Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Home, sweet home - even if it's a new home. Last season, the Tucumcari High School baseball team played all its home games in Logan while a new field was being constructed from a voter-approved $3 million bond issue in 2019. Since about Feb. 1, the Rattler players have been practicing on their new diamond. Hopes are high with them and third-year coach George Montano. "I'm happy I got a field this year, you know?" Montano said. "I couldn't be more grateful. I know Logan's not far away, but it...
With a half-dozen girls still playing basketball this week, Tucumcari High School softball coach CJ Oglesby will have precious little time to prepare his team for its season-opener Saturday at Raton. Oglesby, in his sixth season, said he's been training about eight non-basketball players in the meantime, and he hasn't been taking it easy on them. "We're just trying to condition them a little bit more," he said. "In previous years, we haven't been too conditioned should we get to the state...
Two days after conquering Ruidoso for the district title, the Tucumcari girls basketball team learned Sunday it will play the Warriors again in an opening-round Class 3A home playoff game on Friday. The Logan girls and boys basketball teams earned third and fifth seeds respectively in their Class 1A playoffs. Both will play home games this weekend. Class 3A girls The Lady Rattlers (22-3), winners of 10 in a row, earned the fifth seed in Class 3A tournament pairings announced Sunday by the New Mexico Activities Association. Tucumcari will play...
The third-seeded Logan boys basketball team fell into a 17-point deficit in the third quarter and never could climb back out of it during a 73-66 loss Thursday at second-seeded Melrose in the semifinals of the district tournament. The Longhorns (23-5) trailed 35-28 at intermission, and that gap grew to 54-37 midway through the third period. Logan several times rallied to within six points in the fourth quarter but drew no closer. “We dug ourselves in a hole in the beginning of the third quarter,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “De...
The Lady Rattlers were in foul trouble during their district tournament championship basketball game against Ruidoso. They solved it by getting the Lady Warriors into even more foul trouble. The result Friday was a 57-41 victory at Rattler Gymnasium for top-seeded Tucumcari, capturing its third straight district tournament title. Caylee Benavidez scored 26 points for the Lady Rattlers, including 11 from the free-throw line. July Lafferty added 16 points. Tucumcari earned a No. 5 seed in the...
The top-seeded Logan girls basketball team used a second-half surge Friday to conquer second-seeded Fort Sumner 58-44 and capture the district tournament title at the Lady Longhorns' gym. The Lady Longhorns (20-7), ranked fourth in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com coming into the game, won their eighth in a row and already had won the regular-season district championship the previous week. Camryn Cantrell scored 17 points and Desta Rose 16 to lead Logan, which outscored the Vixens 32-22 in the second...
The third-seeded Tucumcari boys basketball team struggled to get anything going offensively and were ousted from the district tournament in a 62-37 loss Thursday at second-seeded New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. The Rattlers trailed 14-7 after the first quarter and 32-17 at intermission. "I'm not sure what happened," THS coach Gary Hittson said. "It was not the same team that played Dexter on Wednesday night. They just got in our face, played good defense and out-physicaled us." Luis...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team captured its second straight district title Friday night, but it wasn't easy. Trailing for much of the game, the Lady Rattlers gathered themselves to put together a 14-1 scoring run in the fourth quarter to take the lead, then hung on for dear life during a 54-52 victory over fellow district contender Ruidoso. Kyla Lopez scored 12 of her team-high 15 points during that key fourth quarter as the Lady Rattlers, ranked sixth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, improved...
For a little while, it appeared the Tucumcari boys basketball team might act as spoilers in Ruidoso's quest to capture a district championship. However, a scoring drought in the second quarter, plus red-hot shooting from behind the 3-point line in the third quarter by the Warriors, foiled the Rattlers' plans in a 60-42 loss Friday at Rattler Gymnasium. Ruidoso (14-11) captured the regular-season district title with a 5-1 mark and landed the No. 1 seed in this week's district tournament. The...
RIO RANCHO - Tucumcari senior Antonio Gonzales had conquered every opponent in his 172-pound weight class during the Class 4A state wrestling championships. But at the finale, Highland junior Amiri Mumba stood in his way - again. Gonzales (30-6) lost a 6-2 decision to the top-seeded Mumba (31-2) in the finals Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center. It was Gonzales' fourth loss to Mumba this season, though Saturday's was his closest against him. Mumba scored a takedown and near-fall in the...
The Logan girls basketball team captured the District 6 regular-season title and the top seed and home court for this week’s district tourney title game with a 73-50 home victory Thursday. Camryn Cantrell scored 26 points to lead the Lady Longhorns, and Desta Rose added 25 points. The Lady Longhorns (19-7) won their seventh in a row. They finished 5-1 in district play to top the standings and earned two byes and a home game in the finals in this week’s district tournament. “I’m very proud of the girls’ hard work and the toughness they’ve s...
SAN JON - The San Jon girls basketball team had one player in particular to worry about during its game Friday against Corona-Vaughn, and it was impossible to not notice her. That player was 6-foot-5 freshman center Harper Dunn, who stands literally heads and shoulders above teammates and opponents. She is believed to be the tallest girls player in New Mexico. She has attracted recruiting attention from national contenders Louisiana State University and Iowa, to name a few. During Friday's...
Tucumcari boasted an individual champion in its first-ever powerlifting competition last week during a seven-team meet at Logan. Nolan Ryen, a senior at THS, lifted a total of 1,095 pounds in the 275-pound boys weight class for the Rattlers’ lone individual title. He lifted 440 pounds in the squat, 215 pounds in the bench press and 440 pounds in the dead lift. “He did fantastic,” Tucumcari coach Matt Benavidez said, noting Ryen had lifted 350 pounds in the squat and 185 pounds in the bench press just weeks ago. “Compared to what he did at the...
The Logan boys basketball team closed its regular season with a 90-50 victory Thursday over visiting Grady in a preview of this week’s district-tourney opener. Mason Wallin scored 32 points to lead the Longhorns, and Hayden Bruhn added 26. The Longhorns (22-4) finished third in District 6 with a 3-3 mark and was seeded third in this week’s district tournament, with the title game hosted by top-seeded Fort Sumner. The Foxes lost at Melrose 60-49 on Thursday but still earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a 5-1 mark in district play. Log...
Three Tucumcari High School boy wrestlers earned medals at the at the Region 2 championships Saturday at Belen, all advancing to this weekend's state meet at Rio Rancho. Antonio Gonzales (27-5), a senior in the 172-pound weight class, advanced to the finals at the 19-team meet, losing only to Highland's Amiri Mumba by a 8-0 major decision. Josh Pacheco (34-9), a junior, finished third in the 145-pound division. He lost an 8-4 decision in the semifinals to Academy's Zac Fernandez but prevailed...
A district title is there for the taking for the Tucumcari girls basketball team. After a 57-13 drubbing of Dexter at the Lady Rattlers' home gym on Friday and a 12-point victory over Ruidoso earlier in the week, Tucumcari stands alone in first place in the standings with a 4-0 mark. The Lady Rattlers can secure the district title this week with wins at New Mexico Military Institute on Tuesday and a home game against Ruidoso on Friday. "We're in the driver's seat," THS coach Patrick Benavidez...
Tucumcari High School’s head football coach has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Tucumcari Public Schools interim superintendent Dave Johnson said that coach Tarik Emback was placed on leave after being notified of an allegation in January that Johnson would not specify. Johnson said the investigation should be wrapped up “in a few weeks.” He did not give specifics on the allegation because it is a personnel matter, though he said he might give more information later. Quay County Sheri...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team wasn’t going to let Dexter’s CJ Granados ruin its night again. Granados, a freshman strong forward, almost single-handedly in the final minute of play led his team to a 67-66 comeback win over the Rattlers on Feb. 2. On Friday at Rattler Gymnasium, Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson assigned junior forward Julian Griego to shadow Granados, who also drew a double-team defense near the paint. “We changed up our defense just because of No. 10,” Hittson said. “Julian...
The Logan girls basketball team vaulted into sole possession of first place in the district with a 52-46 comeback victory Saturday over visiting Fort Sumner, the previous frontrunner. The Lady Longhorns twice trailed the Vixens early in the fourth quarter, then put together an 11-3 scoring run to take a decisive 49-42 lead with less than two minutes left. Desta Rose, who led Logan with 23 points, and Hailee Robertson each made late free throws to preserve the victory. With its sixth straight win, Logan improved to 18-7 overall and 4-1 in...
The Fort Sumner boys basketball team captured a regular-season district title Saturday with a 79-76 comeback victory at Logan in a clash of two highly ranked squads. With the Foxes trailing 76-75 with less than a minute left, senior guard Joaquin Segura scored a driving bucket with 20 seconds left, then made two free throws with four seconds remaining. A final play set up by the Longhorns gave senior guard Brock Burns a good look at what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer just before the buzzer, but his shot bounced off the rim. Logan...
Amber Campbell, a former Tucumcari resident, was among eight people named Saturday to the Class of 2023 for the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Campbell, 42, who said she gained her love for sports as a child in Tucumcari, was a USA Olympian in 2008, 2012 and 2016 in the hammer throw. At Coastal Carolina University, she was a five-time NCAA All-American in the weight throw, hammer throw, shot put and discus. She won 11 national track titles and was a two-time Pan American Games medalist. At...
Three seniors on the Tucumcari girls basketball team played a sizable role in their team's dominating 64-29 district victory Friday over visiting New Mexico Military Institute. On Senior Night where those athletes in winter sports and their parents were honored before the game, those three Lady Rattlers upperclassmen - Kirksey Smith, Alexis Ramirez and Haisley Huffman - combined for 18 points during the win. That pleased Tucumcari coach Patrick Benavidez. "It's big for our team right now to get...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team turned up the intensity of their rebounding and defense late in the game, surging to a 64-53 district victory Friday over visiting New Mexico Military Institute. The Rattlers totaled just nine rebounds in the first half as the Colts staked a 33-32 halftime lead. THS had mounted a small rally in the third quarter for a slim 46-43 advantage, but coach Gary Hittson wanted more. "I told them, 'If we win this one, it's a three-way tie for second (in the district)....
Tucumcari High School’s only two entrants in the Region 2 girls wrestling championships at Cobre earned medals and qualified for the state tournament later this month. Sarah Vallejo, a senior in the 114-pound weight class, and MiKayla Klinger, a junior at 152 pounds, each finished fourth at the 33-team tournament that took place Friday and Saturday. The top eight finishers in each weight division advanced to the state tourney. “I was very pleased with both of those girls. They gave everything they had,” Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said, nothi...
The Logan boys basketball team failed to score for more than two minutes of overtime, which proved to be the difference in a 79-74 district loss Saturday at Melrose. The Longhorns also went scoreless for almost the final two minutes of regulation, including a last-second shot from point guard Brock Burns. “We had a shot to win it in regulation that just didn’t fall,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “In overtime, the game was back-and-forth until the last minute, when Melrose hit some big free throws down the stretch.” The Buffaloes went 8-fo...