If you love any form of running, jumping or throwing, there is virtually no better way to spend your weekend than at the Richard Harper Memorial Track and Field Invitational Meet. Under clear late-April skies, some of the most successful and inspiring athletes from all over our state push each other to the ultimate limit around an Olympic-quality track. Every single event is absolutely enthralling: from the moment of tension prior to the fire of the gun in the 4×100 meter relay all the way down to the final sprint for the win; from the progressively accelerating claps as long jump finalists prepare to hit their personal best to the whoosh of a javelin coasting over 150 feet. With 26 teams and several hundred athletes, the Harper track meet represents the sheer awesomeness that results when incredible athletes seek to attain the absolute maximum in their performance.
The Chargers boys’ and girls’ track teams lived up to everything the Harper Track meet represents, performing well across all events. The boys team placed fourth overall, and second in 4A. One of the key highlights included a school 4×1 record, with Kene Onyia ‘24, Luke Babinski ‘24, Harper Craig ‘24, and Jamal Witter ‘24 blazing it around the track in 42.05 seconds. In the individual sprinting events, Leo McGuire ‘26 took home fourth place overall in the 400-meter dash, and Sam James ‘24 took second place in the 110-meter hurdles. Sam James also placed first in the high jump, while Gage Conway ‘26 took third in the triple. On the distance side, Nicholas Ponte ‘26 kicked it in for a riveting 3200-meter finish to pick up second place; Kene Onyia, Harper Craig, Jamal Witter, and Elliot Hickey ‘26 also set a season best for the team in the medley relay and finished third overall. All of these successes are helping the boys’ track team make significant strides to try and beat the formidable Los Alamos team at the New Mexico Track and Field Championships.
Longtime Track and Field head coach Adam Kedge offered his perspective on the meet: “The Harper Meet brings together the best of the best from all classifications around the state.” Coach Kedge furthered that “like many years, the 4A powers of Academy and Los Alamos fared well against our larger 5A competition. Hats-off to the LA Hilltoppers who earned their first every Harper meet victory on the boys side and repeated on the girls.” Looking towards upcoming races, he added that “going into mid-May’s state meet, [Los Alamos] will be considered the heavy favorites – and we Chargers will be playing the underdog role.”
The girls team also rocked it, with some outstanding performances despite the fierce competition. Grace Erinle ‘27 took fourth overall in the 100-meter dash, fourth place in the long jump, and second place overall in the 200-meter dash. The distance team continued their usual streak of domination, with Anna Hastings ‘26 and Addison Julian ‘26 finishing second and third in the mile as well as second and fourth in the 3200. The girls 4×100 and 4×200 teams also took second in their highly competitive races, with an incredible chase in the second half of each race. Outside of the running events, Isabella Romero ‘25 and Evie Soule ‘26 swept the triple jump finals, both jumping over 34 feet to take second and third place. The girls’ team finished second overall – much closer to Los Alamos than the boys team! They’ll most certainly continue their streak of form into the most intense stages of the season.
The Harper meet was fantastic, but it’s not the end of the season yet! If you can, come and support the track and field teams at the State Championships on May 17 and 18. You’ll be able to see more school records being smashed, and, even better, some gold medals and blue state championship trophies as well.