‘I’ll get on that podium’

Navajo Prep’s Larvingo wins 100, 300 hurdles at state meet

ALBUQUERQUE

Martinique Larvingo woke up last Friday feeling like a winner.

The Navajo Preparatory School junior finished a day of prelims at the 2017 NMAA State Track and Field Championships and was ready for championship Saturday.

“Today, when I woke up, I was like, ‘Today is two gold medals and hopefully I’ll get on that podium for triple (jump),’” Larvingo remembers thinking to herself. “It was just that mindset of waking up knowing that I can win, I have the fastest times right now, and just wanting to represent my school and San Juan County.”

She entered the finals in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with the fastest times, the No. 1 seed, and an intuition that was spot on.

After finishing first in the 100 with a time of 16.24 and in the 300 in 47.28 last Saturday, Larvingo was a state champion. She also placed sixth in the triple jump.

“It feels great,” she said. “I feel amazing to know that even though it’s our first year in 4A, to win both titles for both hurdles, it means a lot.”

Larvingo was no stranger to earning top seeds. Last season, when Navajo Prep was in Class 3A, she was the No. 1 seed in her main events: long jump, triple jump and 100- and 300-hurdles.

Working strictly off her talent, Larvingo finished two places short of three state titles.

Last season she finished third in the triple jump and the 100 and 300 hurdles and coming into her junior year, she wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again.

“It wasn’t what I expected and I thought I could go a little faster and win last year, but coming back into this year I learned that there were specific techniques that I hadn’t mastered yet,” Larvingo said. “Last summer I worked really hard on perfecting my clearance over the hurdles, my block starts, and it really showed today getting two state titles in both hurdles.”

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