10 Thoughts From The Weekend
By: Kyle Henderson of NMPreps.com
1. State Baseball Champions
6A
The Carlsbad Cavemen defeated the Rio Rancho Rams in 9 innings on Saturday to win the Class 6A State Baseball Championship. Played at Isotopes Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico the Cavemen finished out the season with a record of 25-6 on the year under Head Coach Cody May. The Cavemen started Sophomore Nate Arrington, then moved to Standout Junior Trevor Rogers, then brought in Matt Chavarria in the 9th inning when the game was tied 1-1. The Cavemen took a 2-1 lead in the 9th when Chavarria flied out to right center, which brought in Seth Olguin. Chavarria would strike out Willie Baez to end the game.
5A
The Centennial Hawks rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the 7th to beat Goddard 5-4 to claim their first ever baseball state championship. Manny Cachora hit the game winning RBI in the bottom of the 7th scoring two runners to make it a 5-3 final.
Junior Pena hit a RBI triple also in the bottom of the 7th. The Hawks finished the year 25-6 on the season under Head Coach Rusty Evans, this is Centennial's first state baseball title in school history.
4A
Sandra Prep finished the season undefeated against New Mexico teams and overall with a record of 27-4 under Paul Huitt to win their second straight high school baseball championship. Speaking with Huitt after the game he mentored that this group of seniors is 80-12 over the last three seasons. The Sundevils polished off the Portales Rams in the finals winning 13-0, winning pitcher was Joe Martinez who also pitched in the state championship game against Ruidoso as a sophomore during the 2015 season.
3A
The Texico Wolverines led by Head Coach Ty Thatcher won the Class 3A State Baseball Title going 25-4 on the season. They ended the year winning 5 in a row and were led by Senior Tanner Dickerman, Rafael Maldonado, and quite a few underclassmen like Ben Crist, Nathan Phipps, and Dalton Thatcher.
2A/1A
For a second straight year the Melrose Buffs are state baseball champs under Head Coach Caleb King. The Buffs finished the year winning 13 in a row and outscored tournament opponents 36-7 in three games. During the state title game Melrose Senior Wyatt Williams threw a no-hitter and was the winning pitcher in the title game for a second year in a row. Additional players who contributed this year included: Braden Hemming, Rowdy Allen, as well as a handful of underclassmen.
2. Dominance of Rio Rancho Schools
What a year for Rio Rancho Public Schools athletic wise. Rio Rancho and Cleveland combined to win: Football, Boys Basketball, Wrestling, Bowling, Cheer, Boys Track & Field, as well as Girls Track and Field. Just incredible when you think about, these two schools are also top academic public schools in New Mexico as well as two of the largest enrollment wise high schools in the state.
3. Exceptional year for Melrose
The Melrose Buffs went 15-0 on the football field winning the 8-man state championship, went 26-3 on the basketball court winning the Class 2A State Basketball Title, then went 17-4 on the baseball field to win the Class 2A/1A state championship for the second straight year under Head Coach Caleb King.
4. Fan Mail
Since the explosion of social media, the good has come with the bad. We are able to transmit information faster than any other time period with a click of a button. Great for sports updates and internet trolls the same. Over the weekend and really every day my twitter feed as well as Facebook page, youtube page, whatever it may be has been a host for adults and teenagers alike to attack in what’s been an overwhelming sense of hate. Maybe it’s not full fledge hate, but as you know everyone is tougher as well as braver behind a keyboard. While I’ve grown to have tougher skin, I’m also human and when more than 30 people retweet that they hate Kyle Henderson it gets to you a little bit, especially after woking a 16+ day. NMPreps has to have a social media presence as it’s our only form of advertising, we have 10,600 followers on twitter, 11,000 Facebook likes, and more than a 1.6 million views on youtube. My strategy is to take Kyle Henderson out of the social media aspect and just post social media wise from NMPreps.
5. Josh Foley wins 110M Hurdles
Just 6 months after breaking his leg on the football field. Rio Rancho’s Josh Foley came back to defend his 110M hurdles state title. The Rio Rancho Standout Junior who is being recruited by a handful of schools to play football ran a 14.84 110M hurdles time to capture the blue.
6. Jordan Byrd defends 100M Dash
Super Sophomore Jordan Byrd out of Manzano also returned from a injury to defend his 100M Dash Title. The multi sport athlete from Manzano who already has an offer on the table from New Mexico to play football had minor knee surgery this school year battled back to run a blazing 10.77 and finished 2nd in the 200M Dash with a time of 21.68.
7. More than a game
Following the Melrose State Title victory over McCurdy a report asked Senior Wyatt Williams if he had any college offers or if he was planning to continue playing baseball. Williams a student athlete who you would want your own son to follow just smiled as said, “No offers to play any sports, I think I am just going to enjoy this day and focus on attending college in the fall.” Well spoken I thought to myself and imagine being in his shoes, the kid who lives in Melrose just threw a no hitter at Isotopes Park in big ole’ Albuquerque. By the way he won three state title rings this year in football, basketball, and in baseball. Another note that stood out this weekend was in the Rio Rancho dugout. A chair with assistant Coach Ray Chavez’s gear sat on it. Chavez passed away less than two months ago from pancreatic cancer and you could tell just how much Rio Rancho Head Coach Ron Murphy was affected by this as well as the whole community of Rio Rancho, Coach Chavez was only 43-years old. As you know it’s never a bad time to tell someone you love them.
8. Silver wins sixth state softball title in a row
The Silver Lady Colts under Head Coach Duane Trewern won their 6th state softball title in a row this past weekend defeating Hope Christian in the finals by a score of 10-0. The Colts have now won the 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 state softball championships. What were you doing 6 years ago?
9. Goodbye Jim Johns
This season is the last by Eldorado great Jim Johns. Johns with more than 500 career wins is retiring from baseball and if you’ve had the chance to meet him or talk with for a minute or two, you know we’re losing a great baseball icon and hopefully he sticks around in some capacity. One of the true good guy coaches that coached baseball for 29 years at Eldorado and won 7 state championships including the 2015 season just one year ago.
10. Summer Plans
Bout to hit the road this summer and what looks to be actioned packed! A visit to my old stomping grounds to Redondo Beach, a visit to the Redwoods, camping at Yosemite, followed by a trip to Atlanta, Georgia then a stop at the Georgia Dome for the Rivals 5 Star Challenge, a quick trip to NYC to have a taste of the big apple, then the 9th year of the NMPreps Elite Combine, then spending some time in Boulder, Colorado working on a new business project.
What a great 2015/2016 high school sports year this has been!
By: Kyle Henderson of NMPreps.com
1. State Baseball Champions
6A
The Carlsbad Cavemen defeated the Rio Rancho Rams in 9 innings on Saturday to win the Class 6A State Baseball Championship. Played at Isotopes Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico the Cavemen finished out the season with a record of 25-6 on the year under Head Coach Cody May. The Cavemen started Sophomore Nate Arrington, then moved to Standout Junior Trevor Rogers, then brought in Matt Chavarria in the 9th inning when the game was tied 1-1. The Cavemen took a 2-1 lead in the 9th when Chavarria flied out to right center, which brought in Seth Olguin. Chavarria would strike out Willie Baez to end the game.
5A
The Centennial Hawks rallied from a 4-2 deficit in the bottom of the 7th to beat Goddard 5-4 to claim their first ever baseball state championship. Manny Cachora hit the game winning RBI in the bottom of the 7th scoring two runners to make it a 5-3 final.
Junior Pena hit a RBI triple also in the bottom of the 7th. The Hawks finished the year 25-6 on the season under Head Coach Rusty Evans, this is Centennial's first state baseball title in school history.
4A
Sandra Prep finished the season undefeated against New Mexico teams and overall with a record of 27-4 under Paul Huitt to win their second straight high school baseball championship. Speaking with Huitt after the game he mentored that this group of seniors is 80-12 over the last three seasons. The Sundevils polished off the Portales Rams in the finals winning 13-0, winning pitcher was Joe Martinez who also pitched in the state championship game against Ruidoso as a sophomore during the 2015 season.
3A
The Texico Wolverines led by Head Coach Ty Thatcher won the Class 3A State Baseball Title going 25-4 on the season. They ended the year winning 5 in a row and were led by Senior Tanner Dickerman, Rafael Maldonado, and quite a few underclassmen like Ben Crist, Nathan Phipps, and Dalton Thatcher.
2A/1A
For a second straight year the Melrose Buffs are state baseball champs under Head Coach Caleb King. The Buffs finished the year winning 13 in a row and outscored tournament opponents 36-7 in three games. During the state title game Melrose Senior Wyatt Williams threw a no-hitter and was the winning pitcher in the title game for a second year in a row. Additional players who contributed this year included: Braden Hemming, Rowdy Allen, as well as a handful of underclassmen.
2. Dominance of Rio Rancho Schools
What a year for Rio Rancho Public Schools athletic wise. Rio Rancho and Cleveland combined to win: Football, Boys Basketball, Wrestling, Bowling, Cheer, Boys Track & Field, as well as Girls Track and Field. Just incredible when you think about, these two schools are also top academic public schools in New Mexico as well as two of the largest enrollment wise high schools in the state.
3. Exceptional year for Melrose
The Melrose Buffs went 15-0 on the football field winning the 8-man state championship, went 26-3 on the basketball court winning the Class 2A State Basketball Title, then went 17-4 on the baseball field to win the Class 2A/1A state championship for the second straight year under Head Coach Caleb King.
4. Fan Mail
Since the explosion of social media, the good has come with the bad. We are able to transmit information faster than any other time period with a click of a button. Great for sports updates and internet trolls the same. Over the weekend and really every day my twitter feed as well as Facebook page, youtube page, whatever it may be has been a host for adults and teenagers alike to attack in what’s been an overwhelming sense of hate. Maybe it’s not full fledge hate, but as you know everyone is tougher as well as braver behind a keyboard. While I’ve grown to have tougher skin, I’m also human and when more than 30 people retweet that they hate Kyle Henderson it gets to you a little bit, especially after woking a 16+ day. NMPreps has to have a social media presence as it’s our only form of advertising, we have 10,600 followers on twitter, 11,000 Facebook likes, and more than a 1.6 million views on youtube. My strategy is to take Kyle Henderson out of the social media aspect and just post social media wise from NMPreps.
5. Josh Foley wins 110M Hurdles
Just 6 months after breaking his leg on the football field. Rio Rancho’s Josh Foley came back to defend his 110M hurdles state title. The Rio Rancho Standout Junior who is being recruited by a handful of schools to play football ran a 14.84 110M hurdles time to capture the blue.
6. Jordan Byrd defends 100M Dash
Super Sophomore Jordan Byrd out of Manzano also returned from a injury to defend his 100M Dash Title. The multi sport athlete from Manzano who already has an offer on the table from New Mexico to play football had minor knee surgery this school year battled back to run a blazing 10.77 and finished 2nd in the 200M Dash with a time of 21.68.
7. More than a game
Following the Melrose State Title victory over McCurdy a report asked Senior Wyatt Williams if he had any college offers or if he was planning to continue playing baseball. Williams a student athlete who you would want your own son to follow just smiled as said, “No offers to play any sports, I think I am just going to enjoy this day and focus on attending college in the fall.” Well spoken I thought to myself and imagine being in his shoes, the kid who lives in Melrose just threw a no hitter at Isotopes Park in big ole’ Albuquerque. By the way he won three state title rings this year in football, basketball, and in baseball. Another note that stood out this weekend was in the Rio Rancho dugout. A chair with assistant Coach Ray Chavez’s gear sat on it. Chavez passed away less than two months ago from pancreatic cancer and you could tell just how much Rio Rancho Head Coach Ron Murphy was affected by this as well as the whole community of Rio Rancho, Coach Chavez was only 43-years old. As you know it’s never a bad time to tell someone you love them.
8. Silver wins sixth state softball title in a row
The Silver Lady Colts under Head Coach Duane Trewern won their 6th state softball title in a row this past weekend defeating Hope Christian in the finals by a score of 10-0. The Colts have now won the 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 state softball championships. What were you doing 6 years ago?
9. Goodbye Jim Johns
This season is the last by Eldorado great Jim Johns. Johns with more than 500 career wins is retiring from baseball and if you’ve had the chance to meet him or talk with for a minute or two, you know we’re losing a great baseball icon and hopefully he sticks around in some capacity. One of the true good guy coaches that coached baseball for 29 years at Eldorado and won 7 state championships including the 2015 season just one year ago.
10. Summer Plans
Bout to hit the road this summer and what looks to be actioned packed! A visit to my old stomping grounds to Redondo Beach, a visit to the Redwoods, camping at Yosemite, followed by a trip to Atlanta, Georgia then a stop at the Georgia Dome for the Rivals 5 Star Challenge, a quick trip to NYC to have a taste of the big apple, then the 9th year of the NMPreps Elite Combine, then spending some time in Boulder, Colorado working on a new business project.
What a great 2015/2016 high school sports year this has been!
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