LA’s Tagoya Pedro defends triple crown

ALBUQUERQUE – Laguna Acoma sophomore Tagoya Pedro repeated as the Class 2A triple crown winner of middle-distance events.

The LA distance runner defended his state crowns in the 800, 1600 and 3200 at the two-day state meet held last week at the UNM Track & Field and Soccer Complex in Albuquerque.

“Oh man, this means a lot,” Pedro said of his rare achievement. “I’m so proud and excited to win all three running events. It’s a true blessing and an honor to do that twice in a row, especially with all the good competition that I saw. You know, these boys in 2A are really quick.”

Of the three races, Pedro had to work extra hard to win the 800 on Saturday as he was boxed in early in the race.

In that first turn of the two-lap race, Pedro trailed the entire field, which had a total of 12 entries in the state final.

“I was kind of surprised that everyone took off,” Pedro said. “You know, it’s a fast race, but I didn’t think they were going to go out that fast.”

One by one, Pedro picked off each runner. In the final 400 yards, he still trailed one runner, Pecos sophomore Brandyn Encinias.

“I actually had confidence in myself,” Pedro said when asked if he had any doubt that he would win the state title. “Once I got around those guys, I had to catch up with Bradyn. He started to push the pace even more so I was like, ‘I need to go now.’ He was running fast coming into that 400.”

At that point, the LA runner trailed Encinias by at least 40 meters. Still, Pedro trusted his training and in the last 50 meters he gave one final outburst to edge the Pecos runner at the finish line.

Pedro was timed at 1:58.50 while Encinias took second at 1:59.82.

“This feels so good,” Pedro said of his win. “I mean, Bradyn made me work for it. I’m so happy that he went out hard. He was determined to get that No. 1 spot and he really wanted it.”

With that pace, Pedro was finally able to break the sub-two minute mark as he lowered his personal best by nearly two seconds. His seed time going into the state meet was 2:00.50.

Pedro also bettered his time in the 3200 by 1.03 seconds late Saturday as the state meet was delayed for nearly four hours because of lightning in the Albuquerque area.

In the two-mile event, Pedro led from start to finish and easily won the eight-lap race in 10:11.18 Second-place finisher Ezequiel Nevarez of Mesa Vista clocked nearly 25 seconds behind at 10:34.74.

“I tried pushing the pace, and that pace hurt,” Pedro said. “I was trying to go for a sub-10 today, but I didn’t quite get it. I’m still happy, though, because I set a new PR.”

On Friday Pedro won the 1600 under gusty winds that topped out at 40 mph during the one-mile race.

“The wind was a big factor in the race,” Pedro said. “It kind of held everyone back. It wasn’t the time I wanted, but the placement was what I was hoping for.”

Pedro trailed Encinias and Penasco’s Jeremiah Martinez for the first few laps before making his move in the final 400 meters.

“I wanted to stay behind the pacers,” the LA runner said. “I wanted to feel out the pace and I wanted to see what they were going to do the first two laps.

“I was just going with the flow,” he added.

In that final lap, Encinias tried to stay with Pedro, but he outkicked the Pecos runner, winning the race in 4:49.35. Encinias, meanwhile, was clocked in at 4:53.50.

“The kick that I have is very helpful,” Pedro said. “I’ve been able to blow out runners in front of me and behind me. But like I said, that 400 kick can be really painful.”

Laguna Acoma finished sixth in the team standings with 35 points. Pedro accounted for 21 of the team’s points.

The Hawks also received second- and third-place finishes from juniors Derek Victorino and Sheldon Cheromiah, respectively.

Victorino took state runner-up honors in the javelin with a throw of 157 feet, 6 inches, which is a new personal best. Before the state meet, his previous best had been 152-06.

In the triple jump Cheromiah landed in the sandy pit with a leap of 40-02.25 in his final attempt.

“I made the finals, so all I had was three jumps left,” Cheromiah said. “My first two jumps weren’t good, so I had to make my final one count.”

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