!

Gus Ovaska broke a 27-year-old LAHS Sophomore Record in the 800 m by more than 3 seconds, lowering it to 1:58.88, and leading teammates Lyas Eidenbenz and Andy Enriquez to State Qualifying times of 2:01.45 and 2:01.52, respectively.

Other new individual State Qualifying marks included Haiden Jorgenson’s 41′ 11″ triple jump and Jaydon Dudley’s 45′ 4″ shot put.

Of particular note was Jorgenson cracking 50 seconds in the 400 m for the first time. It is a rare season that LAHS has ANY sub-50 second athletes; this year FOUR ’Toppers have achieved this – Jorgenson, Urbatsch, Melaki Gutierrez and Pasulka – demonstrating the remarkable depth of this year’s team!

New individual State Qualifying marks for the Girls were achieved by Evangelina Gutierrez in the 100 and 200 m (13.03 and 26.39 seconds, respectively), Iris Purtzer in the high jump (4′ 10″), and Sarah Martis in the discus (102′ 5″).

New State Qualifiers in the relays included Chloe Coffey, Maya Graves and Gracie Haagenstad in the 4×400, Seanna Shedd and Jenessa Sanchez in the 4×100, and Colette Bibeault, Meredith Brown, and Syana Sanchez in the 1600 medley.

Championship season starts next Friday, with the District Championship hosted by Taos High School, followed on Friday and Saturday, May 17-18 by the State Championship at UNM.

JJ Diaz and Cyril Jaworski placed 4th and 5th in the 110 m hurdles with times of 17.59 and 17.62, respectively. Photo by Blake Wood