Lady Lynx reset school record in 4×200 relay race with state title win

ALBUQUERQUE

The Rehoboth Christian girls set a new school record in the finals of the 4×200 relay race on Saturday at the New Mexico Class 2A State Track & Field Championships.

The team of junior Lily Cavanaugh, freshman Aaliyah Sanchez, sophomore Ellen Zwiers and senior Katie Gourette completed the two-lap race in 1:48.76 at the UNM Track-Soccer Complex in Albuquerque.

“It means we get our names put on wall at school, and I’m the first in my family to do so,” said Cavanaugh, who ran the first leg of the race.

When asked about her start, Cavanaugh said she timed it perfectly. As for the baton exchange, it needed a little more work.

“The exchange could have been better, but it could have been worse,” she said. “And it wasn’t worse.”

Sanchez, who ran the second leg, said nerves played a part in their baton exchange.

“It was a little rough, but I think we did a lot better than (Friday),” Sanchez said.

Zwiers also felt that tension as Rehoboth came into the finals seeded second behind Tucumcari.

“Coming into the whole meet we were seeded first and after prelims we were second,” Zwiers said. “Tucumcari ran a quick time (on Friday), so that was a little bit scary for us. But I think we really managed to work together as a team and overcome that.”

“Even if we didn’t win, we were still going to be OK,” she added. “We’re still gonna be a team and we just had fun with it. We were able to run relaxed and I think that really helped us push ourselves even harder.”

In the final exchange, Garoutte used her spectacular speed to overcome Tucumcari junior Cambree Benavidez as the Lady Rattlers came in a close second at 1:49.49, which was a difference of 0.73 seconds.

“Right when I got the baton, I was like, OK, they’re right there,” Garoutte said of her competition. “I just got to catch them, and I just wanted to beat the school record and do my best for my team.”

The Rehoboth speedster said setting the school record is an “amazing” feeling and she thanked her teammates for being part of the ride.

“I love my team and having the school records means a lot to me and the school,” she said.

The team of Sanchez, Zwiers, Garoutte and sophomore Deiyanera Franklin added a third-place finish in the 4×400 with a time of 4:23.56 in the final track event of the two-day meet.

In the open events, Garoutte placed second in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as she finished behind state champion Taliyah Martinez in both races.

In the 100, Martinez established a new state record at 12.18 while Garoutte turned in a 12.47 effort. In the 200, Martinez edged the Rehoboth senior at the finish line with the two sprinters turning times of 25.53 and 25.58, respectively.

“Taliyah (Martinez) was fast,” Garoutte said. “She’s amazing, she’s beautiful and she’s fast. I’m really proud of her for that because she’s senior. I was kind of down on myself, but you know I made it to the finals at state, and that’s all that matters.”

Besides Garoutte, Zwiers gathered a few more medals which included a state championship win in the high jump at 5-03. She also placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles at 50.52 seconds and sixth in the 100-meter hurdles at 17.67.

In the distance race, senior Marvah Toddy placed sixth in the 1600 with a time of 5:56.94.

“I felt like I went out pretty good, and I was holding it pretty well, but the last 200 gets to me,” Toddy said. “I don’t have a kick.”

In that final stretch, Jemez Valley Trista Chavez edged the Rehoboth runner at 5:56.33.

With those top finishes, the Lady Lynx placed fourth in the team standings with 31 points. Legacy Academy won the state title with 74 points followed by Texico (60), Capitan (39) and Rehoboth.

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