Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
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No creampuffs to start the season for the Lady Rattlers. The Tucumcari girls basketball team faces a tough first test of the season at perennial Class 2A power Texico on Dec. 3 while their all-state guard is still recovering from a lingering illness and the squad is breaking in new varsity players. The Lady Rattlers' first home game at the Snake Pit won't be until Dec. 17, when they host East Mountain. The Lady Rattlers return most of a core that finished 22-5 last season, won a district title...
Longtime Tucumcari boys basketball coach John Span has taken steps to shore up a major weakness that surfaced on last season's team - free-throw shooting. The Rattlers struggled to a 5-20 record in the 2018-2019 season, but they arguably could have doubled their wins total had they simply shot 60% from the foul line. Instead, Tucumcari suffered through several sub-50% foul-shooting games, and it lost nine contests by six-point margins or less. Midway through last season, Span changed his practic...
The Grady/San Jon boys basketball team began its season Saturday night with a commanding 77-40 victory over visiting Des Moines. Dustin Bryant led the Bronchos with 26 points. Chad Becerra added 16 poiints, and Chisum Rush chipped in with 13. “I was very pleased with our intensity throughout the game,” Bronchos coach Jonathan Langan said. “We played inspired and got after it on the defensive end. Still some things to improve on, but for our first game of the season, we have really developed chemistry since last year.” It also was the season...
The Grady/San Jon girls basketball team opened its season Saturday night with a 47-46 overtime victory over visiting Des Moines. Lady Bronchos coach Alicia Rush said her team trailed 46-45 with five seconds left in overtime. “I called a timeout, drew up a play for Isabelle Martinez to get the shot,” Rush said, “but she was covered, so Bailey Montoya made a great decision to hit the open player, which was Kamryn Harris, who hit the game-winner at the buzzer. She was about 10 feet from the goal.” Teryn Foote scored 23 points to lead the Lady Br...
RICHARDSON, Texas - Senior fullback Paul Terry and senior placekicker Tyler Vargas were named to the All-Lone Star Conference first-team offense in football in awards announced on Friday by the league office. They headed a list of 18 ENMU players chosen to All-LSC selections, which included Logan native Wyatt Strand. Terry, from Amarillo, finished off a record-breaking year with four touchdowns and 97 yards rushing in the Greyhounds' season-ending 35-27 victory at Western Oregon. That gave him...
RIO RANCHO - Not many would describe a No. 2 seed beating a No. 1 seed as much of an upset. However, a case could be made for Logan volleyball team's 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 victory over previously unbeaten Melrose in the Class 1A championship Saturday. Logan's win certainly was a surprise for many. District rival Melrose had won all four of its previous matches against the Lady Longhorns, including a trio of three-setters in dominant fashion. Melrose, carrying the No. 1 ranking in Class 1A for...
RIO RANCHO - The Tucumcari volleyball team's first trip to the state tournament in 30 years was a short but spirited one, losing four-set matches to higher-seeded Socorro and Navajo Prep in the Class 3A bracket's opening rounds. In the Lady Rattlers' do-or-die elimination match Friday afternoon at the Santa Ana Star Center, they fell to seventh-seeded Navajo Prep 12-25, 25-18, 19-25, 24-26. Tucumcari, a No. 9 seed, finished the year 11-13. Navajo Prep advanced to the semifinals before falling...
Senior Jasmine Jones, a key figure in Tucumcari's first berth in the state volleyball tournament in 30 years, signed a letter of commitment last week to attend Eastern New Mexico University in Portales and play volleyball for the Greyhounds there. Jones, a 5-foot-8 outside hitter, led the Lady Rattlers with more than 200 kills this season. She also led the team in hitting percentage, kill percentage and service aces. Tucumcari finished 11-13 on the year, qualifying for the state tourney for the...
Tucumcari's volleyball team learned Sunday afternoon it had qualified for the state tournament, something the Lady Rattlers hadn't done in 30 years. Coach Dana Benavidez posted on social media a short video of her staff, players and parents at the Snake Pit watching a live internet feed of Class 3A state tournament selection show. When Tucumcari showed up in the tournament bracket, it prompted cheers, hugs and raised fists from those watching. "It's been a long time," Benavidez said. "There...
LOGAN - It appeared the Longhorns might be brewing an upset Friday night against top-seeded Tatum in the eight-man football semifinals, staking a 6-0 lead on quarterback Wyatt Wright's rushing and their defense stifling two Tatum drives. But Tatum returned an interception for a touchdown late in the period. That proved to be a harbinger of Logan's five turnovers and an echo of its loss last month to the Coyotes. Tatum scored 40 unanswered points en route to a 46-12 victory Friday. Tatum (10-1) w...
Five Tucumcari cross-country runners competed but did not medal at the Class 3A state championships Saturday at Rio Rancho High School. Coach Gary Hittson didn’t express disappointment with his athletes’ performances Saturday, saying: “I am very proud of this year’s team.” Erin Encinias was Tucumcari’s top runner, finishing 49th in the girls race in a time of 23 minutes, 14.25 seconds over the three-mile course. Lady Rattlers teammate A’leaya Lucero finished 69th in 25:15.25, and Lizet Castillo was 72nd in 25:46.85. Tucumcari didn’t have e...
MELROSE - In what may have been a preview of this week's Class 1A state volleyball championship, Melrose defeated Logan 25-19, 25-20, 25-12 in the District 6 tournament championship Saturday night. Melrose (19-0) and Logan (18-4) have been firmly planted in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively, in the MaxPreps.com and coaches' polls in Class 1A for weeks. But Melrose has easily won its four matches this year against Logan - a turnaround from last season when the Lady Longhorns won four of...
Mesalands Community College boasts a nationally ranked intercollegiate rodeo team, and it now will have an intercollegiate golf team. The team will compete in the National Collegiate Club Golf Association (NCCGA). The move to add golf to Mesalands’ sports offerings had been expected for months, as college President John Groesbeck had long advocated forming a team. Mesalands has also hired a coach, Marty Garcia, who is recruiting golf team members for the spring 2020 semester. “This is a new endeavor for the college, and I look forward to the...
RIO RANCHO – Logan stunned top-seeded and previously unbeaten Melrose 25-16, 25-20, 25-20 in the Class 1A volleyball championship Saturday after the Lady Buffaloes mostly dominated the Lady Longhorns this season. Melrose was hoping to notch its seventh volleyball championship and its first undefeated season since 1983. Instead, a jubilant Logan squad delivered a three-peat in state championships to its coach, Robert Young, at the Santa Ana Star Center, including a title victory over Melrose l...
Tucumcari’s football team played better than it had in weeks but still didn’t have an answer for jump-starting its stalled offense during a 30-0 season-ending loss Friday at district foe New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell. The Rattlers, an injury-depleted team that ended the season with a 1-9 record and 0-3 in District 4, lost its last eight games, including its final five by lopsided shutouts. But Friday’s game showed progress in Tucumcari moved the ball twice beyond its 50-yard line on rushing plays. The game also didn’t end early b...
The Tucumcari volleyball team avenged an earlier loss to Dexter and secured a second-place tie in District 4 with a 25-19, 25-19, 14-25, 25-17 victory Oct. 29 in the Lady Rattlers’ last home match of the season. Tucumcari suffered a four-set road loss Oct. 17 at Dexter, hurting the Lady Rattlers’ chance at a district title. Led by Jasmine Jones’ 20 kills in the rematch, Tucumcari pounded the ball down often against the Lady Demons. “Our passing was so much better this time,” Tucumcari coach Dana...
Logan avenged a season-opening loss to Mountainair by ousting the host Mustangs 48-32 Friday in the opening round of the eight-man football playoffs. Logan next hosts top-seeded Tatum at 7 p.m. Friday in the state semifinals. Mountainair defeated Logan 40-14 on Aug. 23 by jumping to a 16-0 first-half lead. On Friday, it was the Longhorns who jumped to a 20-0 lead in the first half and held off the Mustangs the rest of the way, including scoring 22 points in the fourth quarter. For Logan, Nick Brown scored four touchdowns on rushing plays of...
Erin Encinias finished second at the District 3/4-3A cross-country meet Friday in Socorro to become among five Tucumcari runners who qualified for this weekend's state meet. Tucumcari's three qualifying girls will compete at the Class 3A state championship meet Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and two boys will compete at 11:35 a.m., with both races at Rio Rancho High School. Tucumcari coach Gary Hittson said he was proud of his athletes' performances Friday. “They all ran their fastest times of the year at the district meet,” he said. Encinias' run...
After its 50-0 district victory Friday night over Gateway Christian to conclude the regular season, Logan learned Saturday it would go to Mountainair during the opening round of the eight-man football playoffs. The Longhorns’ playoff game would be at 7 p.m. Friday at Mountainair. Logan (5-4), a No. 5 seed, lost 40-14 to fourth-seeded Mountainair (5-3) during the season-opening game for both teams Aug. 23. Logan coach Dwayne Roberts is familiar with Mountainair another way — he got his start as a coach there, and his brother Sheldon is an assist...
Longtime Tucumcari High School coach Eddie Encinias was inducted Saturday into the New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame. The honor came during the New Mexico Activities Association's annual wrestling clinic in Albuquerque. Encinias, entering his 19th season of guiding the Rattlers wrestling team, was named NMAA's Coach of the Year in 2004, Tucumcari Elks Lodge's Citizen of the Year in 2006, won two district championships, placed twice for the state team title and guided 18 individuals to state...
Five turnovers spelled doom for Tucumcari in a 50-0 district loss Friday to a state-ranked Dexter team during the Rattlers' final home game of the season. The Demons (7-2) led 42-0 at halftime and scored another touchdown and a two-point conversion early in the third quarter to end the game via mercy rule. Tucumcari fell to 1-8 overall and has gone four straight games without scoring after a 35-33 overtime loss at Santa Rosa on Sept. 20. The Rattlers totaled just 21 yards of offense, while the...
Tucumcari has improved in volleyball this year. But its key district foe, Tularosa, also improved - all the way to a No. 1 ranking in Class 3A. The Lady Rattlers, ranked eighth in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, were looking to notch an upset against the Wildcats like they did in district play last year. Tularosa thwarted that with its 25-14, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19 victory Saturday at the Snake Pit. Tularosa improved to 17-2 overall and took control of District 4 with a 3-0 mark. Haylee Hill had 16...
San Jon High School recently was awarded a $2,637 grant from the NRA Foundation grant to purchase equipment to begin a National Archery in the Schools program. San Jon students hope to compete at the state tournament in the spring. The NRA Foundation provides financial support to eligible projects, programs and organizations through its grant program and has awarded more than $398 million in grants since 1990. Each year, volunteer committees from across the country raise charitable dollars and...
LOGAN - Logan beating Melrose would be tough enough. Logan beating Melrose without two Lady Longhorn starters would be tougher. As a result, it shouldn't have been surprising a top-ranked and undefeated Melrose would down a No. 2 but depleted Logan squad by a 25-14, 25-21, 25-17 score Saturday. The Lady Buffaloes improved to 15-0 overall and seized control of the District 6 standings with a 5-0 mark with three league matches left. Brett DeVaney led Melrose with nine kills and two blocks. Hailey...
A depleted Tucumcari team found itself overwhelmed 53-0 Friday night by a top-ranked Tularosa squad in a District 4 opener that was shortened in the third quarter by the mercy rule. Tucumcari fell to 1-7 overall and hasn’t scored since a Sept. 20 overtime loss to Santa Rosa. The Rattlers committed three turnovers — including a fumble returned for a touchdown — and struggled to gain even a first down. Tularosa, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A by MaxPreps.com, improved to 6-1 overall, with its only loss a 33-18 decision to Ruidoso. Tucumcari coach Wayne...