Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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The coach of a forthcoming a video-game sports program at Mesalands Community College said in a board of trustees meeting last week he wants to field a varsity team by fall 2023. Larry Wickham, director of institutional technology and coach of the future esports team, acknowledged a team competing by next fall was "ambitious." Esports is a form of competition using video games and is fast-growing at the high school and collegiate level. Wickham also laid out his vision for an eventual esports...
The 1986 hit movie "Hoosiers" depicted a small-school Indiana basketball team that improbably won the state championship, defeating bigger-enrollment schools along the way. Forrest in southern Quay County can boast a real-life version of "Hoosiers," except the Pirates won the state title twice in the early 1930s and might have done it a third time if misfortune hadn't struck. Forrest's state title treks might sound like the stuff of fiction. However, tangible evidence of those feats remain in a...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team finished 2-2 last week, including a fourth-place finish at the Citizens Bank Classic tournament at Texico. The Lady Rattlers (4-5), bedeviled by shooting woes, fell 53-38 to Tatum on Saturday in the third-place game of the event. Tatum seized early control of the game, leading 17-5 after the first quarter and 31-8 at intermission. "It was one of those game that we just couldn't get a shot to fall," Tucumcari coach Patrick Benavidez said. "Tatum was a solid...
The Tucumcari wrestling team finished in a surprise third place on Saturday at its 10-team Rattler Invitational tournament, the Rattlers' best finish it at least a decade. Wrestling power Las Lunas dominated the meet with 219 points in the team standings. Amarillo Tascosa (Texas) finished second with 89 points, and Tucumcari came in third with 78 points. After what he called a disappointing performance the previous weekend at St. Michael's in Santa Fe, Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias said he was...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team salvaged a rugged week with a 37-26 victory Saturday over Chaparral in the consolation bracket of the Citizens Bank Classic tournament at Texico. In the second half, Andrew Henderson-Clark scored 15 of his game-high 24 points to lead the Rattlers, who improved to 2-6 overall before the Christmas break. "We went inside to Drew because he drew single coverage," Tucumcari coach John Span said. "We adjusted to what they were giving us." Tucumcari trailed 12-7...
Tucumcari senior Khobie Salvador was named to the second team as a defensive lineman to the New Mexico High School Coaches Association’s Class 3A all-state football selections last week. Also, Logan’s Park Strong was named to the first team at two positions in eight man-football by the association. Salvador, who played offensive and defensive tackle for the 1-9 Rattlers, also was a first-team selection at those positions in the Class 3A-4 district. Listed as 5-foot-11 and 280 pounds, Salvador played in the annual Red vs. Green All-Star Foo...
The Logan girls basketball team suffered its first loss of the season with a 53-29 non-district road loss Friday at Boise City, Oklahoma. Logan coach Glynna Strand said her team saw three of its starters on the bench barely two minutes into the game due to foul trouble. She said the Lady Longhorns were whistled for 12 fouls during that time to Boise City’s two. Desta Rose, an eighth-grader, led Logan with eight points. Boise City improved to 5-2 overall. Logan 68, Des Moines 7 Logan bounced back from its first loss the previous night with a dom...
The San Jon boys basketball team notched its first victory of the season by edging the junior varsity team at Wildorado, Texas, by a 19-18 score on Thursday. Coyotes coach John Wootton said in a phone interview he estimated Matthew Martinez was his team’s leading scorer with eight points, including the winning basket late in the game. He said Marvin Reese scored on an offensive rebound to put his team within one point before Martinez’s winning tally. After the go-ahead basket, San Jon forced a turnover to foil any sort of comeback attempt by...
Perennial Class 3A contender Robertson blew open a close game Friday against Tucumcari by scoring 27 unanswered points in the third quarter during a 59-32 Lady Cardinals basketball victory at the Snake Pit. Robertson guard Azlyn Padilla led her team's charge by scoring 10 of her game-high 22 points during the period. The Lady Cardinals improved to 6-0 overall. Caylee Benavidez scored 12 points to lead Tucumcari (2-3) during its home opener, and teammate Haisley Huffman added eight points. The...
The Tucumcari boys basketball team took it on the chin last week with non-district losses to two traditionally tough opponents, Texico and Bosque. On Thursday, the Rattlers traveled to Albuquerque and fell to a hot-shooting Bosque squad, 71-48. Bosque, which defeated Tucumcari the week before during a much closer championship game of the West Las Vegas tournament, improved to 4-1. Andrew Henderson-Clark scored 25 points to lead Tucumcari. Bosque stormed to a 37-20 lead by intermission. The Bobca...
The Tucumcari wrestling team delivered a suboptimal performance Saturday at the St. Michael’s tournament at Santa Fe, with no Rattler athletes advancing to the finals. These wrestlers advanced to their respective semifinals, lost and then were eliminated in the losers’ bracket: Isiah Garcia (120 pounds), Charles Prieto (128), Dezmon Pacheco (132), Antonio Gonzales (160), Josh Pacheco (152) and Xzander Garcia (170). “We started out good, but it was just a flat weekend,” Rattlers coach Eddie Encinias. “In the wrestlebacks, we did all right in...
The New Mexico Activities Association announced a former Tucumcari educator and coach will be among three individuals inducted next spring into the NMAA Hall of Fame. Another educator with House ties also will be inducted. Larry Chavez taught social studies and physical education and coached junior high football, basketball and boys track and high-school boys track at Tucumcari from 1984 to 1992 during a 38-year career in education that included stints in Santa Rosa and, most recently, Rio Rancho. He will be inducted during the NMAA Hall of...
The Logan girls basketball team stayed undefeated with a 34-29 victory Saturday despite a subpar performance, an injury and a challenge from host Clayton. Kyra Conway and Rilee Nials each led the Lady Longhorns (5-0) with 10 points. Logan coach Glynna Strand described her team’s play as “a little sluggish” and endured foul trouble. The Lady Longhorns also lost sophomore forward Natalie Bongers to a leg injury in the first quarter. She will be evaluated by a sports medicine doctor this week. Strand said she was “super proud of our younger...
The Logan boys basketball team fell to 1-4 on the season after a 64-57 loss Saturday at Clayton. Brock Burns scored 13 points to lead the Longhorns, and Christian Kotara added 12. “Once again, the boys played hard,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said of his young and inexperienced squad. “We had some lapses defensively that hurt us in transition. “We are definitely getting better in every game. Just have to keep working.” Clayton was supposed to host a tournament last week but didn’t attract enough teams. Instead, Logan and Clayton played two...
Despite spotting Bosque a double-digit lead early, Tucumcari nearly caught up with the Bobcats in the fourth quarter but fell 65-58 Saturday in the championship game of the Brian Gallegos Memorial Tournament at West Las Vegas. The Rattlers finished their opening week with a 2-1 record, defeating Penasco and Wagon Mound earlier at the tourney. “I thought we played pretty good, considering it was our first week of playing,” Tucumcari coach John Span said in a phone interview. “And they had some good competition at that tournament. To finis...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team began its season by capturing third place at the Santa Rosa Invitational tournament with a resounding 63-20 win Saturday over Cloudcroft. Alexus Lafferty scored 25 points to lead the Lady Rattlers (2-1), while teammate Caylee Benavidez scored 19. July Lafferty added 10 points. Alexus Lafferty and Benavidez each were named to the all-tournament team. The Lady Rattlers’ only loss was to eventual tournament champion Fort Sumner (3-0), which defeated host Santa Rosa 44-37 in the title game Saturday. Tucumcari l...
SAN JON - The San Jon boys and girls teams were the first high-school programs in Quay County to open the basketball season last week despite a COVID-19 quarantine that delayed their games the week before. Because the quarantine also prompted the cancellation of San Jon practices except for one leading up to the Nov. 30 opener, the girls team was slow to get going during a 43-28 loss to Dora that wasn't decided until the visiting team pulled away in the fourth quarter. In the boys game, a young...
The Logan girls basketball team opened its season by capturing the Dora Tournament championship with a 46-36 win over the host team Saturday. Reece Goldston led the Lady Longhorns with 16 points, and Kyra Conway added 14. “There was no turning point, really. We finally just started hitting shots,” Logan coach Glynna Strand said about the game. Logan won all three games at the tournament. Dora fell to 3-1. Logan 57, Roy/Mosquero 33 Logan advanced to the title game of the tournament with a resounding 57-33 win Friday over defending Class 1A cha...
The Rattlers wrestling team went 2-2 during the season-opening weekend at the Los Lunas Duals in an event that featured schools with enrollment much bigger than Tucumcari’s. Tucumcari dominated Grants 71-9 and downed the Los Lunas junior varsity 66-15. The Rattlers lost 54-30 to the perennially powerful host team and fell 48-36 to Las Cruces. Xzander Garcia led the Rattlers by going 4-0 on Saturday while wrestling at 182 or 170 pounds, depending on the matchup. Reyes Garcia, wrestling at 195 of 220 pounds, also went 4-0. Adrian Villegas, w...
Three players from Logan's volleyball team earned first-team all-state honors in Class 1A last week from the New Mexico High School Coaches Association. Tucumcari also saw one player earn second-team honors in Class 3A. Senior defensive specialist Kyra Conway, senior outside hitter Reece Goldston and sophomore middle blocker Natalie Bongers earned first-team honors. Senior outsider hitter Rilee Nials also earned second-team honors, and Goldston also made the second team as a setter. The Lady...
A two-year realignment plan approved last week by the New Mexico Activities Association board of directors will add Ruidoso to Tucumcari’s district in many sports starting with the 2022 school year. The Warriors of Ruidoso, previously a Class 4A school, will be folded in the Class 3A-4 with Tucumcari, New Mexico Military Institute and Dexter in basketball, volleyball and track. Tucumcari’s enlarged football district will include Hope Christian, Ruidoso, NMMI and Dexter. Tucumcari’s baseball and softball districts will include Dexter, East...
A young and inexperienced Logan boys basketball team went 1-2 during last week’s season-opening Dora Tournament, including a 53-43 loss Saturday to Roy/Mosquero in the third-place game. Logan kept Saturday’s game close most of the way, but Roy/Mosquero closed the fourth quarter with an 18-10 run to seal its victory. “We learned quite a bit this weekend on what we need to do to get better,” Logan coach Kyle Griffiths said. “Just have to practice and work on them. It’s early in the season, and we will work to get things turned around quickly.” B...
Wrestling is an indoor sport, but longtime Rattlers coach Eddie Encinias is doing a lot more outdoor workouts this year. Encinias said he's doing it partly to limit his athletes' risk of exposure to COVID-19, which could lead to a quarantine for several weeks. He also sees more outdoor sessions as another way to get his team into shape for the upcoming season, which begins at the Los Lunas Duals on Saturday. Tucumcari's only regular-season home meet is during the prestigious Tucumcari Invitation...
The Tucumcari girls basketball team has virtually its entire varsity roster back, plus a few new additions who have experience with the program. The one significant change is head coach. Gary Hittson stepped away from the program after 14 seasons to be assistant coach of the THS boys basketball squad. Patrick Benavidez, who spent years as an assistant coach or coached middle-school girls, takes over leading the Lady Rattlers. "I picked up a lot from Gary over the years," he said. "I hope to use...
The compressed and shortened Tucumcari boys basketball season earlier this year wasn't a fun one for coach John Span and his players. The young squad suffered from a lack of ball handlers and consistent shooters, and the Rattlers finished with an 0-10 record. This fall, Span said he saw signs of improvement during a recent scrimmage with West Las Vegas and Clayton. "We saw some good things. The teams got after it, and I was impressed," Span said before practice last week. When asked to...