Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Clovis High senior Silvia Velaquez, foreground, and freshman Alexia Garcia take part in the first track event of the day, the girls 3,200, during Thursday's Wildcat Relays track meet at Leon Williams Stadium.
Portales senior Daniela Villanueva tosses the javelin 105 feet 8 1/2 inches on this throw during Thursday's Wildcat Relays at Leon Williams Stadium.
CLOVIS — Clovis High's track and field girls have a nice competition going on in the throwing events.
Seniors Brittany Reed and Monay Phillips are going back and forth in discus, and Reed is leading Class 6A in shot put this season.
On Thursday, Reed took first place in shot put with a personal-best 38 feet, 9 1/2 inches, while Phillips was fifth. Then in discus competition, she took the lead by one-half inch over Phillips after the preliminary throws.
Phillips, though, came back to win the event on her final throw of the day, going 118-8. Sophomore Zamaurie Spillman gave the Lady Wildcats a 1-2-3 finish in the event.
Reed was third in shot put and sixth in discus last year at state, and she thinks she's ready to have a big day again in Albuquerque.
"I still have PRs (personal records) and goals that I want to meet," Reed said. "Ap (throwing coach Gabe Apodaca) always tells us our next track meet isn't our goal, state's the goal."
Reed got off to a good start in shot put this year, throwing 37-8 in the season-opening Bulldog Relays at Plainview, and has been consistent most of the spring.
Phillips, meantime, doesn't want to relinquish her 6A discus title.
"Everybody expects me to win because I'm No. 1," she said. "I'd like to do it again."
Both throwers say the in-team competition is good for them.
"If I have to lose to somebody, I'd rather it'd be her," Reed said of Phillips.
Phillips said she enjoys the daily challenge.
"I think that's the fun part of it," she said.
• Portales had an early winner as well as senior Trenton Small threw a personal-best of 53 feet, 1 1/2 inches in shot put. He also placed fourth in discus at 129-11 and was in the finals in javelin.
"I know I can do better than I'm doing," he said. "In discus and javelin, it's just my mechanics that I have to work on."
Last year, he finished second in the Class 4A state meet in shot put and was fourth in each of the other two events.
"My plan is to win shot put," he said of this season. "In javelin and discus, I'll just try to do the best I can."
• Clovis posted an early win on the track with the quartet of sophomore Jacob Moon, junior Austin Fuentes, senior Micah Gray and sophomore Montez Wright taking the 400 relay in a season-best 43.03 seconds.
The same four were slated to run the 800 relay later in the evening.
Gray, who was also scheduled to run in the 200 and the 1,600 relay finale, said he's hopeful the foursome can do well at state next month — top three or better.
"I've never gone better than fourth (at state) in any relay," said Gray, the Cats' standout running back who has grown several inches in the last couple of years and now stands around 6 feet tall. "(Competing at) the state meet is like nothing else."
