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| Happy with our selections? Feel that we overlooked a deserving candidate? Or that we chose poorly in a sport? Whatever your feelings are about the section, we would like to know what you think. So, step right up and tell us your feelings and give us your candidates for the 2008-09 school year. |
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| KATE NORSKOG BIG SCHOOL Cross Country The sophomore standout claimed her second individual state title in the past three seasons with her victory in Class AAA. Norskog covered the 3-mile course in Rio Rancho in 18 minutes, 8.65 seconds. It was the second-fastest time of the championships, trailing only the 17:55.10 clocked by Clara Milne of Albuquerque Academy, the AAAA champion. Norskog won her first state title as an eighth-grader. In three seasons of cross country and track, Norskog owns eight individual state titles. |
KYLE PITTMAN |
EMMA HAMILTON SMALL SCHOOL Cross Country Hamilton came within 19.95 seconds of the individual state championship in Class A-AA. Her average of 6:14 per mile was bettered by only one girl, Caroline Kaufman of East Mountain. Kaufman ran 6:07 per mile en route to her winning time of 18:59.00. Hamilton, the school's female athlete of the year, also paced the Blue Griffins to the state runner-up trophy behind Navajo Pine. Hamilton won three races — District 2A-AA, Zuni Invitational, Meadow City Invitational — and her worst place was seventh. She had eight top-five finishes and broke 20 minutes on six occasions. |
MARIO ARMIJO SMALL SCHOOL Cross Country The 2007 individual state champion in Class A-AA paced his team to the second-place trophy with a state runner-up finish. Armijo won his lone cross country title with a time of 16:34.70, in his junior season. He covered the same course in 16:10.65 as a senior, trailing only Troy Madalena of Jemez Valley, who crossed in 16:05.35. With Armijo as team pacesetter, the Panthers finished second in the past two years. |
GARETH GILNA BIG SCHOOL Track Gilna struck the trifecta, sweeping the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters in Class AAAA. Gilna started with a state-meet record in the 1,600, clocking 4:12.60 to break the mark of 4:16.12 set in 2007 by Albuquerque Academy's Ben Johnson. On the second day, he followed with a victory in the 800 and less than four hours later, won the 3,200. Gilna, a senior, is only the second boy in AAAA to sweep the distances in the same season. Antonio Lopez, of Albuquerque St. Pius X, was the first in 1999. |
ESTEVAN VIGIL BIG SCHOOL Track Vigil carried the Cardinals into contention in Class AAA, as he scored 24 of his 31 points during the final day of the state track and field championships. It lifted the Cardinals to a third-place finish. He began the day with a winning 11.33 time in the 100 meters, then had two seconds in the 400 (49.72) and javelin (159-10) before capping it with a win in the 200 in 21.93. His individual high-point total was second only to Albuquerque Academy's Curtis Beach, who scored a perfect 35. |
KIM BABICKE BIG SCHOOL Track Just about everything Babicke touched turned to gold in Class AAA. The sophomore sprinter won the 200 and long jump, and anchored the 400 relay to victory. She also showed strength as well as speed, anchoring the 1,600 relay to another victory. The one race she didn't win was the 100. She finished second by .04 of a second to Krista Armstead of Albuquerque Sandia Prep. There was an even bigger victory for Babicke — the high-point individual. Pojoaque Valley won the school's first state track title for girls. |
MARIO ARMIJO BIG SCHOOL Track Some distance runners are only good on the trails. Others only succeed on the track. Armijo proved to be cut from state-championship cloth on both. The 2007 state champion in cross country as a junior ended his high school career as state champion in the Class AA 3,200. Armijo covered the eight laps in 10:10.07 and was nearly 30 seconds ahead of his nearest competition. The following day, Armijo ran second in the 1,600 in 4:43.83. |
YESHEMABET TURNER SMALL SCHOOL Track The sophomore was sensational in the triple jump, breaking the Class AA state-meet record with a personal-best 36-81/4. It broke the year-old mark of 34-81/2, set by Traci Lopez of Santa Fe Preparatory. Turner added a second state title in the long jump, not with her 17-11/4 effort, but with her second jump of 17-1. Turner and Tawsha Brazley of Bosque School both jumped 17-11/4. The deadlock was broken on the second-farthest jump. Turner collected a two fourth-place medals for the 100 and 400 relay. |
MANEESHA CHITANVIS Soccer It was a season of firsts for the senior forward, who was voted first-team All-State, first-team All-District 2AAAA and finished first in Class AAAA in scoring with 78 points on 29 goals and 20 assists. Chitanvis also was named player of the year in her class and in her district. Chitanvis' 29 goals were the third-most in the state, regardless of classification, and her 78 points trailed only the 103-point total produced by Aimee Vasquez of Ruidoso in A-AAA. There was one first that eluded Chitanvis — the state championship. Albuquerque Academy nipped Los Alamos 1-0 in the title match. |
GRANT DUKE Soccer The offensive-minded midfielder finished fifth in Class A-AAA in scoring as a senior. His 64 points were the results of 26 goals and 12 assists for the district champions. Duke was a two-time, first-team All-State selection and also earned first-team All-District honors as a junior and senior. Duke was co-player of the year in District 2A-AAA this past season, sharing the honor with Santa Fe Preparatory's PaaWee Lee Rivera. |
JAKE MATTHEWS Tennis 34-2. That was Matthews' win-loss record in singles. 5. That's the number of sets he lost this season. 6-3, 6-2. That was the score from his final high school match, which he won over Kevin Keiner of Las Vegas Robertson. That match just happened to be for the Class A-AAA state championship. 20. That is Matthews' singles ranking in the Southwest region of the United States Tennis Association in the 18-and-under division. Matthews did not drop a set en route to his first individual title and the school's first singles champion since Steve Crout in 1982. |
MIRANDA GARCIA Tennis In her first state excursion as a singles player, the sophomore finished third in the Class A-AAA tournament. Garcia, the District 2A-AAA champion, defeated Paloma Gomez of St. Michael's, 7-6, 6-2 for third place. The district title was one of two tournaments she won. Garcia also captured the Carlsbad Invitational. She finished with a 23-5 singles record. Prior to going singles, Garcia was a two-time district champion in doubles. |
PARKER ASHTON Golf Ashton led the Horsemen to the school's first boys team title. His 75 scoring average for the year was the team low, as well as the 70 he posted en route to individual honors at the Albuquerque Eldorado Invitational. It was one of two titles the junior won. He also captured the St. Michael's Fall Classic after shooting a 74 and defeating teammate Miguel Macias in a playoff. At state, Ashton fired a 74 and 78, and finished third overall, four shots behind state medalist Johnny Duncan of Ruidoso. St. Michael's won the championship by five strokes over Lovington. |
JAMIE PALERMO Golf Jamie Palermo joined the Mount Rushmore of St. Michael's state golf champions with the individual title in Class A-AAA. Palermo, a junior, posted back-to-back rounds of 83 en route to a two-stroke victory over Erin Whitehead of Hot Springs. Socorro's Haley Raymond, who shared the first-round lead with Palermo, finished third at 169. As for the other St. Michael's state champions, the first was Alyssa Otero, who wore the crown in 2001 and 2003, and Jonelle Martinez, won captured the title in 2006. |
DANIELLA MONTOYA
BIG SCHOOL Voilleyball In the sure hands of this junior, the Lady Cardinals have played for the last two state championships in Class AAA. Montoya, a starter since she her eighth-grade season, finished with 1,000 assists this past season, which averages out to 38.4 per match. She also served at 94 percent, with 30 aces, produced 251 digs and recorded 52 blocks. She also found time for 104 kills, en route to earning first-team All-State honors. Oh yeah, she did all of this with only one good shoulder. |
KAITLIN VIGIL SMALL SCHOOL Voilleyball If the Lady Bobcats needed something, it was Vigil who usually got it for them. The two-year starter and senior filled just about every role for McCurdy. She averaged more than 40 assists per game as a setter, but also registered six kills per game on the frontline. She was recognized as a first-team All-District 3AA performer and was an honorable mention selection to the Class AA All-State team |
ALEX KIRK BIG SCHOOL Basketball The 6-foot-11 Hilltoppers junior, who is rated among the best high-school prospects in the nation, showed he was far and away one of the best players in the state, regardless of class. Kirk averaged 27.6 points and 14.3 rebounds per game, and added 6.7 blocks a contest, to boot. He had a career-high 40 points against Rio Rancho in the semifinals of Albuquerque Academy's Joe Armijo Classic on Dec. 13. In the Class AAAA quarterfinals, Kirk poured in 39 points and 15 rebounds in a 69-58 loss to Artesia on March 11. |
FRANKIE GIRON SMALL SCHOOL Basketball The 5-foot-5 senior point guard was instrumental in leading the Trojans to a 25-5 record and a berth into the semifinals of the Class AA State Tournament. With Giron at the helm, Mesa Vista won three titles — the Grizzly Shootout, Northern Rio Grande and District 3AA Tournament. Giron's final stat line was: 18.1 points per game, 7.3 assists, 7.0 rebounds and 3.1 steals. A four-year starter, Giron was named first-team All-State and will represent the North in the annual Class A-AA North-South All-Star Classic. |
JACKIE BARTLESON BIG SCHOOL Basketball The 6-foot-2 senior provided an inside presence — offensively and defensively — in her one and only season with the Elkettes, who finished 31-0 and won their second straight Class AAA state championship. She led the Elkettes with a 15.5 point-per-game average, and grabbed 8.7 rebounds a contest. Bartleson started her high school career at St. Michael's, transferred to Santa Fe High and arrived in "The Valley" in the Spring of 2008. Bartleson will represent the North in the Class AAA North-South All-Star Classic. |
CORINE GARCIA SMALL SCHOOL Basketball The 5-foot-3 point guard left no boxes empty on the nightly stat line. Garcia averaged 23.5 points per game. She also grabbed seven rebounds. She averaged 4.2 steals and 2.1 assists. Garcia, a senior, also helped the Lady Wildcats set a school record with 22 wins and the District 2A championship this past season. In her four seasons as a starter, Desert Academy won 71 games, while losing 34. Garcia also was a four-year starter in volleyball and ran track as a freshman, sophomore and junior. Garcia was a North selection for the Class A-AA North-South All-Star Classic. |
MIKEY PADILLA Baseball How does it feel to be a virtual lock to get on base every time you step to the plate? Ask Padilla. He hit .562 and walked 19 times for a .643 on-base percentage. But the Horsemen's senior catcher did much more than that. He led the team with seven home runs and drove in 44 runs. On a team that struggled early in the season with fielding, Padilla recorded one error behind the plate and two in all. |
EMILY SCHUTZ Softball The senior standout was 18-4 with a 1.25 earned run average. She finished with 112 strikeouts and walked just 14 batters. Schutz was a two-time, first-team All-State selection and a three-time, first-team All-District 2A-AAA pick. Schutz was chosen to represent the North in the North-South All-Star Classic in June. Schutz also finished with 60 career victories, which ties her for the second-most career wins in the state, regardless of classification. Gabby Parra of Albuquerque West Mesa is the state leader with 65. Albuquerque Cibola's Lindsay Jones also finished with 60 wins. |
VICTORIA MAQUEDA Swimming Maqueda wasn't the top seed in the 100 breast stroke entering state. And she wasn't the top seed entering the finals. But in the final 50, the Hilltoppers junior overtook the early leader, Tess Lemon of Albuquerque Academy, to win her first individual state championship. Maqueda stood fourth after the state preliminaries but sliced three seconds off her prelim time in the final to overtake Lemon by .42 of a second. Maqueda also was a part of two relays that finished top six. |
COLTON LAKE Swimming The senior capped his high school career with a pair of thirds at the state meet. He was third in the 100 backstroke and swam the lead-off leg on the 200 freestyle relay, which also placed third. He added an eighth in the 50 free, a race that separated first and eighth by .80 of a second. His final race ended victoriously, as the Hilltoppers captured the consolation finals of the 400 free relay. Lake, again, provided the lead-off leg. As a team, the Hilltoppers finished third. |
DANIEL MARTINEZ Wrestling Martinez continued the family's state-championship tradition, winning his third straight state title. Martinez finished his sophomore season 49-3 after decisioning Doug Pacheco-Myers of St. Michael's, 7-4 in the 152-pound state final. Martinez's three-year record is 137-17 and he is one title shy of his older brothers Adam and Jake, who each won four state championships. The Cardinals are coached by Richard Martinez, whom Daniel, Adam and Jake call Dad. Robertson won its third successive team title and owns eight of the last 11. |
ANTHONY RATLIFF BIG SCHOOL Football Halftimes were the only plays this versatile senior took off. On offense, Ratliff, who split duty between running back and wide receiver, amassed 1,563 combined rushing and receiving yards in nine games. He also found the end zone 20 times, threw two touchdown passes and converted eight extra points. Defensively, the 5-foot-8, 160-pound Ratliff started at linebacker. But in obvious passing situations, he dropped into coverage as a nickel back. Ratliff earned first-team All-District 2AAAAA honors at running back. |
KEVIN REDMAN SMALL SCHOOL Football The Bobcats senior wide receiver prospered in the team's conversion to the spread offense. Redman had 52 catches for 845 yards and rushed for another 273 yards as he earned second-team Class A All-State honors. He also scored 21 touchdowns on offense (17 receiving, four rushing). On the defensive side, Redman had 57 tackles and five interceptions — three of which were returned for touchdowns. That was enough to secure a first-team All-State selection. |
Star Struck: Top 10 Moments-of the 2008-09 sports year
10. WIN DENIAL
NOV. 15, 2008
Those runner-up volleyball trophies are piling up at Las Vegas Robertson High School.
»Story
Reaching the Summit - Estevan Vigil
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — Estevan Vigil isn't familiar with the history of Hermit's Peak, but he's knows its face almost as if it's his own.
What the Las Vegas Robertson High School junior doesn't know, the next couple of paragraphs will enlighten him on the genesis of one of his favorite places.
Hermit's Peak, which is on the southeastern edges of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, formed about 27 million years ago, but its name is only about 150 years old.
»Story
Redefining an Athlete - Dionna Montoya
suc-cess n 1: outcome, result 2 a: degree or measure of succeeding b: favorable or desired outcome; also: the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence 3: one that succeeds
Merriam-Webster's
suc-cess n 1: work you put into what you're trying to succeed in 2: practices 3: what you want out of something 4: how determined you are 5: how hard you want to work
»Story
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Get your copy of North StarsThe 2009 edition of North Stars is included in the June 6, 2009, issue of The Santa Fe New Mexican. |
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