PREP STARS
A look at our top performers
W ith the prep season again in the books, it’s time to put a capper on the performances. Usually, the Journal North just acknowledges a male and female athlete of the year but, this season, we decided to also recognize the athletes who shone in their individual sports (as well as a spirit squad). And look for the male and female athletes of the year in the next edition June 3.
FALL CROSS-COUNTRY
BOYS: Julian Garcia, Pecos. Garcia led a startling effort for the Panthers, who placed five runners among the top 10 in the 3A field for the program’s second overall championship. His individual winning time of 16 minutes, 35 seconds would have placed him in the top five in 4A and 5A, as well. GIRLS: Alizabeth Williams, Academy for Technology and the Classics. Williams, who is heading to compete at Western State Colorado University, led the Phoenix to their first state championship in any sport by winning the 3A individual title in a time of 20:00.09. She snagged the title with a final kick to overtake the leader.
FOOTBALL
Augie Larranaga, Capital. Larranaga’s importance to the Jaguars football squad goes beyond the simple numbers, which are impressive: 23 touchdowns passing, seven more rushing; and 2,400 combined passing and rushing yards. Larranaga was the face behind the rebirth of the Capital program and the first player opponents gameplanned for each week.
SOCCER
BOYS: Aidan Cserhat, Taos. Although the Tigers’ bid for a 4A state championship fell short in the finale, Cserhat finished with a state-best 50 goals and 27 assists, putting him among the nation’s leaders. And he even stepped into goal in the state quarterfinals’s overtime shootout to make a gamesaving stop.
GIRLS: Nique Enloe, St. Michael’s. Enloe nearly drove her Lady Horsemen to the state championship but, in the end, they could not prevent Hope Christian from winning a third straight title. Still, Enloe finished with a statebest 53 goals and added another 18 assists for a state-best 124 points.
VOLLEYBALL
Jenika Padilla, West Las Vegas. Outside hitter Trujillo was part of a potent offense that included fellow hitters Reyna Trujillo and Jaylen Gutierrez. But Padilla, while leading the team in kills with 179, also was a tough defender, scooping up 228 digs. For good measure, Padilla added 64 aces.
WINTER BASKETBALL
BOYS: Marcos Flores, Española Valley. The light-it-up scorer gets the hoops accolades, but the gritty defender gets the ring. Such was the case with Flores, who stifled high-scoring rival Eric Coca of Capital in the 5A state championship game and added a game-high 12 points for good measure as the Sundevils grabbed the blue.
GIRLS: Kaitlyn Romero, Española Valley. Romero, who has signed to play at New Mexico Highlands, was the Sundevils’ all-everything player, having taken turns at all positions on the floor at some point or another. She was the team’s leading scorer and goplayer in the run up to a semifinal appearance at state.
SPIRIT
Keanna Capener, St. Michael’s. It wasn’t so much what she did on the floor, but more her simple presence there that sets Capener apart. Returning to help the Lady Horsemen’s Pony Express dance team win a 25th state championship, Capener had to overcome stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And kudos to teammate Monique Olivas, who voluntarily gave up her spot on the team to pave the way for Capener’s return.
SWIM & DIVE
BOYS: Alex Jaegers, Los Alamos. In a down year for local boys swimming, sprinter Jaegers carried the torch, pulling in a sixth-place finish in the 100-yard freestyle and adding a seventhplace finish in the 50 free. He also helped the Hilltoppers finish eighth in the 200-medley relay as the team took 10th overall.
Sarah Lott, Los Alamos. Lott, who will be competing at Utah, set a state record in the 200 yards in a time of 1:49.29. Lott added a gold medal in the 100-yard free and a bronze with the 200-medley team, helping the Hilltoppers to a fourth-place finish overall.
WRESTLING
Xavier Vigil, St. Michael’s. Vigil cruised through the season with barely a blip. He polished off a 31-0 record in the 195-pound weight division with a pin of Shiprock’s Logan Charley. It gave Vigil consecutive titles after winning at 182 in 2015.
SPRING BASEBALL
Connor Mang, Los Alamos. Mang is following in his brother Jared Mang’s footsteps by heading to the University of New Mexico, where coaches expect him to make an impact behind a lively fastball that can climbs into the 90s. Mang helped the Hilltoppers reach the quarterfinals, losing to eventual state champion Centennial 5-4.
GOLF
BOYS: Marshall Spingler, St. Michael’s. Spingler shot a 12-over 76-78 — 154 at Nancy Lopez Golf Course at Spring River in Roswell to finish sixth overall, two strokes ahead of teammate Allen Sanchez. The two helped the Horsemen move up to fourth overall, one stroke behind third-place Hope.
GIRLS: Jennifer Necker, Los Alamos. Necker shot a 32-over-par 95-81 — 176 to finish sixth overall at the state tournament earlier in the month at Piñon Hills Golf Course in Farmington. Necker, who also was sixth last year, helped the Hilltoppers to a fourthplace finish.
SOFTBALL
Allie Berhost, St. Michael’s. As the Lady Horsemen went through the difficult task of overcoming the loss of longtime coach Roseanne Noedel, who died just before the season started, Berhost was a rock of solid performance. She hit. 655 with five homers and 55 RBI, and went 18-4 on the mound with a 1.53 earned-run average. Berhost will compete at Scottsdale Community College.
TENNIS
BOYS: Warren Fulgenzi, Robertson. Fulgenzi cruised to a state singles championship 6-3, 6-0 over previously unbeaten Will McDermott of St. Michael’s, capping a 24-0 campaign. It was his second straight singles title and he also won a doubles championship in 2012 with Santa Fe.
GIRLS: Brandee Fulgenzi, Robertson. Fulgenzi teamed with her younger sister Lauren Fulgenzi to beat another pair of Fulgenzi sisters — Lauren and Brandee’s cousins Jaci and Jenese — for the state doubles championship. Brandee Fulgenzi won the singles crown last year. The four Fulgenzis then teamed to overwhelm all comers for the team title.
TRACK & FIELD
BOYS: All Peñasco’s Isaiah Rodarte did was win three state championships — the 800, 1,600 and 3,200. Oh, and set records in each one. And he did the 800 and 3,200 on the same day. In the 3,200, however, bookkeepers will have little work to do as he already owned that record, just lowered by four seconds.
GIRLS: Akeisha Ayanniyi, Santa Fe. A year after her winning long jump was ruled not a state record because of the wind, Ayanniyi erased one of the state’s oldest marks — Hobbs’ Cassandra White’s 1984 record — going 19-9¼ on the final jump of her high school career. For good measure, the New Mexico signee took second in the 100 and third in the 200.