SPORTS DIGEST: What's happening?

Thunder silenced on road

The Santa Ana Thunder, now 2-6 in The Basketball League games after a pair of road losses last week, get a chance to avenge a 101-89 loss to the Texas 76ers when the 76ers visit Bernalillo High School for games at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday.

The Shreveport-Bossier Mavericks beat the visiting Thunder 94-88 April 12. Edward Oliver-Hampton led the Thunder with 22 points, Christopher Bradford had 20, Bakarie Evelyn added 16 and Darnel Rushton supplied 12.

The next day, the 76ers beat the Thunder 101-89. Ty Sean Powell paced the Thunder with 23 points, Oliver-Hampton had 17, Lewis added 11 and Bradford and Rushton had 10 apiece. It wasn’t a good day for Evelyn, who went 0 for 10 from the field in more than 36 minutes of playing time.

For more on the Thunder, visit santaanathunder.com.

Great mat crew at Cleveland

Six assistant wrestling coaches at Cleveland High School have been named the 2024 New Mexico “Assistant Coaching Staff of the Year.”

They are Angel Castillo IV, Christoper Quintana, Clayton Pankey, John Booker, Kayla Gomez and Dylan Greenhaus, whose efforts were important in landing the varsity girls team the Class 5A championship trophy and the Storm boys to the 5A runner-up trophy.

“This group of coaches is special,” noted CHS wrestling coach Evan Copeland in a Facebook post. “Early mornings, late nights, long days, preseason practices, 6 a.m. practices, Saturday practices, offseason practices, spring practices, summer practices, three-a-day practices and tournaments all year long, The Conflict at Cleveland and everything that entails, time away from family and loved ones, fundraising, well-run tournaments, terribly ran tournaments, incredible victories, heartbreaking defeats, no hospitality rooms and many other things. These coaches always show up and give their absolute best in everything they encounter!

“They have dedicated their lives to serving others, which is a rarity in today’s world. This recognition is not just for this season and all of its accomplishments, it has been in the making for many years,” Copeland continued. “The consistency and dedication of this group is second to none.”

Speaking of CHS wrestling, sophomore Roman Luttrell was named a member of the state’s Dream Team for the third year in a row. He is a three-time state champ, winning his third at 114 pounds in February.

City’s softball teams met

Cibola senior Anna Barraza stroked a walk-off grand slam to lift her Cougars (14-6, 3-0 in 1-5A) to a 10-6 victory at Rio Rancho April 9.

Delysia Valdez and Jordyn Tenorio each had two hits for the Rams; Tenorio and Mia Martinez had two RBIs apiece.

Also on the 9th, the Cleveland Storm were beaten 16-10 by visiting Volcano Vista.

On April 12, the Rams (9-11, 2-1) outlasted the host Storm (8-12, 0-3), 14-12.

This week, the Rams were home Tuesday to meet Volcano Vista, then go to Atrisco Heritage Academy at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

The Storm were at Atrisco Heritage Academy Tuesday, then head to Los Lunas at 6 p.m. Friday for a nondistrict contest.

Bo knows UFC

Former Rio Rancho High School wrestler Bo Nickal defeated Cody Brundage by submission, using a rear-naked choke, at the 3:38 mark of the second period at UFC 300 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Saturday.

A middleweight, Nickal is now 6-0 in his UFC battles.