SHIPPENSBURG — Alondra Montijo-Ortiz waited near the finish line, wiped away tears and watched the race she once hoped to win.
It was painful. It was probably the last place in the world she wanted to be. She stood there anyway to support her friend.
Mae Linder took off out of the blocks and sprinted to an eighth-place finish in the Class 3A 100 meters. Montijo-Ortiz greeted Linder after it was over.
One Conestoga Valley senior’s greatest individual track and field achievement collided with another’s most devastating moment. They got through it together.
“I ran it for her,” Linder said. “She should have been out there winning it. But things happen. It was kind of sad and I didn’t feel like celebrating.”
Conestoga Valley's 1,600 relay team, Alondra Montijo-Ortiz, Mae Linder, Isabella Johnson and Nyeoni Johnson, far right. Tia Logan, a medalist in the 300 hurdles, is second from right.
The District Three championships at Seth Grove Stadium are always filled with triumph and heartbreak. Rarely is it as poignant as it was for these best friends.
Montijo-Ortiz ran the fastest 100 in Lancaster-Lebanon League history one month ago. Her time of 11.89 made her the top qualifier in the district field. This meet was the culmination of four seasons of hard work.
The senior doesn’t know exactly what went wrong during prelims. How she false started when she never had before. The mind and body don’t always agree.
“It wasn’t really me saying I was gonna go,” Montijo-Ortiz said. “It was the adrenaline. I couldn’t control it.”
Linder was in the lane next to her friend. She watched the disqualification and watched Montijo-Ortiz make that solemn walk off the track. Then Linder pulled herself together and won the heat.
An athlete who didn’t medal at the L-L championships was one of the final eight at districts. The L-L champion was not. The world was upside down for both of them.
One day later, Montijo-Ortiz sat on the infield for 30 minutes and waited patiently for the medal presentation. She wanted to take a picture of Linder on the stand.
“She put her own desires and worries on the backburner and was cheering for her teammates,” Linder said. “She’s always been good at that. It means a lot.”
The competition wasn’t over. There were still races to be won.
CV took second in the 400 relay. Linder ran first, Montijo-Ortiz ran last and the two teamed up with Brooke Denlinger and Jess Koenig to place second. It was a momentary silver lining.
Linder playfully called the relays Montijo-Ortiz’s revenge tour. The final stop on that tour was the best.
The 1,600 relay was the last chance for CV’s girls to grab gold. This time Montijo-Ortiz and Linder were the middle two legs. One passed the baton to the other. Isabella Johnson built a lead and Nyeoni Johnson brought it home.
CV held off Northern York by 0.41 seconds for first place. Montijo-Ortiz and Linder hugged near the same finish line where their adventure began.
Montijo-Ortiz summed up her emotions with five words that didn’t seem possible a few hours earlier.
“This,” she said with a smile, “is a good day.”
“I care about the 4x4 the most because I get to run it with teammates that I spend every day with,” she added. “The 100, even if I got first or second, would just be another race.”
The last two girls to step onto the medal stand last weekend were CV’s sprinters. Montijo-Ortiz and Linder climbed to the top and raised their arms into the air. This was a feeling both could celebrate.
Back in April, when Montijo-Ortiz broke the school record at the Black Knight Invitational, Linder was overjoyed by the result. She immediately posted a picture on Instagram so everyone would know.
“I’m her biggest cheerleader,” Linder said. “She’s my biggest cheerleader.”
They’re lucky to have each other.
Conestoga Valley's Alondra Montijo-Ortiz hugs teammate Mae Linder after finishing first in the 100 at the Black Knight Invitational.
