THE NEW MEXICO HIGH SCHOOL INDIVIDUAL RECORD THAT MIGHT NEVER BE BROKEN

Records are meant to be broken.  There’s always someone bigger, stronger and faster that comes along to rewrite history.  There are some marks in the New Mexico High School record books that are impressive; 72 straight wins by the Animas High School football team from 1985-1990, the 70 consecutive wins by the La Cueva baseball team from 2002-2005, George Maes’ 81 points for Santa Cruz in 1964 (one point better than Nick Pino’s 80 the year prior).

But there is one individual mark that jumps off the page when you see that no one else comes close to it.

Girls Track and Field

Discus

162’0” Carla Garret, Santa Fe high School 1983

“Like any record, it’s meant to be broken, but like any record holder, you hope it doesn’t get broken,” Garret said.

The next closest mark in the record books is 136’11” by Jessica Ford in 2003.  That’s 23 feet BEHIND Garret’s mark! “If you look at high school throwers now, those numbers are still competitive,” she added.  “It will be difficult for someone from New Mexico to break those.”

Garret also holds the state record in the shot put with a throw of 50’1/4” in 1984.  Los Alamos standout Chase Ealey is the next closest competitor with a toss of 47’3” from 2012.

Garrett was first introduced to track and field by accident.  “I was playing basketball, my #1 sport, and the track coach at my junior high school walked through the gym and asked me if I’d ever thrown before,” recalled Garrett.  “I had no idea what she meant and I said ‘yeah’. I thought she meant throw a ball. She meant a discus and shot. I wasn’t really interested, but a couple of my friends were going to do track so I decided to go out for track.  I started to win and it was like ‘wow ok, let me keep doing this if I keep winning.’

Garrett’s record mark in the discus isn’t even her most memorable moment as a high school track star. “It was probably winning the state championship in a medley relay team my junior year in 1983,” she said. “I won seven state titles, but the relay meant the most. I will always talk about that one.  They thought nobody of my size could run and proving them wrong was spectacular!  I could always run, but to showcase that in the state meet meant a lot.  I also ran the 100m race my senior year in high school. I made the finals, but I was last.”

Last is not something generally associated with Carla Garrett’s stellar career.  The only possibility is that this record is the last one to be broken in New Mexico.