Highs and lows of 2022

Dec. 31—To say we had a lot going on in 2022 would be an understatement. There were state championships aplenty, controversies here and there, sad goodbyes and even a criminal case or two.

On this New Year's Eve, here's a rundown of the year that was around Northern New Mexico sports:

Jan. 1 — The new year dawns to tragedy as news of an overnight shooting claimed the life of West

Las Vegas senior Joshua Vigil. An all-state lineman on the Dons' football team, Vigil is killed at a New Year's party at the home of teammate Joaquin Sanchez. Sanchez is charged with second-degree murder when police determine Vigil was shot in the head with a hunting rifle.

Jan. 6 — Ron Hudson is promoted to head coach of the New Mexico Highlands University football team after serving one year as a Cowboys assistant.

Jan. 7 — After an 0-10 start to the 2021-22 boys basketball season, St. Michael's finally wins its first game in a 72-53 home match against Crownpoint.

Jan. 9 — University of New Mexico men's basketball coach Richard Pitino contracts COVID-19 and misses the Lobos' next two games, both losses.

Jan. 12 — Mesa Vista volleyball and girls basketball coaches Leonardo Torrez and his son, Leonard Torrez, die just one day apart from complications of COVID-19. The elder Torrez, 58, was his son's assistant for both teams. Leonard Torrez was 37.

Jan. 18 — Santa Fe Public Schools begins a weeklong stint of remote learning after a dramatic spike in coronavirus cases during the first two weeks of the semester. Los Alamos decides to prohibit spectators at sporting events until conditions improve, which Albuquerque Public Schools echoes. A number of teams around the state have games and events canceled or postponed in early January, namely a 16-team boys and girls basketball tournament at Santa Fe Indian School.

Jan. 19 — Santa Fe Prep's boys basketball team beats St. Michael's for the first time. Ever.

Jan. 22 — Former UNM punter Corey Bojorquez, one of just three ex-Lobos in the NFL during the 2021 season, has a kick blocked with 4:41 left in an NFC Divisional Round game against the visiting 49ers. It gets returned for a touchdown, lifting San Francisco to a 13-10 win at Lambeau Field.

Jan. 28 — St. Michael's boys basketball coach David Rodriguez is placed on administrative leave after a former player accuses him of racial bias and parents of current players accuse him of verbal abuse. The Horsemen rally from an 18-point deficit the following day to beat Robertson.

Feb. 2 — The Washington Football Team is now the Washington Commanders.

Feb. 13 — The Rams rally to beat the Bengals in the Super Bowl.

Feb. 15 — The struggling UNM men's basketball team upsets No. 22 Wyoming in The Pit.

Feb. 16 — Los Alamos senior Orion Henderson and St. Michael's senior Ethan Manske each win two individual event titles at the Boys Swimming and Diving State Championships in Albuquerque. Los Alamos repeats as the state team champion while St. Mike's is crowned the small-school champ.

Feb. 17 — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham lifts the state's mask mandate for indoor public spaces. The NMAA, UNM and individual school districts around the state immediately follow suit with their own moves. The NMAA says athletes and fans are no longer required to wear face coverings. The news comes just one day before the State Wrestling Tournament in Rio Rancho. UNM says masks are optional in The Pit but will continue to require proof of vaccination to attend home games.

Feb. 18 — The West Las Vegas wrestling team wins its first state championship in the final season of what is Class 1A-3A. The NMAA votes to move all small schools into the same class as 4A the next season.

March 1 — Major League Baseball cancels opening day due to the ongoing owners' lockout. The owners and players reach a deal to end the stoppage 10 days later.

March 4 — The State Basketball Tournament gets underway as Santa Fe High's girls, the No. 16 seed despite 18 wins, bows out in the opening round to eventual state champion Volcano Vista.

March 5 — The "Mighty Midgets" of St. Michael's boys hoops celebrate the 60th anniversary of their fabled run to the state title game against Sandia. The same day, Sandia's 2022 boys knock out Santa Fe High in the opening round of the 5A tournament.

March 11 — The Robertson girls basketball team completes a 1-loss season by beating Santa Fe Indian in the 3A state championship game in The Pit, the program's second blue trophy in four years.

March 12 — Robertson completes a hoops sweep as its boys team beats St. Michael's in the 3A finals in University Arena. For Cardinals coach James Branch, it comes 28 years after he won his first title at Questa.

March 17 — New Mexico State's men's basketball team upsets No. 5 seed UConn to open the NCAA Tournament. The Aggies are eliminated two days later in a loss to Arkansas.

March 24 — The UNM women's basketball team loses at Oregon State in the WNIT's third round.

April 6 — The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire starts in San Miguel County.

April 13 — UNM breaks ground on a new training center inside its football stadium. The $4.3 million project will not be completed until 2023.

April 22 — The New Mexico Highlands Board of Regents votes to re-open its nine-hole golf course by the summer. The facility had been closed for two years.

April 25 — Gerard Garcia is named the full-time boys basketball coach at St. Michael's. He'd served as interim head coach since January.

May 4 — The NMAA approves a measure that will allow high school coaches to coach their athletes and club teams during the offseason. For nearly two decades they have been prohibited from mentoring their athletes out of season.

May 7 — The St. Michael's boys and girls track and field teams win state championships in Class 3A in Albuquerque.

May 12 — Santa Fe Indian's baseball team stuns No. 1 seed St. Michael's in the quarterfinals of the 3A tournament in Rio Rancho. The same day, Robertson is eliminated in an upset loss to East Mountain. The Cardinals had gone more than a week without practicing due to the lingering battle with the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire back home.

May 13 — Robertson's softball team wins the 3A state title by beating Santa Fe Indian, 8-1, in the finals.

May 19 — Santa Fe's Genoveva Chavez Community Center opens its doors to Skatefest 2022, a three-day event that has drawn future Olympians for several years.

May 20 — The Santa Fe Fuego announce they have landed a title sponsorship with Best Daze, a locally owned cannabis dispensary.

May 21 — The Mountain West Conference announces the 2022 football season will be the league's last using a two-division format. All 12 teams will play as one starting in '23.

May 26 — St. Michael's introduces Josh Griñe as its new athletic director.

May 27 — Just days before Memorial Day, Santa Fe officials close hiking and biking trails around the county to reduce the risk of wildfires.

June 1 — Declan Peterson's two-run single completes a three-run ninth inning, lifting the Santa Fe Fuego to an 8-7 win over Roswell in the Pecos League season opener. It marks the 10th year for the Fuego as members of the independent baseball league.

June 8 — Teri Morrison is promoted from assistant to head coach of the Santa Fe Indian girls basketball program. Combined with the 689 wins she had as a coach in Texas, it makes her the winningest girls basketball coach in New Mexico history — and, yes, the NMAA recognizes wins from out of state in its own career win total.

June 9 — Santa Fe is host to two professional sporting events on the same night as the Fuego play Colorado Springs at Fort Marcy while across town at Capital, the New Mexico United's U-23 club hosts Salt City.

June 9 — Former Lobo football great and Dallas Cowboys running back Don Perkins dies.

June 15 — Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux throws out the first pitch at an Albuquerque Isotopes game.

June 16 — Santa Fe High's Alex Waggoner, who led the country in goals scored during the 2021 prep soccer season, is named the Gatorade Player of the Year for New Mexico. That same day, the Golden State Warriors clinch the NBA title with a Game 6 win over Boston.

June 22 — Estevan Montoya is sentenced to life in prison for the 2020 shooting death of star Santa Fe High basketball player Fedonta "J.B." White. He will serve at least 30 years for the murder that came just weeks before White was to report to UNM as a member of the Lobos.

June 28 — Waggoner announces he will forego his senior season with Santa Fe High's soccer team to play for New Mexico United's developmental squad. He will remain a student at Santa Fe High but play exclusively for the United. A formal announcement from the club comes three weeks later.

July 6 — Former Santa Fe Public Schools administrator Mark Mutz is named new athletic director at Pojoaque Valley.

July 16 — Chase Ealey, a former Los Alamos multisport star athlete and 100-meter champion her senior year with the Hilltoppers, wins the world title in the shot put at the World Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.

July 18 — At the Little League Majors Baseball State Tournament in Albuquerque, Santa Fe is eliminated in the semifinals of the consolation bracket with a one-run loss to Roswell Noon Optimist. Santa Fe won three games in the event, tied for the second-most all-time for a team from Santa Fe. The only team with more was the state championship Santa Fe American club in 1996.

July 19 — The Basketball Tournament lands in The Pit and the host team, The Enchantment, is eliminated in the second round by Team Heartfire. A group of mostly ex-Lobos, The Enchantment won its opening round game the night before with a win over NMSU's PanAmaniacs.

July 19 — Four New Mexico State baseball players are taken in the Major League amateur draft. Two other in-state former prep stars, one from La Cueva and the other Carlsbad, are also selected. No one from UNM is drafted.

July 20 — Santa Fe Prep soccer player Yuko Oketani joins New Mexico United's academy club, a developmental youth team whose roster includes Santa Fe High's Alex Waggoner.

July 24 — For the second straight year, a softball player from the Santa Fe Little League wins the regional title in the home run derby. Nadia Cedillo belts nine dingers in the final round to earn a spot in the national home run derby finals a month later in Williamsport, Pa. She follows in the footsteps of teammate Jaslene Ramirez, who did the same thing with a monster showing in the regional finals in Seattle in 2021.

July 25 — Cedillo returns to New Mexico in time to play for Santa Fe's all-stars in the Junior Softball Southwest Region Tournament at Albuquerque's Roadrunner Little League. Santa Fe loses 10-0 to the East Texas club in the championship game.

July 26 — Richard Tripp of West Las Vegas is named athletic director of the year by the New Mexico High School Coaches Association.

July 28 — Longtime prep volleyball coach Chela Butler retires as head coach at Monte del Sol, handing the reigns to the program to her daughter, Jessica. Butler was the head coach at St. Michael's for 19 years and spent eight seasons in the program, the final six as varsity head coach.

July 30 — The Albuquerque Isotopes host "Breaking Bad Night" to honor the cast and crew of the TV series that made it easy to root for a teacher who built a drug empire by cooking blue meth. Actors Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are there to throw out the first pitch while the city unveils bronze statues of the two at its convention center.

July 31 — The Santa Fe Fuego close out another losing season with an 8-3 loss at home to Pecos League rival Garden City, the team's sixth straight loss to close out the '22 schedule. The Fuego finish fifth in the Mountain Division, missing out on the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.

Aug. 2 — Beloved Los Angeles Dodgers ex-broadcaster Vin Scully dies at age 94, capping a wild day in baseball that saw a flurry of deals at the trade deadline.

Aug. 3 — The official Taos football schedule is released and, due to an extensive rebuild of the Tigers' home field, the first two "home" games will be played in Questa.

Aug. 4 — Ray Salazar is named athletic manager at Capital, taking over for Zeke Villegas.

Aug. 9 — Former Robertson boys basketball coach and longtime Albuquerque Public Schools coach and athletic administrator Phil Schroer dies.

Aug. 9 — A true act of sportsmanship at the Little League regional baseball tournament in Waco, Texas, goes viral. East Texas pitcher Kaiden Shelton beans Oklahoma hitter Isaiah Jarvis with a fastball to the helmet. Shaken up as Jarvis lay on the ground for a few minutes, Shelton is consoled by Jarvis with a hug and private conversation on the mound.

Aug. 10 — Four-time PGA winner Notah Begay III helps replace the stolen golf clubs of three Los Alamos players during May's Class 4A state tournament. Those players, Connor Cook, Natalie Crawford and Gabby Mowrer, had their gear swiped from the team van at Santa Ana's Twin Warriors. Pairing with PING and Realty One of New Mexico, Begay presents the trio with new clubs and bags.

Aug. 11 — After 11 seasons and 1,109 games in baseball's minor leagues, Albuquerque Isotopes outfielder Wynton Bernard is called up to the majors by the Colorado Rockies. He makes his big league debut (going 1-for-3 with a stolen base) the following night against the Diamondbacks in Denver.

Aug. 15 — The final episode of Better Call Saul airs.

Aug. 15 — Roswell wins its fourth Pecos League title by winning the championship series in a decisive Game 3 in the finals against Tucson.

Aug. 16 — Melvin Perez, 71, dies of a heart attack at his Santa Fe home. During his playing days at St. Michael's, he led the Horsemen to consecutive basketball state championships in 1968 and 1969 before playing in college at Sam Houston State. After returning to Santa Fe, he became a fixture as a prep coach, official and scorekeeper.

Aug. 17 — Taos announces it will not be able to play home football games for at least half the season due to sub-surface drainage issues that require a massive overhaul. The Tigers wind up playing every game on the road, traveling to Questa (25 miles north) for "home" games.

Aug. 18 — The high school football season begins on a hot Thursday night. In Albuquerque; Santa Fe High gets blown out, 56-12, by West Mesa while Santa Fe Indian is crushed in a 49-6 loss at Cuba.

Aug. 20 — Gene Torres and Lou Pierotti are inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Torres spent 20 years as New Mexico Highlands' golf coach and more than four decades at the Las Vegas course that now bears his name. Pierotti founded Pierotti's Clowns, a five-man softball team that entertained kids and raised $2 million for charity over a 25-year span.

Aug. 22 — Santa Fe High girls soccer goalie Molly Wissman signs on to play next season at the University of Denver.

Aug. 26 — Santa Fe High's football team is dealt a huge setback in a 50-0 loss to Roswell at Ivan Head Stadium. Quarterback Michael Abeyta is lost for the season with a torn ACL on the final play of the game. The Demons go on to a 1-9 season.

Aug. 29 — A weeklong turf war over who will host the annual St. Michael's-Santa Fe High football game starts when officials from St. Michael's, citing a dispute over gate revenue, move the game to the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex. The sides eventually come together, agreeing to play at Ivan Head.

Sept. 3 — The UNM football team opens its season with a 41-0 win over Maine. It proves to be one of the few high points of another dismal year; the Lobos will lose their final nine games behind an offense that ranks last in the country. The team fires its offensive coordinator before the year is out and the Lobos are held to 14 or fewer points nine times.

Sept. 6 — Santa Fe High's school-record 21-game boys soccer winning streak is snapped in a 4-1 loss to Hope Christian. The defending big-school champs bounce back to reach the state semifinals two months later.

Sept. 6 — Former Demons soccer player Alex Waggoner signs a letter of intent to play at Michigan.

Sept. 7 — Taos suspends football coach Art Abreu Jr. pending an internal investigation. He sits out that week's win over Gallup but is back the following week after he's cleared by administrators.

Sept. 9 — A lightning storm forces the Santa Fe High-Silver football game to be postponed. It is made up the following morning with a rare 9:30 a.m. kickoff. Admission to Ivan Head is free. There are no cheerleaders or spirit band and only a couple hundred fans come out to watch.

Sept. 12 — Northern New Mexico College athletic director and men's basketball coach Ryan Cordova is placed on administrative leave. The school's Interim President Barbara M. Medina appoints herself as interim AD. News of his leave isn't made public for another month.

Sept. 19 — A 27-year-old Michigan man is accused of stabbing a Taos cross-country runner multiple times after the student had completed a run and was sitting on a bench near the school's main campus. The student survived and the man is later charged on multiple counts.

Sept. 22 — Parents of a Santa Fe High volleyball player file a request for a temporary restraining order against the NMAA, claiming it failed to account for racism and bullying their child faced while attending her previous school, Santa Fe Indian School. The NMAA had ruled Angelina Geissinger ineligible for varsity competition for one year.

Sept. 26 — Citing safety regulations by Major League Baseball, the Albuquerque Isotopes remove Isotopes Hill in centerfield. The grassy incline against the fence in straightaway center had been a staple of Isotopes Park since its opening.

Sept. 27 — St. Michael's volleyball coach Valerie Sandoval picks up the 100th win of her career against Santa Fe Prep.

Oct. 4 — Aaron Judge breaks Babe Ruth's single-season home run record by hitting his 61st in a win over the Blue Jays.

Oct. 15 — Raton running back Cayden Walton sets the state's career rushing record in a home loss to St. Michael's. He will go on to break the single-season rushing mark, as well, with 3,123 yards to give him 7,971 during his five years as a varsity player with the Tigers.

Oct. 19 — The St. Michael's girls soccer team is found to have used an ineligible player and forfeits seven matches, costing the Lady Horsemen a district title. The fallout continues as head coach Alfonso Camarena is relieved of his duties and replaced by one of the players' parents, Lee Hunt. He leads the team to the state semifinals, losing to top seed and eventual state champ Sandia Prep.

Oct. 27 — Los Alamos Middle School cancels the remainder of its football season after players were heard making racist remarks after a win over Santa Fe Indian School.

Oct. 28 — NNMC officially fires Ryan Cordova. On his 48th birthday, no less. He was the only basketball coach and AD in the school's history.

Nov. 5 — Making its first playoff appearance in 50 years, Gadsden goes on the road and beats Los Alamos in the opening round of the Class 5A state football postseason.

Nov. 5 — The Los Alamos girls win their 24th cross-country state championship, the Santa Fe Indian School girls win their first title in 19 years and Penasco makes it two in a row. Raylee Hunt (St. Michael's) and Emma Montoya (Los Alamos) are individual champions. On the boys side, Los Alamos and Pecos take home team championships while Penasco's Jude Martinez won an individual title.

Nov. 11 — Gloria Nevarez is named commissioner of the Mountain West Conference, sliding over from the same spot she held with the West Coast Conference. She replaces Craig Thompson, who was the only commissioner in MWC history.

Nov. 12 — St. Michael's avenges its only loss in the regular season (not to mention the state finals in 2019 and 2021) and beats Robertson, 3-1, to capture the Class 3A state volleyball championship in Rio Rancho. The Lady Horsemen finish 26-1.

Nov. 19 — The Aggies-Lobos basketball game is postponed after a deadly shooting on the UNM campus in the early morning hours. NMSU player Mike Peake shot and killed UNM student Brandon Travis after the two exchanged gunfire as Travis and two other men assaulted Peake outside the Coronado Hall dormitory. Peake suffers a gunshot wound to the leg but survived.

Nov. 20 — Ecuador shuts out tournament host Qatar in the first match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Argentina beats defending champion France in penalty kicks four weeks later for the title.

Nov. 23 — Officials from UNM and NMSU cancel both men's basketball games between the Lobos and Aggies.

Nov. 24 — The Pecos cheer squad participates in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

Nov. 26 — Ruidoso holds the St. Michael's offense to 65 total yards in the Class 3A football championship game at Ivan Head Stadium, winning 12-0. It is the final football broadcast for legendary radio play-by-play man Carl Twibell, as well as the time shooting game film for long-time Horsemen football historian Mike Pitel.

Dec. 1 — The NCAA grants the NMSU football team a waiver that allows the Aggies to compete in a bowl game with a 6-6 record that includes two games against FCS teams.

Dec. 4 — New Mexico State's football team is invited to play in the Quick Lane Bowl at Detroit's Ford Field against Bowling Green, the Aggies' second bowl bid in 61 years — both coming since 2017.

Dec. 5 — NMSU suspends Mike Peake from its basketball team. The following day, video of the shooting he was part of was released. State police also release video interviews with Peake and several others, including members of the Aggies' coaching staff just hours after the shooting.

Dec. 7 — NMSU issues a one-game suspension for three additional basketball players for their involvement in the shooting. Video evidence shows the three men in a car that picked Peake up just moments after the incident. All four players had snuck out of the team's downtown Albuquerque hotel prior to the shooting.

Dec. 12 — Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach dies at age 61. The wildly popular and offbeat college icon is replaced days later by Zach Arnett, a UNM graduate who grew up in Albuquerque and was a two-sport star at La Cueva.

Dec. 15 — St. Michael's senior Creed Chavez is named all-state at three positions (receiver, defensive back, punter) after leading the Horsemen to their second straight Class 3A championship appearance.

Dec. 16 — Rocky Long announces he is leaving the UNM football program to take over as defensive coordinator at Syracuse.

Dec. 18 — The UNM basketball team beats Iona in The Pit in a game that's billed as the Battle of the Pitinos; father Rick is the hall of fame coach now at Iona, son Richard is in his second year with the Lobos. The game draws the biggest crowd in years to The Pit.

Dec. 20 — Adam Montoya scores 50 points (or 48, depending who's doing the counting) in St. Michael's 65-60 win at Albuquerque High. The Horsemen scorebook said he scored 48; others say it was 50. Either way, a huge game for the Horsemen senior.

Dec. 26 — One of just three undefeated teams in the country, the UNM men's basketball team earns its first Top 25 ranking in eight years as it checks in at No. 22 in the Associated Press poll. Two days later the Lobos draw more than 15,000 fans in a win over Colorado State to improve to 13-0 and give the team its second-best start of all time.