SPORTS DIGEST: Golf, boxing, Gladiators and two youth sports camps

City’s golf teams finish in top 10

The Rio Rancho High School boys golf team placed fifth and the Cleveland High boys were sixth April 29 at the annual APS Metro Golf Championships, played at Los Altos Golf Course in Albuquerque.

La Cueva High School won the boys competition with a team score of 300. The Bears were followed by St. Pius X (303), Albuquerque Academy (309), Volcano Vista (312), the Rams (322) and the Storm (332) in the 16-team field.

RRHS’s Payton Black (75) tied for sixth, and CHS’s Zerrik Harrington (76) was tied for eighth.

The girls teams reversed the boys’ finish: Cleveland (393) was fifth and the Rams (401) were sixth.

Albuquerque Academy (319) won the girls division, followed by La Cueva (323), St. Pius X (346), Clovis (386) and the City of Vision teams.

No city girls were among the top 10.

Hoops camps for youngsters at RRHS

Rio Rancho High School boys basketball coach Wally Salata is having two more youth basketball camps in the RAC this spring, May 28-31 and June 10-14, from 9 a.m. to noon each session.

Both are for boys and girls entering kindergarten through ninth grade when the 2024-25 school year starts, and both focus on fundamentals.

The cost for each is $125 in advance, $150 for walkups the first days.

Campers will learn the basic skills and fundamentals in the game and play five-on-five games every day. Campers receive a T-shirt and basketball for attending.

The camp has sold out for the past 10 years, with 120 campers (30 in each age group K-2, 3-4, 5-6 and 7-9) being the maximum per session.

To register, go to rioranchocamps.net. For more information, contact Salata by email at wally.salata@rrps.net or by phone at 505-620-9068.

Learn from Legendre

Nick Legendre, a former soccer standout at Cleveland High School and now a soccer player at the University of Notre Dame, is hosting a soccer camp from 2-6 p.m. May 11-12 at the Bernalillo soccer complex.

It is for boys and girls ages 5-14 and costs $125 per player.

Legendre, who played in a few indoor soccer games this past season for the New Mexico Runners, said his “mission for this camp is to spread the importance of education all the while making sure each person has fun. This is going to be a great opportunity for young soccer players to grow not only through their soccer skills, but they will grow holistically as well.”

Campers will be surrounded by high-level college players from many universities who seek to challenge every player to better themselves on and off the pitch.

“We are also giving out flowers to each of the kids to give to their moms on Mother's Day at the end of camp,” he added.

For more information, email Legendre at nich28680@gmail.com.

Gladiators home May 11 to face Gunslingers

After suffering a 42-28 loss in Henderson, Nevada, on April 27, the Duke City Gladiators (0-5) were idle last weekend.

Before their loss to the Knight Hawks in Sin City, the Gladiators signed quarterback Alphonso Howard, making him the third QB to start this season — all with the same result.

The Gladiators never led, although the game was knotted at 21 after Howard’s second TD pass of the game.

The Knight Hawks (5-0) outscored the Gladiators 21-7 the rest of the way. McDowell Malik scored Duke City’s first TD on a pick-6; Deva Concliffe and Gregory Dent Jr. were on the receiving ends of touchdown passes; Ernesto Lacayo kicked two 30-yard field goals, the first giving the Gladiators a 28-24 halftime deficit.

Howard played quarterback at Eastern Kentucky University and later was undefeated as a starter and a pro in the Fan Controlled League. He was 11 of 25 passing for 138 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

The team announced May 1 it signed QB Joseph Mancuso, who played at the University of Richmond, in the Canadian Football League with Winnipeg, and for the Knight Hawks of the IFL.

The Gladiators’ next game is Saturday, May 11, when the San Antonio Gunslingers (2-3) visit the Rio Rancho Events Center for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff. San Antonio, also idle this week, has won its last two games.

San Antonio and the Jacksonville Sharks are new Indoor Football League teams for 2024, bringing the number of teams in the league to 16.

Boxing day at Bernalillo High School

Zimbalist “Zim” Satcher has scheduled an amateur boxing event at Bernalillo High School on June 15.

Satcher staged his first amateur card in December at Able Strength Fitness in Rio Rancho. But as close as the gym is to his home, Bernalillo High is closer.

It feels closer, too. “I literally live down the street,” Satcher said.

As a boxing coach, Satcher was a protégé of the late Joe Louis Murphy. After Murphy’s death in November 2022, Satcher formed his own club, The Crow & The Cub.

Among his pupils is his son, Zimbalist Jr., who also competes in track and field (triple jump, 400 meters) for Cleveland High School.

Zim Jr. used to play basketball — his dad played at Albuquerque High — but discovered he preferred track and boxing.