Advertisement

Robertson No. 1, Santa Fe Indian School No. 3 in softball tournament

will webber and james barron, the santa fe new mexican
·5 min read

May 9—The Class 1A/2A and 3A softball state tournament brackets came out Sunday, and there were no surprises.

In Class 3A, Las Vegas Robertson earned the No. 1 seed with a 21-4 record and an 11-0 record in District 2-3A. Santa Fe Indian School earned the third seed and will be on the opposite side of the winner's bracket from the Lady Cardinals, who swept the Lady Braves in district play.

The Lady Braves will have a challenging side of the bracket, since it is on the same side as No. 2 Cobre.

West Las Vegas earned the sixth seed and will take part in the play-in game against No. 11 Tohatchi, with the winner taking on SFIS. St. Michael's nabbed the 10th seed and plays No. 7 Navajo Prep, with the winner playing Cobre.

In 1A/2A, Mora, the District 2/5-1A/2A champion, is the eighth seed and takes on No. 9 Laguna-Acoma in a play-in game. The winner faces top-seeded Loving. Pecos sneaked in as the No. 12 seed and plays No. 5 Mesilla Valley Christian.

All play-in and first-round championship bracket games are scheduled for Wednesday at Rio Rancho Cleveland.

u u u

Tennis and small-school track seasons are officially in the books, meaning there's just one week left in the 2021-22 high school sports calendar.

The final go-round starts Monday morning with the first of two rounds in the State Golf Championships, scheduled for three separate courses in the Albuquerque metro area. If you're looking for local storylines, the place to be is The Canyon Club at Four Hills, where the Class 1A-3A tournament will take place.

St. Michael's enters as an automatic qualifier for winning its district title. The Horsemen are seeking their first boys state championship (and third overall) since 2010.

They'll have their hands full. Defending champion Clovis Christian is considered the favorite, while Lovington and Mesilla Valley are expected to contend for a top-three spot. St. Michael's is ranked fourth among the small schools.

St. Michael's and Santa Fe Prep have both qualified on the girls' side. Prep is led by Nutthanan Leardsakulphasuk, and she's paired with the Lady Horsemen's Madeline Imus in a group that will tee off from the 10th hole on Monday morning.

Among the players to watch on the boys' side are Elijah Salazar of St. Michael's and Fisher Hirsch of Santa Fe Prep. They're in the first two groups to tee off starting at 9 a.m.

The 4A tournament will take place at Santa Ana, but it'll be a bit light on local competition as Connor Cook of Los Alamos was the only qualifier on the boys' side. Hilltoppers teammates Gabrielle Mowrer and Natalie Crawford are in the girls field, as is Maye Montoya of Taos.

There are no qualifiers from Santa Fe High or Capital in the 5A tournament at Twin Warriors.

u u u

St. Michael's freshman Raylee Hunt might have been the breakout star in the Class 3A portion of the small-school state track and field meet Friday and Saturday, but she might have found a rival right in her backyard. Santa Fe Indian School's Destiny Chino recorded two second-place finishes in the 800 and 1,600 meters, while staying on Hunt's heels for the first half of the 3,200 before taking third.

Chino said she finds motivation in competing against Hunt, knowing full well she is one of the top distance runners not just in the state, but in the Southwest.

"Obviously, she is a great athlete," Chino said. "She has so many events and she performs excellent in all of them I just get motivated because, if she can do all of those, why can't I? Why can't I excel in what I do best?"

That approach might lead to some great duels with Hunt, because Chino also is a freshman and a part of a young core of Lady Braves. Eighth grader Kaydence Riley helped the 1,600 and medley relay teams get on the podium, finished fifth in the 400 and sixth in the high jump. Freshman Emma Lewis was also a part of the 1,600 relay team and just missed getting on the podium in the shot put, taking seventh.

u u u

The wildfires threatening Las Vegas have thrown a wrench in Robertson and West Las Vegas athletes' preparation for the postseason, but Robertson had reason to celebrate in the 3A meet. Liana Fernandez won the javelin competition, beating defending champion Lauren McHorse with a throw of 110 feet, 4 inches. In the final field event of the meet, Pasepa Tuineau became the 3A shot put champion when she outdistanced Newcomb's Lilah Yazzie, 34-73/4 to 34-31/2.

The pair accounted for all of Robertson's points at the meet, as it finished in 10th place with 14 points.

u u u

New Mexico School for the Deaf's Bruce Brewer Jr. made a good impression in his first game at the 24th Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. The senior scored 10 points and had nine assists as Team USA beat Kenya, 143-18, on May 4. Team USA is 3-0 heading into Sunday's final Group A game against Argentina, with medal play beginning Tuesday.

u u u

It's not too late to register for the Santa Fe Century, the popular bike tour scheduled for the weekend of May 20-22. This year's event features rides of 25, 54 and 106 miles. It all starts and finishes at the Santa Fe Railyard.

The actual rides are scheduled for May 22, but events like the Happy Hour Cruise, Gravelon (timed event) and Vintage Bike Celebration are set for the days prior to the main disciplines. As always there's a kids event that's free to riders 10 years and younger.

Visit santafecentury.com.