Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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LOGAN - In the first half of Friday's first-round Class 1A basketball playoff game, it was gut-check time for the Lady Longhorns. Third-seeded Logan couldn't buy a defensive rebound, its post player was struggling to score and 14th-seeded Evangel Christian/Oak Grove was eyeing an upset. Logan made a defensive adjustment at intermission and outscored the Lady Eagles 27-10 in the second half to turn a scary game for the Lady Longhorns into a relatively comfortable 51-34 win. The Lady Longhorns...
The Tucumcari High School baseball program has a new coach, and with his arrival brings a new emphasis on the game's fundamentals. George Montano is well-acquainted with teaching the basics. He coached Little League and youth all-star teams in Tucumcari for two years before he took the jump to high-school varsity baseball. He also was a catcher for a few of Rattler baseball's best teams during the late 2000s and early 2010s. Montano said he's motivated to right the program after it recorded...
Tucumcari coach CJ Oglesby admits he's had sleepless nights about his softball team, but it's for the right reasons. It's because this year's team reminds him of the Lady Rattlers squad in 2019 that finished with a best-ever 17-5 record and its first postseason berth and a highly promising 2020 team whose season was abruptly canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic. "We're more well-prepared than any other year. It's all because of the will of the players who want to get better," Oglesby said before a...
Mesalands Community College announced last week it officially has joined the National Junior College Athletic Association and would add women’s golf, cross county and esports to its sports offerings in addition to its longstanding men’s and women’s rodeo programs. Mesalands will compete in Region 5 of the NJCAA, which includes Texas and New Mexico. “We are delighted the NJCAA has accepted us as a conference school as we advance our athletic programs,” Mesalands President Gregg Busch stated in a Feb. 28 news release. “Our relationshi...
The Tucumcari boys and girls basketball teams will travel for their first-round games in the Class 3A tournament this week, while the high-seeded Logan girls will host their Class 1A tourney opener at home. The New Mexico Activities Association announced the postseason pairings on Sunday afternoon. Seeds were bared on win-loss record, district record, MaxPreps.com ratings, victories versus district champions, member-school input and head-to-head competition. The Tucumcari boys (8-16), which won its district tournament to earn a berth, was the 1...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team captured its first postseason berth since 2016 by overcoming a double-digit deficit to defeat host Dexter 64-55 in the title game of the District 4 tournament Friday. Andrew Henderson-Clark scored 23 points to lead the Rattlers, and Curtis Gonzales added 15. The two combined for 10 points in the game’s final minute. Santiago Montano added eight points for the Rattlers. Tucumcari, a third seed in Class 3A’s District 4, improved to 8-15. The Rattlers, a No. 16 seed in the Class 3A tournament, travels top-seeded...
It took three tries, but the Tucumcari girls basketball team finally got the best of Dexter. And it couldn't have come at a better time - in the championship game of the district tournament on the Lady Demons' home floor. A 14-0 scoring run in the first half gave the Lady Rattlers a double-digit lead they fattened to a 20-point advantage by the third quarter. Dexter made a late run, but Tucumcari repelled it during a 45-29 win Friday. The Lady Rattlers (13-10) almost were assured of earning an a...
LOGAN - The Melrose girls basketball team continued its hot streak at the 3-point line, hitting seven shots behind the arc during a 48-46 victory Wednesday to oust the second-seeded Lady Longhorns from the district tournament. Logan (21-6) totaled just two 3-pointers in the tournament semifinal. The Lady Buffaloes (18-7) also held an edge at the free throw line, making 11 of 16 shots. Logan went 12-of-22 at the foul line. Though Logan held a higher seed in the tournament over third-seeded...
Fort Sumner-House ended the Logan boys basketball team’s run in the district tournament with a resounding 75-39 victory Thursday in the semifinals. The Foxes, which improved to 16-4, ended Logan’s season with a 10-18 record. Logan defeated Grady and upset Melrose in the District 6 tournament to set up the clash with host Fort Sumner. Brock Burns led the Longhorns with 10 points. “We never were able to get anything going offensively,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said, “and they came out and really shot it well. Was a tough overall night for...
The Tucumcari boys basketball squad earned its first district win - against the first-place team, no less - in surprisingly dominant fashion in a 40-25 decision over visiting New Mexico Military Institute on Feb. 15. The Rattlers (6-16, 1-3) took an eight-point lead at intermission and expanded on it much of the second half, handing the Colts (5-11, 2-1) their first district loss. Tucumcari did it without senior Dominick Jasper, who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected the previ...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team secured one more home game for this week's district tournament by downing winless New Mexico Military Institute 53-31 on Feb. 15. Second-seeded Tucumcari (11-10, 2-2) was scheduled to host the first-round game Monday against NMMI again, then travel to top seed Dexter at 6 p.m. Thursday for the district tournament championship and an automatic berth to the Class 3A state tournament. (Monday's game was after the Quay County Sun's deadline.) July Lafferty led a...
RIO RANCHO - Tucumcari junior wrestler Xzander Garcia absolved a disappointing finish in the previous week's district meet by winning the Class 3A 170-pound state championship Friday in convincing fashion. Two other Rattler wrestlers finished third at state in their respective weight classes. Garcia, who finished with a 20-9 record, kept scoring takedowns against Socorro foe Warren Kurtnaker during the final in an 8-2 victory. The match left little doubt early who would prevail, and Tucumcari...
The Logan girls basketball team finished its regular season Saturday with a solid 63-33 non-district victory at Dora. Reece Goldston led the Lady Longhorns with 21 points, while Kyra Conway added 12. Logan (21-5) has won five in a row. Dora fell to 11-10. Second-seeded Logan was scheduled to play at 6 p.m. Wednesday at home in the semifinal of the District 6 tournament. The Lady Longhorns will find out Tuesday night who their foe will be. Grady and San Jon were scheduled to play each other in the first round Monday, and the winner of that game...
The Logan boys basketball team concluded their regular season with a 67-34 non-district loss Saturday at Dora. Park Strong led the Longhorns (8-17) with nine points, while Brock Burns added eight. “We never got going offensively and struggled to score,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “Had some foul trouble early in the game that slowed our momentum down.” Dora improved to 14-9 overall. Logan is the fourth seed in this week’s District 6-A tournament. It was scheduled to host Grady in the tourney opener on Monday night. The winner was sched...
Nayeli Cobos sank a free throw with 2.2 seconds left to lift the Dexter girls basketball team to a dramatic 40-39 victory Thursday over host Tucumcari that secured a regular-season district title for the Lady Demons. Cobos' foul shot followed a clutch 3-pointer by Tucumcari's Alexus Lafferty with less than 10 seconds left that tied the game. Dexter, 14-5 overall and 3-0 in Class 3A's District 4, took a two-game lead in the district standings and faces only a winless New Mexico Military...
The Tucumcari wrestling team qualified 13 athletes for this week's state tournament, but it was one eighth-grader who also can boast himself as a district champion. Nicholas Romero, 18-7 this season in the 113-pound weight class, earned a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the finals of the District 3A-1 meet Saturday at Tucumcari. Trailing 4-2, he scored a takedown on Robertson's Esequeil Mascarenas, then pinned him with one second left to assure the victory. Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias li...
Dexter staked a double-digit lead in the first quarter and made it hold up almost the entire remainder of the game during a 47-40 district boys basketball victory Thursday over host Tucumcari in boys basketball. The Rattlers' seventh straight loss eliminated them from contention for a regular-season district title. The night also was marred by an on-floor scuffle early in the second quarter that resulted in the ejection of one player each from Tucumcari and Dexter. A Demons player allegedly...
The Logan girls basketball team outlasted a strong Fort Sumner-House squad 53-50 in a district game Saturday at Logan. Kyra Conway scored 18 points to lead Logan, and teammate Reece Goldston added 11. The Lady Longhorns (19-5, 5-2) have delivered two of the Vixens’ three losses this season. Logan also defeated Fort Sumner-House 42-36 in the title game Jan. 8 of the EPAC Tournament. The only other loss for the Vixens was a 26-21 decision to Capitan in early December. Logan on Saturday also snapped Fort Sumner’s seven-game win streak. Fort Sum...
Fort Sumner-House stayed in first place in the regular-season district standings by muscling past host Logan 77-47 on Saturday. The Foxes improved to 14-3 overall and 7-1 in District 6, tied for first place with Clovis Christian (17-6, 7-1). Park Strong scored 18 points to lead the Longhorns (7-16, 3-6). Brock Burns added 12 points. “We battled them for three quarters, just like we did the previous time we played them,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “The final score was no indicative of how close the game was most of the way. They shot...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team righted itself after a tough district loss earlier in the week with a resounding 46-24 victory Saturday against New Mexico Military Institute at Roswell. The Lady Rattlers led 12-8 after one quarter and 28-11 at intermission. Tucumcari improved to 10-8 overall and 1-1 in Class 3A’s District 4. Alexus Lafferty scored 18 points, and July Lafferty added 10 for the Lady Rattlers. “I was satisfied how the girls played on both ends of the floor,” Tucumcari coach Patrick Benavidez said. “We rebounded well against...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team endured a rough start to their district schedule, losing both games last week on the road at Dexter and New Mexico Military Institute. The Rattlers fell 60-42 on Saturday to NMMI at Roswell, though Tucumcari coach John Span said the game was closer than the score indicated. The Rattlers closed within two points of the Colts in the second half before the host team pulled away. “We were pressing at the end, and we were giving up some easy baskets,” Span said. “That’s the reason they pulled away the way they di...
LOGAN – The Lady Longhorns basketball team suffered a damaging blow for their chance at a district title with a 40-32 loss to Melrose on Friday. Logan went about nine minutes without a field goal late in the first quarter and most of the second. That set up the Lady Buffalos for a 10-0 scoring run and a double-digit lead. Melrose never trailed the rest of the game. Logan (16-5, 3-2) still can tie for first place in Class 1A's District 6, but it will need help from others to catch Fort S...
LOGAN – Better shooting and a shift in defensive strategy turned what was expected to be a competitive game into 77-32 boys basketball blowout Friday for Melrose against district rival Logan. Melrose (13-4, 4-1) stormed to a 25-1 lead in the first quarter and fattened its advantage to 30 midway through the second period and 40 halfway through the third. Logan (6-14, 2-4) didn't tally its first field goal until Park Strong, who led the Longhorns with 11 points, scored an inside bucket with 7...
Despite missing six starters due to injuries and other factors, the Tucumcari wrestling squad saw four of its athletes finish third at the prestigious, 14-team Cardinal Classic on Friday and Saturday at Robertson High School in Las Vegas. Nathan Aragon, a senior in the 220-pound weight class, and Josh Pacheco, a freshman at 145 pounds, each finished in the top three in the boys competition for Tucumcari. In THS girls grappling, eighth-graders Sadi Collins (at 107 pounds) and Naomi Garcia (138) each finished third in their weight classes....
Las Vegas native and Robertson alumnus Larry Chavez will be joining an exclusive group later this year. He will become the 112th member of the New Mexico Activities Association Hall of Fame. Chavez also spent some of his career in Tucumcari. Chavez retired in June as the district athletic director for Rio Rancho Public Schools. Prior to that, Chavez coached at Santa Rosa, Tucumcari and Cleveland High School, coaching cross country, baseball, basketball, and track and field in his Hall of Fame career. Chavez’s name is synonymous with high s...