LOS ALAMOS, NM – Los Alamos track and field is no stranger to winning gold on the track. The Hilltoppers boys’ and girls’ teams have won the 4A state track meet the last three years and are looking for their fourth consecutive championships this year.

This success did not happen overnight, according to boys’ head coach Steven Montoya; he started coaching in Los Alamos eight years ago. 

“My first year, we were 13th,” Montoya said. “Not a good feeling at all. I remember the girls were celebrating a second place trophy inside of the stadium, and I was cleaning up camp and taking down tents and I didn’t want to feel that again.”

From there, the culture began to change. 

The winning culture was already instilled with the girls’ team. Head girls coach Ernest Martinez says he learned what it took to win and build those kinds of values when he coached at Taos. 

This year, it’s not only about winning, but about breaking records, whether that’s school records or eventually state records in a few weeks. It’s a record-breaking culture in Los Alamos now.

There are also multiple athletes heading to division-one colleges this year to continue their running careers. Senior sprinter Alexander Pasulka is heading to the United States Military Academy West Point. 

Melaki Gutierrez is committed to the University of New Mexico for track and field, but after the new football coaching staff came in under Bronco Mendenhall, Gutierrez will now be suiting up in more than one sport for the Lobos.

If you’re 800-meter standout ​Anna Wetteland, you’re pursuing a collegiate swim career. Wetteland will be attending UCLA in the fall for the Bruins swim team.

Even though they’re graduating this year, these athletes want to leave behind the winning principles they learned at Los Alamos.

“We definitely want to represent for them and we want them to keep going and just keep it going for us,” Gutierrez said.

“I hope we can inspire the freshman and the underclassmen now because when we were freshman, we looked up to the seniors and they set the tone for us,” Pasulka said.

A part of that culture’s also in good hands with junior sprinter Jaiya Daniels – Daniels won the 2022-23 Gatorade New Mexico Firls Track & Field Player of the Year and says she’s looking forward to her future in the sport of track and field.

“I’m very excited for what’s to come. I feel like I am setting myself up for a great junior season and an even great senior season and beyond that to college athletics or like professional.”

The 4A-5A 2024 State Track and Field Championships start on May 17. The Hilltoppers are looking to claim more team championships and take down some state records too.