Advertisement
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||
| Allen Pittman BIG SCHOOL Cross Country Four other runners finished ahead of Pittman at the Class AAAA state meet. No worries. The Los Alamos senior still celebrated a championship, as the Hilltoppers upset Albuquerque Academy, which entered state as the top-ranked team in the country, according to DyeStat, the main criteria used by Nike for determining the nation’s elite runners. The Chargers also had won eight of the previous nine state titles, including the last three. Los Alamos, though, placed five runners in the top 10 to usurp the Chargers, 34-40. Pittman also paced the Hilltoppers to a runner-up finish at Nike Team Nationals, the only true national high school championship. |
Amanda Rabe |
Cayla Sanderson Golf Sanderson carded the lowest average on the Los Alamos team, which finished fourth at the Class AAAA state tournament, just eight strokes shy of a trophy. Individually, the senior captain shared eighth place at state after rounds of 94 and 88 at The University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course in Albuquerque. Sanderson’s best in-season finish was third. She also was known for her constant encouragement toward her teammates and her ever-present smile and positive attitude. |
Collin Pratt Golf A final-round 70 preceded a three-hole playoff victory for Desert Academy’s Pratt, the Class A-AAA state champion. Pratt, a sophomore, became the first Wildcat not wearing a track uniform to claim a state title at the private school. His final-round 70 was the only round under par in the two-day A-AAA tournament held on the New Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces. Pratt finished his two rounds in 148, as did Mark Woods of Lovington. |
Colton Lake Swimming Lake, a Los Alamos junior, showed a preview of coming attractions with a fourth in the 100 backstroke, the highest individual finish by a Hilltopper. He also collected a sixth in the 200 freestyle relay, a seventh in the 200 medley relay and was 15th in the 50 freestyle. His efforts helped the Hilltoppers share seventh in the team standings. |
Dustin Moulder small SCHOOL Football Moulder, a senior quarterback/running back at New Mexico School for the Deaf, was responsible for 50 touchdowns for the Roadrunners, who reached the championship of the six-man state playoffs. He rushed for 865 yards and 18 touchdowns and completed 56-of-120 passes for 1,287 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also caught two passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns, and scored four touchdowns on returns. He worked both sides of the ball. As a defensive back, he was in on 95 tackles and had six interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown. He forced four fumbles and recovered seven fumbles. |
Ellen Cruz BIG SCHOOL Basketball The Peñasco transfer’s impact at Pojoaque Valley was immediate, as the Elkettes won their second state championship in school history, upsetting top-seed St. Michael’s 46-39 in the Class AAA title game. Cruz, a 5-foot-8 junior point guard, averaged 14.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game for the third-seeded Elkettes (26-5). It was the second straight title game for Cruz, who in 2006 helped lead Peñasco to the final against Texico in Class AA. |
Emilio Garcia Tennis Garcia, a two-time state champion in doubles at Las Vegas Robertson, finished his sterling career as the Class A-AAA state runner-up in singles. Garcia was 21-7 playing No. 1 singles for the Cardinals. He was District 2A-AAA singles champion, just the latest jewel to a crown that includes the doubles titles with Roman Fulgenzi as a freshman and Placido Gomez as a sophomore. He was state runner-up in doubles as a junior. Garcia also contributed to a pair of team championships. |
Emily Schutz Softball The Lady Horsemen rode the right arm of their junior standout to their second state runner-up finish in the past three seasons. Schutz threw 255 pitches Saturday, the day sixth-seeded St. Michael’s defeated four higher seeds, including taking the first game off top-seeded Bloomfield, the eventual champion, in the double-elimination tournament. For the year, Schutz was 16-7, with 124 strikeouts. Her earned run average was 1.93. At the plate, Schutz hit .344 with four doubles and one grand slam home run. She plated 19 runs and had a slugging percentage of .459. |
Emma Hamilton Small school Cross country Hamilton, a junior at Santa Fe Preparatory, won three individual races, including the District 2A-AA championship, had eight top-five finishes and did not place outside the top 10 during her breakout season, which included 10 meets. At state, Hamilton followed teammate Shawna Winnegar across the finish line, running fourth by less than 10 seconds to the then-defending state champion. As a team, Santa Fe Prep finished second, its best state showing in school history. |
Gerard Matthews Wrestling Matthews capped a 37-2 season at Capital with his first state championship, winning the 171-pound title in Class AAAA. Matthews, a senior, defeated Fabian Romero of Roswell High 13-3 in his opening match and eliminated Mike Hathcock of Aztec 5-0 in his semifinal. In the final, he outlasted his friend, Don Medina of Española Valley, 3-2. Matthews untied a 2-2 knot with an early escape in the third — and final — round of the championship match. Matthews, 36-4 as a junior, will wrestle at New Mexico Highlands University next season. |
Heather Chacon SMALL SCHOOL Volleyball The Lady Leopards looked up to their 4-11 senior setter in one of the school’s most-successful seasons in kneepads. With Chacon dictating the offense, Coronado won the To’Hajiilee Invitational early in the season and the District 2AA Tournament Championship late. The Lady Leopards, who were undefeated in district play, also finished second at the Sandia Prep Invitational and was a quarterfinalist at the Class AA state tournament before losing to Estancia. |
Herbie Romero Baseball Behind the pitching and hitting of Romero, Santa Fe High qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 1977. The Demons defeated Albuquerque Rio Grande in the best two-of-three first round before falling to eventual Class AAAAA state champion Albuquerque La Cueva in a quarterfinal. On the mound, Romero, a left-hander, finished 8-1 with 67 strikeouts in 572/3 innings. At the plate, he batted .589 with a team-high nine home runs, 16 doubles, two triples and 42 RBIs. |
Jaymie Roybal BIG SCHOOL Volleyball Roybal and setting go hand-in-hand. It’s the same for Roybal and winning. In three seasons as the starting setter for Pojoaque Valley, Roybal lost a total of 10 matches. Roybal averaged 32.6 assists per match as a senior. Pojoaque Valley finished 19-4, losing in five games to eventual champion Portales in a semifinal of the Class AAA State Tournament. Roybal and the Elkettes were the 2006 state champions. As a sophomore, Pojoaque Valley finished second in the state to Portales. The 5-foot-3 Roybal, first-team All-District, second-team All-State, will represent the North in the North-South game in July. |
Jenna Kim and Grace Kim Tennis Mistaken for twins, Jenna is left-handed and a senior at Los Alamos. Grace is right-handed and a junior. In doubles, they finished third in the Class AAAA state individual tournament, capping a 13-4 season with a revenge victory over Taos. In the team tournament the previous week, each won a pivotal match that secured the team title for Los Alamos. Jenna was 12-6 at No. 1 singles this season, lettered five seasons and was part of three championships. Grace was 13-4 at No. 2 singles, lettered four times and contributed to two titles. |
Jordan Miller Soccer Miller turned the state record book into her personal scrapbook during her senior season at St. Michael’s. She set the mark for most goals in a season at 60. She also put her name atop the career list for goals with 173 and assists with 105. All three records are tops in the state, regardless of gender. Miller, first team All-District and first team All-State, was named Class A-AAA Player of the Year for the second straight season. As a senior, Miller added 29 assists to her 60 goals for 149 points, most among all classifications. More important, Miller led St. Michael’s to a 23-1 record and the state championship. |
Jordan Miller Big school Track and field Miller, a St. Michael’s senior, parlayed two state championships in the 100 and 300 hurdles, and two runner-up finishes in the 100 dash and 800 relay into her second straight high-point individual honor in Class AAA. Miller got a late start in track because the Lady Horsemen reached the championship game at the state basketball tournament. She was .06 of a second away from a victory in the 100 and 2 inches shy of the title in the long jump. In the 800 relay, Miller brought the Lady Horsemen from fourth to second on her anchor leg. |
Kara Leasure Swimming In her final high school meet for Los Alamos, Leasure won her first individual state championship. Leasure, a senior, entered the pool for the finals of the 200-meter individual medley as the third seed. She exited with a .25-of-a-second victory in her specialty. Leasure also placed second in the 500 freestyle and collected a pair of fourths as a member of the 200 medley relay and 400 freestyle relay. Leasure paced Los Alamos to a runner-up finish behind Albuquerque Academy. |
Keith Hyde SMALL SCHOOL Basketball Hyde, a 6-1 senior guard at Monte del Sol, did everything but drive the bus for the Dragons. He scored 21 points per game. He grabbed 4 rebounds. He dished 3 assists. He also finished with 29 blocks. Hyde scored in double digits in all 22 games. He scored 20 or more in 11 games. He scored 30 or more five times. He set the school record with a 43-point performance against To’Hajiilee. Hyde also helped lead Monte del Sol to the school’s first state appearance. The Dragons lost in overtime in a quarterfinal to Texico, the eventual state champion. |
Louie Eres BIG SCHOOL Football A three-time, first-team All-State defensive back at St. Michael’s, Eres came into his own offensively as a senior. Eres caught 38 passes for 606 yards and 10 touchdowns, as St. Michael’s won the Class AAA state title. He also rushed 10 times for 82 yards and completed 3-of-4 passes for 59 years to earn second-team All-State honors at receiver. On defense, the 6-0 cornerback made 38 tackles, including 21 solo. He had six interceptions, forced one fumble and had five pass deflections. Eres will represent the North in July’s North-South game. |
Mario Armijo Small school Cross country Armijo, a junior, won only two races all season for Pecos. That’s OK. No victories were bigger. One week after winning the District 6A-AA championship, Armijo became the first boy to win a state title in cross country in his school’s history. Armijo averaged 5:21 a mile en route to a 16:34.70 victory in the 3.1-mile Class A-AA state race. Armijo also had three runner-up finishes during the regular season and placed a respectable 29th at the hugely competitive University of New Mexico Invitational. |
Michael Krell Small school Track and field Krell started his junior season at Santa Fe Preparatory with mononucleosis. He ended it with a state championship in the 110 high hurdles and a second in the 300 hurdles. Krell entered the Class AA state meet as the third seed in the 110s and the 10th seed in the 300s. Krell won the shorter race in 16.38 for his first individual state championship at state. His time in the 300s was 43.27, well below his seed time of 46.34. |
Ruben Martinez Big school Track and field Pressure? What pressure? Los Alamos’ Martinez, the favorite to win the javelin and shot put in Class AAAA, dominated both events. He was the lone entrant to exceed 50 feet in the shot put, with a personal-best 50-9. Martinez had the competition won after just three attempts. Martinez also PRed in the javelin, going 191-10, which was more than 21 feet farther than his closest competition. He also leapfrogged from fourth, his place coming in, to second in the discus, providing the Hilltoppers with valuable points. Los Alamos ended Albuquerque Academy’s six-year championship reign. |
Sophia Torres Big school Cross country Pojoaque Valley’s Torres wasn’t in the lead after the first mile of the Class AAA state championships. Or even the second mile. But no one was faster in the last mile. It was her closing that carried Torres, a sophomore, to her first state championship in 19:33.75. Torres also used a stretch run to capture the District 2AAA title a week prior to state. Torres became the first Elkette to win the state championship since 2001 and extended the streak to five years of the individual champion emerging from 2AAA. |
Traci Lopez Small school Track and field In her first season of running hurdles at Santa Fe Preparatory, Lopez broke the school record, which happened to belong to her sister, Kimber. In her first season competing in the triple jump, Traci rewrote the school record, which happened to belong to her sister, Kimber. Traci also added her name to the Class AA state-meet record book in the triple jump. In her final season of track and field, Traci won the 300-meter hurdles, triple jump and high jump, anchored the 1,600 relay to victory and placed sixth in the long jump to earn her second straight high-point individual honor. |
Ryota Shimada Soccer Shimada finished his senior season at Los Alamos with 20 goals and 16 assists for 56 points, which was fourth-best in Class AAAA. Shimada also added first-team All-State honors to his résumé. Los Alamos finished 15-9, falling 3-2 to Albuquerque Academy in a semifinal of the state tournament. Shimada gave the Hilltoppers a 2-1 advantage, scoring unassisted in the 32nd minute. |
Erik Geyer BIG SCHOOL Basketball Geyer battled injuries throughout his senior season at St. Michael’s. Still, the 6-0 post averaged 14.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He also finished with 59 steals for the Horsemen (26-5), who lost to District 2AAA-rival West Las Vegas in a semifinal of the Class AAA state tournament. Geyer, who helped lead St. Michael’s to the 2007 state championship, was named All-District and All-State, and will represent the North in this summer’s North-South game. |
Star Struck: Top 10 moments of the 2007-08 sports year
Agree or disagree? Our staff offers its picks for the top moments in sports during the past year. Look them over and cast your vote for the top moment or offer your own suggestion. NOV. 10, 2007
10. Strength of the whole
It took more than one runner for Los Alamos to knock off No. 1 and unseat a champion.
»Story
A Season to Savor
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — The smile on Jake Martinez's face is proof to Leasa Martinez that God answers prayers.
Sometimes, though, it comes in His time, and in His own way.
But when she sees Jake, the middle child of her three sons, and knows he walks, talks, laughs, lives and loves pain-free, the 13 years of almost unending suffering for Jake — and his family — from constant migraine headaches makes the last 18 months all worth it.
»Story
Picture Perfect
She would like someday to be behind the lens, maybe spend as much time there as she has spent in front of it.
She would like to capture moments, pause life, and condense it into the boundaries of a frame that will later conjure memories.
Jordan Miller's room is filled with pictures, there are landscapes and people, and fragments of time that have caught her eye. Then there sits one that stands alone. It is simple, but perfect: It is of her parents, Socorro and Loren Miller, on a boat on Lake Conchas — smiles mixing with sunshine.
»Story
 |
Get your copy of North StarsThe 2008 edition of North Stars is included in the May 31, 2008, issue of The Santa Fe New Mexican. |
Advertisement