Faces and Names To Watch For Next Track Season

We are going to stay in the smaller classes and in the distance events. Sundown's STEVEN QUINTANILLA is also an upcoming junior who has put in some big time work already. Quintanilla is a four sport star at his school. In the fall, he plays football on Fridays and runs cross country on Saturdays and in the spring, he plays baseball and runs track. Last fall, he won his first 2A individual cross country title and led his team to a team championship. In May, he also won the 2A 3200m title. At state, he tried to take down the big dog of 2A in the 800m. Going up against Ben Bolt's MIKEL ESCOBAR, Quintanilla tried to keep Escobar from winning his third straight 800m title. He fell just short of doing so, but he did take second in a new 1:56.94 PR. Right afterwards, he then shot off to meet up with his baseball teammates for a game.

This year was the first time JOHANNA VILLARREAL had to step up and be the leader. Before, she had her all-state teammate BRET LEIGH NANCE. Without Nance, Villarreal showed that she is very capable. In fact, her capabilities are pretty awesome. In the Fall, she was able to medal at the 3A state cross country meet with her eighth place finish. On the track, Villarreal tried to win the triple crown at state. She fell just a little short of that goal, but definitely did not go without trying. She first won the 3200m in a big time PR. She then tried the 800m, where she had another big time PR of 2:15.15. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough for her to win, with her taking fifth place. Showing poise for such a young athlete, Villarreal was able to bounce back and win the 1600m  state title and yes , she once again did it with another PR on the weekend with a 5:09.03. With two years left to win the triple crown and possibly take the cross country title as well, my advice would be not to overlook her ability and chances to do it.