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SPORTS DIGEST: What's happening?
Published
Modified
Still batting 1.000
The Rio Rancho High School cheerleading squad, coached by Wendy Lopez, won its 11th trophy in the last 11 years Saturday at the Life of an Athlete State Spirit Championships presented by NMDOT.
La Cueva High School won the Class 5A blue trophy with a total score of 187.93; the Rams were second, with performance scores of 89.2 and 90.8 for a total of 180. Eldorado (178.93) finished third.
Cleveland High School (155.9) was a distant 14th at the state meet, held at The Pit.
More power! Championships in Events Center
The 2024 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and National Electrical Contractors Association State Powerlifting Championships (Could the NMAA get a longer name?) take place Friday and Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
Tickets can be purchased online only via GoFan (No cash sales) at https://gofan.co/app/school/NMAA.
Admission prices are: $17 for a day pass (allows re-entry privileges); $12 for adults (no re-entry); and $7 for students in grades 1-12, senior citizens ages 65 and above, and members of the military (no re-entry).
The doors open at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday, with the “bars loaded” at 10 each day. As for the events, they are squat (10-12:30 p.m.); bench (1-3:30 p.m.); and deadlift (3:30-6 p.m.). Team awards are presented from 6-6:30 both days; individual awards are presented at the conclusion of each weight class.
Results will be available at nmact.org.
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United we stand at RRHS
The New Mexico United soccer team will host the Lubbock Matadors in a U.S. Open Cup third-round match at Rio Rancho High School at 7 p.m. on April 16.
The Matadors, who compete in the National Premier Soccer League, advanced with a 2-0 win over FORO FC on April 2 at Lubbock Christian University.
United is one of 16 USL Championship teams that will enter the U.S.
Open Cup bracket in the third round. The New Mexico-Lubbock winner will advance to the tournament’s round of 32 on May 7-8.
Tickets are on sale at newmexicoutd.com.
RRHS boys soccer meeting set
All boys interested in playing soccer for Rio Rancho High School in the fall, along with their parents, are invited to attend the spring informational meeting at 7 p.m. April 25 in the RRHS cafeteria.
You can meet the coaches and learn about summer training and tryouts.
More information can be found at ramsoccer.org.
If you have any questions, contact coach John Shepard (john.shepard@rrps.net).
RRHS Youth Soccer Camp in June
The Rio Rancho High School boys and girls soccer programs will be hosting the annual summer RRHS Youth Soccer Camp from 8-11 a.m. June 26-28. The camp is for boys and girls, ages 7-12.
The camps have limited space, so register soon to secure your child’s spot. The cost is $99 per player in advance, $120 for walk-ups. RRHS Rams soccer T-shirts will go to those who register in advance, and for as many walk-ups that T-shirts are still available.
For more information and to register, go to rioranchocamps.net. For questions, call coach John Shepard at 505-896-4042.
Rams girls seek another soccer coach
The Rio Rancho High School girls soccer team needs another coach — basically, the fifth in five seasons.
Uwe Balzis was the longtime head coach who resigned after the 2021 season, replaced in the 2022 season by Todd Doss.
Doss was to be replaced by New Mexico Runners’ player Colton Oord, who gave up that post when another more lucrative arrived; former Ram standout Michael Gonzales coached the girls in 2023.
“After much thought and consideration,” Gonzales, the RRHS girls track coach said, “I want to focus more on my passion for coaching track and field. I enjoyed the season I was able to coach girls soccer, especially at Rio Rancho. I wish the best for the girls soccer program.”
Former Rams matmen change colleges
Former Rio Rancho High School wrestlers Riley Butt and Kyle Lewis have finished their eligibility at Northeast Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, and recently signed to move on to four-year schools.
Lewis will be attending Chadron (Nebraska) State College, and Butt will be headed to Western Colorado University.
Latest from the local lanes
A new "king of the hill" has been crowned at Tenpins & More, after Eric Vanderlip survived qualifying rounds, then walked through four more rounds untouched.
The left-hander made the cut from 35 to 18 players in 15th place with 817/4 on the 50-foot long sport lane pattern, then added 279, 258, 223 and a closing 202-193 win over Sam Pinge on April 7 to notch his first win in the series from six attempts.
* This weekend, April 13-14, is the second and final chance for men and women senior bowlers to try and win a city title in the tournament being held at Tenpins & More.
More than 300 bowlers are signed up for the conclusion in teams of four, doubles and singles events.
* DeeRonn Booker, who won the U.S. Masters major championship recently in Las Vegas, is in Detroit for the "World Series of Bowling" the next two weeks.
Booker, who manages the pro shop inside Starlight Lanes, averaged a consistent 223.4 over 19 games, the highlight being his 279/300 back-to-back to beat reigning PBA Player-of-the-Year, E.J. Tackett in an earlier round.
* Carson Opela came within pins of breaking the eight-game house record in last Sunday's Doubles Marathon at Tenpins & More.
The former Rio Rancho Rams anchor put together a rare series with 300, 220, 243, 300, 290, 244, 223 and 243 for 2,063 total pinfall, at an average of 257.8 pins per game.
His output enabled him and partner Jon Arevalo to win with an 8-0 match-play result, assisted by Arevalo's stout 213 average.
Tom Thornhill and Peter Silva won a roll-off 382-357 over Socorro's Will Hall and Joseph Paterson for second and third place ahead of five other duos who cashed in the full-house tournament.
Thornhill's 228.1 average was a personal best, while Robin Prioleau 227.8, Charles Vigil 220.1 and Billy Grant 219.7 weren't far off Opela's blistering pace.
