Clovis briefly led midway through Saturday after a third-place finish in the 800 relay, but Highland had just enough to pull off the victory, with a third-place finish in the 1,600 giving the Hornets a four-point margin over Rio Rancho.

“Monday, we told them it was going to go down to the 4-by-400,” Highland co-coach Maria Corina Bonilla said, while co-coach Sean Armstrong said the meet turned out to be a “first to 50” battle for the blue trophy.

Clovis, meanwhile, ended the day stuck at 37, behind La Cueva (47) and Rio Rancho (44).

Point-wise, the relay might not have been enough for a first-place finish, but Clovis coach Darrel Ray thought the Friday night setback may have dampened the Saturday mood and the Lady Wildcats dropped a few places from rankings in other events.

“We couldn’t seem to finish off some events,” Ray said. “The kids knew they were running for something else (other than first).”

Antiesha Brown finished third in the triple jump for Clovis, which had, with Brown and DeWitt over the last five years, claimed three state titles, plus a runnerup finish in 2007.

“We had a lot of highs,” DeWitt said. “Not that this year wasn’t a high. I don’t think a lot of people can say they accomplished what me, Antiesha and Fran (Cabrera) accomplished as seniors.”