Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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Two shooting slumps proved decisive for the Rattlers during a 57-50 loss to Texico in Tucumcari's home opener Dec. 6 at the Snake Pit. The Rattlers failed to score a field goal during the entire second quarter, allowing the Wolverines (4-1) to take a 12-point lead at halftime. Tucumcari scored only four points during the period, all on free throws. In the fourth period, Tucumcari failed to score a basket for nearly five minutes after Rattlers freshman center Kamren Apodaca rallied his team to...
Tucumcari sophomore setter Caylee Benavidez earned first-team all-state honors in Class 3A when teams were announced Saturday by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. Two Logan players also earned second-team honors in Class 1A's all-state picks. Benavidez, a varsity starter since her freshman year, led the Lady Rattlers with 523 assists and 255 kills and was second on the squad with 348 serve receptions. Tucumcari sported a 16-9 record - its best in at least 15 years - and earned its...
For the second straight Saturday, Logan faced Dora in the championship of a tournament. This time, the Longhorns took the title of the Elida Tournament by downing the Coyotes 54-49. During a critical sequence midway through the fourth quarter, Logan’s Brock Burns made a 3-pointer and Kaeden Stoner scored on fastbreak to give their team a 49-40 lead, one of their largest of the game. The Longhorns also got Dora’s 6-foot-5 center, Steven Masini, in foul trouble during parts of the game. “We did a better job on the big man from Dora this time...
The Logan girls basketball team improved to 3-1 overall with a 71-28 pasting of non-district host Estancia on Thursday night. Lizzy Horner scored 18 points to lead the Lady Longhorns. “The girls looked good,” Logan coach Dustin Robertson said. “We played hard, and I was impressed with our defensive effort and the way we were sharing the ball and looking for each other.” The Bears fell to 2-4 on the season....
Two Tucumcari wrestlers finished runner-up and two placed third Saturday at the Al Salazar Invitational at St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe. Josh Pacheco, wrestling at 145 pounds, and Xzander Garcia, at 172 pounds, finished second in their respective weight classes at the tourney. Antonio Gonzales (189 pounds) and Dezmon Pacheco (133 pounds) each finished third for the Rattlers. Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said he hopes his team will compete even better after several athletes recover from illness — presumably the flu — that swept throu...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team opened its season with a consolation championship Saturday by defeating Maxwell 46-41 at the West Las Vegas/Brian Gallegos Tournament. The Rattlers (2-1) outscored the Bears 16-10 in the third quarter to create some space. “We opened it up in the second half and went to a straight press defense, try to wear them down a little bit,” Tucumcari coach John Span said. “We missed some opportunities, but we gained enough to put them away a little bit.” Kamren Apodaca, a 6-foot-4 freshman, lead Tucumcari with 20 point...
The Lady Rattlers couldn't ask for a better way to start their season. The Tucumcari girls basketball team rampaged through the Lady Lion Classic at Santa Rosa, including a convincing 58-35 victory over the host team Saturday in the title game. Alexus Lafferty, named Most Valuable Player of the tournament, led Tucumcari with 14 points. Sisters Cambree and Caylee Benavidez each added 13 points, and July Lafferty scored 10 points. Kyla Lopez, July Lafferty and Caylee Benavidez also were named to...
The Logan boys basketball team advanced to the finals Saturday at the Dora Tournament but encountered a big roadblock in Dora center Steven Masini. Masini, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound senior center, scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds against the Longhorns during a 49-37 victory, giving the tourney title to the Coyotes (4-0). “Their big man is a load for anyone in the state to guard,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “If we would have made some open shots, we would have been right there at the end. “Overall, I’m proud of the way we competed...
The Tucumcari boys wrestling team opened its season by going 3-2 in dual matches Saturday at the Los Lunas Duals event. The Rattlers defeated the Los Lunas junior varsity, district foe Del Norte and Bloomfield but lost to big-school powerhouses La Cueva and Atrisco Heritage. Fernando Ureste, wrestling at 114 pounds, won all five of his matches for Tucumcari. Defending state champion Xzander Garcia, competing at 166 pounds, went 4-1 for the Rattlers. First-year Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said 121-pound wrestler Billy Otero was out with the flu. C...
Tucumcari High School’s new baseball and softball fields that are under construction won’t be ready for games by spring, said the school district’s superintendent last week. That means the Rattlers baseball team will have to play its home games at Logan High School’s field near the entrance of Ute Lake State Park, said superintendent Aaron McKinney during a Tucumcari Public Schools board meeting on Nov. 28. McKinney said he will coordinate with Logan Municipal Schools’ athletic director to avoid a scheduling conflict with the field. McKinney...
Logan senior linebacker Park Strong helped the Red team to a 29-6 victory Saturday at the Small School Red vs. Green All-Star Football Event. The game, organized by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association, was played at the Bulldog Bowl in Artesia. Logan coach Dwayne Roberts, who attended the game, said Strong made "10 or 12 tackles. He did well, as expected." Roberts said Strong also made two sacks and several other tackles for a loss. "He was in the backfield a lot," he said. Strong...
The Mesalands Community College esports team recently qualified for the playoffs in its very first season. The Stampede made it to the postseason for its play in “Halo: Infinite,” “Super Smash Bros Ultimate” and “Call of Duty: Warzone” video games. All Mesalands players qualified for the playoffs as a starter or substitute. Mesalands was eliminated in the early rounds of the postseason, including losses to top-seeded Hutchinson Community College of Kansas and No. 1 overall seed Shelton State Community College of Alabama. “We are proud of the...
The Logan girls basketball team won two games after dropping its season-opener against a Texas squad at the Dora Tournament. The Lady Longhorns closed the tourney with a 52-10 pasting of Cloudcroft on Saturday. Hailee Robertson led Logan with 17 points, and teammate Lizzy Horner added nine. “Overall, I thought the girls did a good job this weekend,” Logan first-year coach Dustin Robertson said. “Everyone received some much needed experience that I hope helps their confidence grow. “We did have moments where our inexperience showed up, but the...
Opponents probably won't be taken by surprise by the Tucumcari girls basketball team this year. About a year ago, a young and mostly inexperienced Lady Rattlers team knocked off several state-ranked teams, mostly due to its tenacious defense. Tucumcari went 13-11, won their district tournament and qualified for the Class 3A tourney. This season, Tucumcari returns five players who were starters or saw a lot of floor time. And this time, the Lady Rattlers have more depth. "We're trying to change...
Young and fast. That, plus more of an emphasis on defense, are the gist of coach John Span's outlook on his Tucumcari High School boys basketball team. The Rattlers open their season at 1 p.m. Thursday against Bosque at the three-day West Las Vegas Shootout tournament. Tucumcari's first home game will be against Texico on Dec. 6. Tucumcari boasts one prominent returning starter, senior point guard Curtis Gonzales, from last season's team that sported an 8-17 record but won its district...
Not only is the leadership of Tucumcari High School wrestling undergoing a transition, but so is the sport in New Mexico. THS assistant coach Tim Clark was promoted to head coach of the Rattlers program after coach Eddie Encinias retired last season after 22 years and a New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame career. "I have big shoes to fill," Clark said. "I've told the kids that Coach Encinias left a lineage in the program, but he also left at a time when there's a major transition happening within...
Two Tucumcari High School football players earned all-district honors in District 4. Senior offensive guard and middle linebacker Xzander Garcia and junior offensive guard and linebacker Antonio Gonzales were the top vote-getters from the Rattlers program for first-team honors in the district, which included Ruidoso, Dexter, Hope Christian and New Mexico Military Institute. Tucumcari’s Jordan Rincones, a sophomore running back and linebacker, and Daymion Urioste, a freshman running back and outside linebacker, each earned second-team honors i...
Three Tucumcari High School volleyball players earned first-team honors from District 4’s all-district teams announced last week. The top Lady Rattlers were junior outside hitter Haisley Huffman, sophomore setter Caylee Benavidez and senior libero Alexus Lafferty. Benavidez led the Lady Rattlers in assists (489) and kills (241), plus was second in digs (216) and third in blocks (23). It was the second time she earned all-district honors. Lafferty, a four-year starter, led the team in digs (384), serve receptions (707) and serving aces (92). S...
Tucumcari's Alexus Lafferty closed her high-school volleyball career Saturday by helping the Small School Green Team All-Stars defeat the Red Team All-Stars in an annual exhibition of the state's top seniors. Lafferty, a libero, "served a few aces and did really good," said her THS coach, Dana Benavidez. The Green team downed the Red team in five sets. Benavidez and several of Lafferty's Lady Rattler teammates attended the game. The Red vs. Green All-Star Volleyball Event, organized by the New...
Three Logan players and one San Jon player made it to the first team in District 6 volleyball honors announced last week. For the Lady Longhorns, junior outside hitter Kaylee Williams, junior middle hitter Natalie Bongers and junior defensive specialist Bella Coronado each earned first-team honors. Logan finished 18-9 overall, second in its rugged district and earned a berth to the Class 1A state tournament, falling one match short of making it to the semifinals. San Jon junior Sarah Archuleta was the only Lady Coyote to earn first-team...
Two players from Logan's football team earned first-team honors when District 3 announced its all-district selections in eight-man football last week. Senior offensive lineman Park Strong made the first team in two spots - as a lineman on offense and as a linebacker on defense. Brock Burns was the other first-team pick for the Longhorns, at the defensive end position. Strong, a senior, averaged a team-high 11.1 tackles per game and tied a team high with 24 tackles for a loss. Burns, a junior,...
RIO RANCHO - Logan's volleyball team surged to a double-digit lead in the first set of its match Friday against Legacy Academy and seemed poised for a victory and a semifinal berth in the Class 1A tournament. Then the roof fell in. The Lady Longhorns blew that lead, then another sizable one in the third set, during a 25-27, 13-25, 25-27 loss at Rio Rancho High School, knocking them out of the tournament. Sixth-seeded Logan finished 18-9 overall. Albuquerque-based Legacy, a fourth seed, fell in...
RIO RANCHO - One of the most successful seasons in Lady Rattler volleyball history ended Thursday with successive losses to Bosque and Santa Fe Indian in the first day of the Class 3A tournament. In the nightcap match of the double-elimination tourney at the Rio Rancho Events Center, the fourth-seeded SFIS Lady Braves used their front line to pound their way past 11th-seed Tucumcari in a 25-13, 26-24, 25-23 victory. Santa Fe Indian totaled 41 kills to Tucumcari's 21, with three Lady Braves...
Tucumcari senior Alexus Lafferty was named to the Small School Green All-Star volleyball team by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. Lafferty, a libero who was a four-year starter for the Lady Rattlers, totaled 426 digs, 707 serve receptions and 94 serving aces this season. The Lady Rattlers finished 16-9 this season and qualified for the state tournament for the third time in four years. The Red vs. Green All-Star Volleyball Event is scheduled for noon Nov. 19 at West Mesa High School in Albuquerque. Other players on the Green Team...
Tucumcari landed the No. 11 seed in the Class 3A volleyball tournament and open play against sixth-seeded Bosque on Thursday morning. The Lady Rattlers (16-7) will battle the Bobcats (15-8) at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Rio Rancho Events Center. This is Tucumcari’s third berth to the state tournament in four years. “We are super excited to be in the tournament,” Tucumcari coach Dana Benavidez said Sunday after the seedings were announced. “We came on very strong at the end of district. This group of girls has been working hard since July, and I’m...