Today's Sports

ALBUQUERQUE – As it has for the past several seasons, the Los Alamos Hilltopper boys track and field team was looking for a big showing from its distance squad at state.

And as it has for the past several seasons, the Hilltoppers got it and its two top distance stars didn’t disappoint.

Senior Sean Reardon successfully defended his 1,600 state championship and finished second in the 800, while senior Nick Hill gutted out a tight 3200 meter race to claim the state title in that event.

Los Alamos again finished strong in the final standings at the Class 4A meet, held Friday and Saturday at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex.

The Los Alamos Hilltopper girls golf team finished seventh among the eight teams competing in the Class 4A tournament this week.

The Hilltopper girls team, along with individual qualifier Raul Roybal from the Hilltopper boys team, took part in the 4A championship Monday and Tuesday at the New Mexico State University championship course in Las Cruces.

Los Alamos’ girls finished with a two-day total of 773. After finishing with a team round of 392 Monday, Los Alamos improved 11 strokes Tuesday.

That wasn’t enough to make a serious move up the leaderboard, however. Kirtland Central, which has been a solid program for several years but struggled in the first day, finishing in sixth place, just five strokes ahead of the Hilltoppers, dropped 39 strokes in day two, coming in with a 348.

This could be a meet for the ages for the Los Alamos Hilltopper girls track and field team, but this could also be the closest call for the Los Alamos in some time, too.
The Hilltopper girls and boys will both compete in the Class 4A state championship meet this weekend.
The state title meet, which will be at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex in Albuquerque, is scheduled for Friday and Saturday.
The Hilltopper girls have a chance to make history by earning their fifth consecutive state title. Only four teams in the history of New Mexico have won at least five straight — interestingly, it is only the second-longest current streak, however, as Fort Sumner has won seven in a row including last week’s small-school state meet.
Los Alamos’ four current state titles matches with Class 4A record-holder Albuquerque Academy, one of the Hilltoppers’ main rivals.
However, Academy doesn’t appear to be poised to pose a threat to the Hilltoppers’ dominance. Instead, the biggest challenger appears to be a team from the Four Corners area.

In 2013, the Los Alamos Hilltopper girls track and field team has a chance to cement its place as one of the elite programs of all time.

Leading up to this season, that move was led by one of the most charismatic athletes the program had ever seen, Chase Ealey. But now, the responsibility of leading the charge toward state-level immortality falls on a much more low-key team captain.

The Hilltoppers’ efforts heading into the final two weeks of the season are being guided by senior Laura Wendelberger. Wendelberger has carved her own niche in Hilltopper history, but unlike her predecessor, has done so with considerably less flair and with good ol’ fashioned sweat.

But even though Wendelberger is set to make her fourth appearance at the state meet for Los Alamos, the pre-championship jitters have already begun to set in.

“It’s kind of nerve-wracking,” she said. “But all I can do is run my best. I won’t let people’s expectations change my mindset.”

With Ealey, the two-time high-point athlete at the state meet now having a standout freshman year for Oklahoma State University, those looking to see if Los Alamos can pull off the 5-peat will have their eyes set squarely on Wendelberger.

History has shown, however, that she should be up to the challenge.