St. Michael’s Mariella Rigales serves this month during the State Tennis Tournament in Albuquerque. Rigales advanced to the championship match of the tournament before falling to Goddard High School’s Avery Williams.
St. Michael’s Mariella Rigales serves this month during the State Tennis Tournament in Albuquerque. Rigales advanced to the championship match of the tournament before falling to Goddard High School’s Avery Williams.
Spring sports are coming to a close across New Mexico, and some Santa Fe teams dominated the state this season. Santa Fe’s student-athletes have finished not only the school year strong but their athletic season as well.
Track and field
The Santa Fe High School Demons came close to placing among the top three in Class 5A at the Track and Field State Championships at the University of New Mexico on May 18. The Demons’ 800-meter relay team broke the district record, clocking in at 1:27:20.
Meanwhile, in Class 3A, St. Michael’s High School dominated the team standings with both its boys and girls finishing first. Santa Fe Preparatory School girls took second.
In Class 2A, the Academy for the Technology and Classics snagged the girls title over Menaul High School in Albuquerque.
In individual races, Santa Fe High School junior Valin Wittenburg grabbed third in the boys 400-meter dash, with fellow Santa Fe High sophomore Severin Kofler close behind.
For the girls, Santa Fe High junior Zavia Burton finished sixth in the 300-meter hurdles. Meanwhile, St. Michael’s junior Raylee Hunt finished second in the 800-meter run for Class 3A, with Santa Fe Indian School junior Destiny Chino placing fourth. In Class 2A, ATC’s Charli Koseoglu, a senior, won the 100 and 200 meters, then set a state record in the javelin to go with the long jump title.
Tennis
Santa Fe High seniors Carlos Flores and Humza Mahmood made history for the Demons with the school’s first boys tennis doubles title since 2012 during the state championships May 9 at the Jerry Cline Tennis Complex in Albuquerque.
Santa Fe High duo junior Carmen Valentino and senior Yasmin Verastegui-Palomino finished third in girls Class 5A. St. Michael’s senior Mariella Rigales was a favorite for the individual state championship, The New Mexican reported. Rigales won 16 matches on her way to a district title and the top seed at state, but in the end, she couldn’t get past Goddard High School junior Avery Williams in the championship match.
Baseball
On the diamond, St. Michael’s High School lost to Ruidoso in the quarterfinals of Class 3A, with Las Vegas Robertson taking the title over crosstown rival West Las Vegas. In Class 4A, Grants High School won the title, while Albuquerque La Cueva beat Rio Rancho Cleveland in Class 5A.
Golf
Santa Fe Prep senior Jazmin Leardsakulphasuk took second place at the Class 1A-3A State Golf Championships at the New Mexico Tech Golf Course earlier this month in Socorro.
Meanwhile, the St. Michael’s boys and girls teams both placed third in the competition. Ultimately, Mesilla Valley High School took the boys state title, while Texico High beat out Socorro for the girls state title.
Emily J. Aguirre is a sophomore at Santa Fe Prep. Contact her at emjazz19@gmail.com. Hanbi Park is a junior at Santa Fe High School. Contact him at hanbipark2006@gmail.com.
The Santa Fe New Mexican observes its 175th anniversary with a series highlighting some of the major stories and figures that have appeared in the paper's pages through its history. The collection also includes archival photo galleries.
