James Yodice, Journal Staff Writer
Some of New Mexico’s elite prep athletes shined some more on Saturday at the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic.
The Great Southwest brings together scores of top boys and girls from the region, and while not all of New Mexico’s superstars were entered this weekend, some of those who did had terrific showings.
The end of the individual running program on Saturday night, for example, saw Nicholas Ponte of Albuquerque Academy clobber the field in the 3,200-meter final at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex.
Ponte, who is going to run at Harvard, went out quickly and pulled away throughout the eight laps, finishing in 9 minutes, 21.26 seconds. He won by 22½ seconds, and frankly, it seemed like he won by more than that.
One of his Academy teammates, Anna Hastings, who is going to run for Brown of the Ivy League, was a double champion this weekend.
She captured the 2,000-meter steeplechase event late Friday night, and she added the 800-meter title — the 800 is the weakest of her three distances — on Saturday at UNM.
