Monroe grabs three medals, falls short of title

MESA — There was no doubt in her mind; Nicolette Monroe expected to compete for a state title in each of her three races.
 
Despite not having the fastest qualifying time for the 100, 200 or 400-meter dash, Monroe used her speed and brawn to earn medals in all three events.
 
But it was never more than a bronze.
 
The Cibola senior finished third in the 100, clocking a time of 12.49 seconds, and placed fourth in the 200 (25.69) and 400 (58.62) during Saturday's 4A/5A State Track and Field Championships at Mesa Community College.
 
"My goal was to get a medal and to medal in all my events," Monroe said. "I got a (personal record) and that's what I wanted."
 
Monroe wasn't without frustration despite placing in each of her events during the 5A-II competitions.
 
"I felt like I ran (the 200) good, but I'm not sure about that," she said.
 Monroe was seeded second in that event.
 
The Cibola boys 3,200 relay team dealt with the same sort of frustration during its event.
 
Richard Clayton opened up the race for the Raiders and rode the inside lane, threading his way into third. After the exchange Bernie Montoya was unable to keep that momentum and slid back to fourth place.
 
The anchor, Josh Lopez, dropped one more spot during his 800-meter run, which put the Raiders in fifth with a time of 8:16.7, just outside the medal picture.
 
Freshman distance runner Monica Huston picked up a third-place finish in the 1,600 run (5:13 hand-recorded) despite leading the race for 400 of the last 500 meters. Coming into the last turn Huston was passed on the outside and had another runner on her heels for the last 50 meters.
 
Huston also finished fifth in the 800 (2:21.54).
 
Teammate Michelle Soto picked up a third-place finish in the 300 hurdles, overcoming obstacles at the start to finish with a time of 46.44 and picking up a medal.
 
"I came out of the blocks kind of badly, but I had to keep going," Soto said. "I thought that if I can't get first I might as well try and place."
 
Kofa's Amanda Garcia edged Soto on the clock for the 300 hurdles (46.37), but her time was only good for a fourth-place finish during the 5A-I event.
 
"I've never ran on an outside lane before, but I tried to make it up on the curve," Garcia said.
 
Garcia did just that, improving from as far back as sixth to edge her way into the medals.
 
The Cibola girls team placed fifth overall - the school's highest finish in program history.

• YC’S CORONA, HARRIS FALTER IN FINAL DAY

TEMPE — All Paul Corona wanted was a day just like Friday. Ed Harris just wanted a day that was anything but Friday.
 
Neither of them got what they wanted. Instead the Yuma Catholic duo fumbled their way through Saturday's final round of the 1A/2A/3A State Track and Field Championships at Arizona State University's Sun Angel Park.
 
One day after winning the 2A state championship in pole vault, clearing a height of 15 feet, 4 inches, Corona could only clear the single-digit version of that number on the high jump, finishing at 5-4.
 
"The high jump wasn't successful, but I was just doing it for fun," Corona said. "My steps were a little bit off."
 
The Yuma Catholic junior said he wasn't suffering from a post-championship hangover. The reality of his accomplishment still hadn't settled on him.
 
Harris was unable to improve on his state meet performance after tripping over a hurdle during Friday's 300-meter event. Harris injured his ankle after that fall, which he nursed during all of Saturday's competition.
 
"I felt better mentally, but my ankle was twice the size of my other one," Harris said. "I can walk fine if I keep it straight. Running, if I keep it straight, it's fine. If it turns at all that's when the pain starts."
 
That pain may have been what caused Harris to false start in the 110 hurdles, disqualifying him from the event. He said he had thought he saw movement, which caused him to jump. Harris was seeded second going into the event.
 
The Shamrocks still finished strong, with a team score of 29 for the boys, good enough for eighth place, and 17 points for the girls.
 
The boys 1,600-meter relay team of Phillip Hoovestol, Sean Peters, Chris Hill and Robert Norton finished fourth (3:31.36) to pick up a medal, and Torrina Harris placed third in the girls long jump with a leap of 15-6.50.
 
San Pasqual's Angelito Alvarez took a home a third-place finish in the high jump with a mark of 5 feet, 8 inches. The Warriors brought two individual competitors and four relay teams. The 400 and 1,600 relay teams set person records but didn't place.