Who Shined Brightest At State Track and Field Championships?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Big School (Class 4A and 5A) state track and field championships were held Friday and Saturday at the University of New Mexico track complex in Albuquerque. Numerous football players competed in many events and a few won state titles in their specific events. Here are some of the standouts from the two days:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'], La Cueva</strong>: Montano is arguably the best athlete in the state. Friday, he won the 5A long jump title by tying the long-standing (55 years!) state record with a leap of 24 feet, 3-1/4 inches. How dominate was Montano in that event? He won the title by almost 1-1/2 feet. Saturday, Montano blazed his way to the 5A title in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.77 seconds, edging Santa Fe's [player_tooltip player_id='615514' first='Bryce' last='Melton'] by 3/100ths of a second. Montano was the 5A medalist with 22 points. Finally healthy, Montano looks ready for a huge senior season on the gridiron. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853023' first='Luke' last='Matherly'], Centennial</strong>: The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Matherly is one of the top defensive linemen in southern NM and he'll be an anchor for the Hawks in 2025 as a senior. Friday, he won the Class 5A title in the discus with a throw of 149- feet, 7 inches, winning by more than four feet. Also finished 4^th in the shot put. Eastern New Mexico recently extended an offer. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1154954' first='Hershul' last='Olloway'], St. Pius X</strong>: Olloway is one of the fastest players in the state and one of [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano']'s strongest challengers for the coveted ‘King of Speed' crown. Olloway won the Class 4A 100 meter crown with a time of 10.96 seconds. He also won state titles as a member of St. Pius X's 4x400 and 4x100 relay teams. He ran the anchor leg in the latter event. Olloway also finished 3^rd in the 200. Olloway is only a sophomore. He rushed for over 1,700 yards last season and looks to lead the talented Sartans to the 4A title this fall.      </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1139144' first='Bryce' last='Parra'], Artesia</strong>: Parra is the favorite to be Artesia's No. 1 running back in 2025. Like Montano, Parra is a rare combination of blazing speed and serious hops. He won the 4A state title in the long jump (22 feet, 1-1/2 inches) and was a key member of Artesia's state title winning 4x200 relay team. He also finished 2^nd in the 200 and 5^th in the 100.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Jose Porras, Goddard</strong>: Just a sophomore, the 6-foot-1 Porras won the Class 4A championship in the high jump with a leap of 6 feet, 4 inches. Porras is a promising running back for the Rockets. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='853015' first='Alex' last='Rivera'], Lovington</strong>: The Fresno State commit won the 4A state title in the discus with a throw of 148 feet, 10 inches, winning the title by 6-1/2 feet. He also finished third in the shot put. The 6-foot-4, 295-pound Rivera will anchor Lovington's offensive line in 2025. He is scheduled to take his official visit to Fresno Strate on June 13-15.Rated a 3-star prospect by 247 Sports. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1672806' first='Marco' last='Soto Jr.'], Artesia</strong>: One of Artesia's top returning defensive players (64 tackles in 2024) as the Bulldogs aim to win another Class 5A state championship in the fall, Soto won the Class 4A shot put title on Friday with a throw of 52 feet, 2-3/4 inches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='851862' first='Moses' last='Sparks'], Cleveland</strong>: Sparks is a tremendous all-around athlete. Besides being the top O-Lineman in the state and our #1 prospect in the 2026 class with numerous P4 offers, Sparks also plays basketball and track. Friday, he won the Class 5A title in the shot put with a throw of 53-feet, 11-1/4 inches. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Beyond Blessed🙏🏻 <a href="https://t.co/YXHI8alzho">pic.twitter.com/YXHI8alzho</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='853013' first='Tanner' last='Montano'] (@tannermontano7) <a href="https://twitter.com/tannermontano7/status/1923475846289031630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AGTG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AGTG</a> Had a great time at state today! Finished 1st in discus and 3rd in shot! <a href="https://t.co/cueIoyecOq">pic.twitter.com/cueIoyecOq</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='853015' first='Alex' last='Rivera'] (@nmriveraalex) <a href="https://twitter.com/nmriveraalex/status/1923509968533401912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="ht" dir="ltr">NM 4a state champ🚨<br>🥇Open 100m 10.67 (prelim) 10.9 (final)<br>🥇4x100m 41.66 anchor leg (school record)<br>🥉Open 200m 22.5<br>🥇4x400m 3:23sec 50 sec split<a href="https://twitter.com/PrepRedzoneNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepRedzoneNM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmpreps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmpreps</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/thecoachflakes?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@thecoachflakes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a> <a href="https://t.co/0EBTA5gbTV">pic.twitter.com/0EBTA5gbTV</a></p>&mdash; [player_tooltip player_id='1250361' first='Hershul' last='Olloway Jr'] (@Hersh_Olloway2) <a href="https://twitter.com/Hersh_Olloway2/status/1923886816391987426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 17, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Congratulations to [player_tooltip player_id='853023' first='Luke' last='Matherly'] from Centennial HS, winner of the Boys 5A Discus at the 2025 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico NMAA State Track and Field Championships. <a href="https://twitter.com/BCBSNM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BCBSNM</a> <a href="https://t.co/USzacsrWxI">pic.twitter.com/USzacsrWxI</a></p>&mdash; NMAA (@_NMAA) <a href="https://twitter.com/_NMAA/status/1923432063278977088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2025</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html -->