Spring athletes of the year
Jun. 5—Baseball
CeeJay Saiz, St. Michael's — What is the ultimate sign of respect? When the opposing team walks you with the bases loaded. Santa Fe Indian School did that to the senior catcher in the Class 3A quarterfinals, although the Braves won 8-5. It just underscores how dynamic a player Saiz is. He hit .649 in 2022, with five home runs and 46 RBIs, leading the team in each category. He also threw out three of 10 baserunners and guided the Horsemen pitching staff to a 4.76 ERA as the team went 19-7, won a District 2-3A title and earned the top seed in the Class 3A State Tournament. In a crucial game against Las Vegas Robertson on April 26, he went 3-for-3 with two walks, a double and an RBI as the Horsemen essentially clinched the district title in a 14-8 win.
Softball
Shadè-Phea Young, Santa Fe Indian School — Young, a junior starting pitcher, showed she was more than just a pitching phenom. The three-sport star played on the Lady Braves' state runner-up girls basketball team and was a starter for the volleyball program. To top it all off, she also became a world champion hoop dancer in March. But it was softball where Young excelled. She led the team with a 0.69 earned-run average, which ranked second in Class 3A with a class-best 191 strikeouts in 121 innings pitched. The included a five-inning, perfect-game performance in the District 2-3A opener against Raton, in which she retired 10 of the first 12 batters by strikeout. She was at her best during the Class 3A State Tournament, firing three one-hit games to help the Lady Braves to the 3A title game and establishing herself as the premier pitcher in Northern New Mexico.
Golf
Boys
Fisher Hirsch, Santa Fe Prep — A year ago, Hirsch missed out on the Class 1A/3A State Tournament when a family obligation superseded his chance to compete in the tournament last June. There were no scheduling conflicts to prevent Hirsch from establishing himself as one of the premier small-school golfers as a junior. He finished runner-up to Mesilla Valley's Logan Morris in the two-day event at Albuquerque's The Canyon Club at Four Hills in May. He opened with a 5-over 77 to tie for the lead, then carded a 6-over 78 on Day Two for a 13-over performance amid windy conditions that made it challenging for all golfers to navigate. He was in position to win the individual title, but he went 3-over in his final four holes to slip into second. Both rounds were improvements over his initial tour of the course during the State Tournament Preview in late April, where he took third with a 10-over score. He'll have one more year to win a state title — provided no scheduling conflicts arise.
Girls
Nutthanan Leardsakulphasuk — For the second year in a row, a Blue Griffin was at her best in the biggest event of the season. While Leardsakulphasuk didn't win the state title like former teammate Karen Tian in 2021, her ninth-place finish at the Class 1A/3A State Golf Championships was the best performance by a Northern golfer. She carded rounds of 105 and 101 to help herself into the Top 10 amid windy conditions at The Canyon Club at Four Hills. Leardsakulphasuk also guided Prep to the District 2-1A/3A team title on April 28, claiming the individual crown with a 17-over 89 at Marty Sanchez Links de Santa Fe. Overall, Prep shot a 408 to win the district by 16 shots over St. Michael's. The rising junior also took second in the school's inaugural Santa Fe Prep Open on April 13 as the team also claimed the runner-up spot.
Track and field
Big school
Boys
Fenyx Morningdove, Santa Fe Indian School — Morningdove made a splash as a junior while competing at Bernalillo — SFIS did not compete in athletics in 2021 — winning the Class 4A 300-meter hurdles title last June. He went to another level in 3A, dominating the state meet with four individual championships. Not only did he repeat in the 300 hurdles, but he won the 400, 200 and javelin to secure the high-point honor. Even more, he won every single event within a 3 1/2 -hour span on the final day of the meet. It started with a win in the 400 in 49.35 seconds, which was followed 20 minutes later by dominating the 300 hurdles in 40.58. He then rushed off to the javelin competition, which he easily won with a distance of 155 feet, 6 inches. In the midst of doing that, he finished off the track portion of his day with a 200 title in 23-seconds flat. The 2022 graduate will take his skills to the NCAA Division II level, where he will compete at Adams State University as a sprinter.
Girls
Raylee Hunt, St. Michael's — The 2021-22 season was a coming out party for the freshman, who capped a remarkable season with her best performance at the Class 3A state meet. She dominated the three distance events, winning the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters easily. On top of that, she set a state record in the 800 with a time of 2 minutes, 19.74 seconds. She also took third in the triple jump with a distance of 31 feet, 3 1/4 inches and was fifth in the 300 hurdles despite falling over a hurdle while leading the race. Her 27-point effort helped the Lady Horsemen repeat as team champion while also giving her the individual high-point honor. The best part is she has three years left and a plethora of events in which she is capable of winning.
Small schools
Boys
Gilbert Valdez, Peñasco — Valdez had no peer when it came to distance running in Class 2A, and he spent his final day on the track confirming it. After winning the individual title in cross-country, Valdez won all three distance events at the 2A state meet in Albuquerque in May. A season ago, he almost swept the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. This time, he left no doubt as he wasn't challenged in any of those event. His closest competition came in the 800, as Hagerman's Gerardo Mendoza was more than 3 seconds behind Valdez's winning time of 2:01.42. In the 1,600, the gap was 9.77 seconds ahead of Joey Gurule for Academy for Technology and the Classics. The 3,200 was a Panther-fest, as he and teammate Jude Martinez went 1-2, with Valdez winning in 10:40.40 to make up for the one loss he had as a junior at the meet. His effort was merely a prelude to his collegiate pursuits, as he will run cross-country and track and field for Eastern New Mexico University starting in the fall.
Girls
Charli Koseoglu, Academy for Technology and the Classics — Koseoglu had a breakthrough season as a sophomore, collecting more hardware than she had the previous spring and helping the Phoenix to their first state team title in May. She won three races at the 2A meet in Albuquerque, while placing second in the 300 hurdles and javelin to secure the high-point honor with 31 points. She needed 15 minutes to assert her dominance, winning the 100 hurdles and the 100 within 15 minutes of each other to start a busy final day. While she came up short in the 300 and the hurdles, she helped ATC ensure its first title by winning the 200 in 26.42, with teammate Chanelle Jeager taking second .19 behind her. While the Phoenix lose a talented distance runner in Josette Gurule, Koseoglu gives the program a talented thrower, hurdler and sprinter to try and repeat as state champion in 2023.
Tennis
Boys
Wade McDermott, St. Michael's — The Horsemen senior was one of the most dominant players in Class 1A/4A for much of the season, recording a 19-2 record and claiming the District 2-1A/4A singles title in April. Prior to his defeat to Albuquerque Academy's Jack Hubbard in the second round of the Class 1A/4A State Individual Tournament, he had dropped just two sets the entire season — both to eventual 1A/4A singles champion Luciano Silveria of Albuquerque Hope Christian in the finals of the Capital Invitational in early April. As the No. 1 singles player, he helped the seventh-seeded Horsemen reach the finals of the Class 1A/4A Team Tournament, finishing runner-up to Albuquerque Academy. They avenged a 5-4 loss to No. 2 Santa Fe Prep in the district tournament finals by downing the Blue Griffins in the state semifinals.
Girls
Carmen Valentino/Yasmin Verastegui-Palomino, Santa Fe High — The Santa Fe High duo were no strangers on the court when Valentino, an eighth grader, elected to play for the Demonettes. Both played together in the First Serve-New Mexico program since elementary school. Their chemistry was readily apparent as they went 23-4 as Santa Fe High's No. 1 doubles team and took third place at the Class 5A State Individual Tournament in May. Prior to losing to Rio Rancho's Samantha Baltz and Kate Segal in the state semifinals, their only losses came to Class 1A/4A competition. Valentino and Verastegui-Palomino, a sophomore, won the District 5-5A doubles title by beating Manzano's Isabel Spotz and Felice Davis 6-1, 6-0 in April that helped them secure the fourth seed for the 5A tournament.
