For a decade, volleyball has been a big part of Mariana Arambula’s life.
“I love how we’re all playing as a team,” she said. “I love spiking the ball over and hitting it down. And getting so hyped up with my team after a spike or a serve ace. I just really enjoy volleyball. It’s my most favorite sport.”
Luckily for McCurdy, she also enjoys playing other sports, like basketball and softball, plus this year she also competed in track and field. Pretty much any sport that’s in season, Arambula not just plays, but excels in, which made her the SUN’s female prep athlete of the year.
“She’s really something,” Lady Bobcats Athletic Director Ian Maestas said. “I can’t say enough good things about her.”
Volleyball was Arambula’s first love and it certainly shows in her numbers: She recorded 781 kills with a 33.7% success rate, while hitting at a 20.4% clip. She added 30 blocks and 89 aces along with 176 digs. Arambula helped the Lady Bobcats go 2-2 at the state tournament this season as they finished sixth after entering the playoff seeded ninth.
“She definitely has that great athleticism in everything that she does,” volleyball coach Maxine Martinez said. “She’s a fierce competitor with great character. She’s coachable and willing to do all that is asked of her. She was definitely a pleasure to have on the team.”
Ah, but she’s so much more than that, the coach said.
“She’s a great leader, as well,” Martinez said. “She expects a lot from her teammates. She’s the one that’s there all the time. She’s like another coach on the court. She knows every position, where everybody is supposed to be. On top of her athleticism, she’s got all these other characteristics that really give us a lot.”
In basketball, Arambula was the Dennis Rodman of Northern New Mexico, gobbling up errant shots at a ferocious rate, averaging 14.2 rebounds a game.
“It really helps out my team so I go out with a good attitude to be the best post player or center,” she said. “I’m tall so that’s how it goes. A lot of times my height is an advantage for me.”
Lady Bobcats coach Mel Martinez, who just took over the program before this last season, cherished his one season with Arambula as she led them to the state tournament for the first time since 2019.
“Given the one year I had her, she was great,” he said. “She was the team captain and a true team captain. A true leader on and off the court. A lot of times, she was at practice before me. She has an awesome attitude, work ethic and she’s naturally talented.”
Arambula is the type of player coaches yearn to have on the roster.
“I wanted to coach girls like this,” Mel Martinez said. “She truly set the standard for the girls for the program coming up. She’s helped build this basketball team. I’m glad she got to experience some of the highs this year so that was great. She is truly a coach’s dream to coach.”
The spring was particularly crowded as Arambula not only was playing softball, but also dabbling in track.
While the McCurdy softball team didn’t perform as well as they hoped, that can’t be blamed on Arambula, who batted a robust .619 with 21 extra base hits, including six home runs. She also drove in 35 runs while scoring 30.
“She really started to blossom around her sophomore year,” coach Joe Valdez said, adding she played wherever she was needed. “You could really see what she was going to become. A great leader. She was the type of girl that she could get a lot of girls to perform just by her actions, the way she would conduct herself, both on the field and off the field.”
Arambula didn’t actually start playing softball until her eighth grade year, following in her older sister’s footsteps. But this season was probably the most fun she’s had.
“I think my hitting has improved so much from last year,” she said. “That’s the biggest thing that changed for me this year.”
And track was something she’s wanted to try and finally had the time to do so this season. And not only did she end up qualifying for the state meet, she landed on the podium, taking fifth in the shot put.
“I was actually supposed to join last year, but my schedule was too crowded,” Arambula said, adding that being a half-day student this final semester helped significantly. “I really enjoyed it. I did javelin and shot put, but I enjoyed shot put a lot more. I learned a lot from it.”
McCurdy track coach Cecilia Brown, who coached Arambula in basketball in middle school, said it’s been a pleasure to watch her grow as an athlete and as a person.
“I just feel like she’s the epitome of perseverance and dedication and working hard and not letting circumstances bring her down,” Brown said, referring to the fact that Arambula is a single mother with a 2-year-old son.
“She actually used that as motivation to be the best she can be,” Brown said. “Her family was a big supporter in that. She really just persevered and worked hard to be the best she can be.”
Raising a child, attending school and earning a 3.2 grade-point average and being a standout athlete are all just part of day’s work, Arambula said.
“I don’t think it was challenging,” she said of her athletic achievements. “I felt like I wanted to go out in my last school year with some good accomplishments and I feel like I did succeed in that. I really wanted to leave a mark at McCurdy for myself.”
Having a toddler to raise, especially now as she heads off to Northern New Mexico College to study nursing, “has been a little tough,” Arambula admits. “But I feel like, I had to grow up much faster and mature much faster and it has shaped me and it really helped me a lot. I have become better in so many things, even in sports.”