Sundevils lead district after buzzer beater
Marques Martinez found Jaydn Martinez on a pass and he sank a contested 3-point jumper as the buzzer sounded, and Española Valley Sundevils (5-16, 3-0 in district) swarmed onto the court as they secured a 49-48 win over Los Alamos (8-12, 2-1) on Jan. 26 to become the last undefeated team standing in District 2-4A.
It has been a remarkable turnaround for Española Valley, with three straight wins to start district play after going 2-16 in non-district games.
The Sundevils will face the top-ranked team in the district, Taos (11-9, 2-1), on Tuesday, and against Pojoaque (13-8, 1-2) at home on Friday.
McCurdy boys slide into second place
The Bobcats (9-11, 3-1 in district) recorded a big win over Mora (10-9, 2-2) at 65-62 to win their fourth straight game, third straight district game.
McCurdy used a 24-7 second-quarter advantage to take a 13-point lead into halftime, and used that to hold off a late charge by the Rangers.
The resurgent Bobcats will look to take over the top of the district while facing their top competition this week: they host Escalante (12-7, 3-1) on Thursday, and Mesa Vista (11-9, 4-0) on Saturday, two games that will go a long way toward their standings.
Powerlifting team starts the season
The Española Valley High School powerlifting team finished second for both boys and girls in their first meet in the program’s second season at the Bernalillo Invite on Jan. 28.
On the girls side, Olivia Suazo, Melorie Martinez and Anna Lee Trujillo all won first place in their weight classes. Leandro Salazar, Bryan Almedia and EJ Martinez did the same for the boys.
Salazar set a state record in the bench press last year, and increased his lift by 25 pounds to 345. Almedia deadlifted 510 pounds.
Full results were not available online by Tuesday. Española hosts a meet on Feb. 18
“The first meet was so successful,” team coach Rudy Martinez said. “I can’t give these kids enough credit.”
Lady Trojans continue rolling through all opponents
Mesa Vista (18-2, 4-0 in district) scored two more big wins, defeating Questa (8-11, 2-2) 73-35 on Jan. 26, and Peñasco (9-10, 2-2) 52-47 on Jan. 28.
The Peñasco game was intense and hard fought, and the Trojans rallied from a small halftime deficit with an 18-7 third quarter for the win. Tana Lopez led the team scoring 29 points on 11-of-23 shooting, while Amarissa Quintana had seven of the team’s 27 steals.
The Lady Trojans next play at Mora (6-12, 1-3) on Thursday.
Sanchez leads Elks to a win
Senior Derek Sanchez scored 40 points, making 16 field goals on 26 attempts, in an impressive and efficient scoring output to beat Moriarty (7-15, 0-4) 90-70 on Jan. 28, and break a five-game losing streak for the Elks (13-8, 1-2).
Serafin Mendez, a freshman who had been limited with an injury, had a big night with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Pojoaque will play at Los Alamos (8-12, 2-1) on Tuesday and travel to Española Valley (5-16, 3-0) on Friday.