Taos soccer teams earn spots in post season tourney

Both the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams learned they had been invited to the 2023 state soccer championships at the conclusion of their respective regular seasons last year. In a strange and convenient twist, both girls and boys were matched up with the same opponent, the Santa Teresa High Warriors, which would allow the two teams to travel to their first-round contests together.

The tournament began Oct. 31, a mere two days after finding out they had made it in.

Coincidentally, both teams lost their opening round matches by a score of 1-0.

9. Best-of-the-best track meet

Two Tigers, two Ladycats attend Marilyn Sepulveda Meet of Champions

Two runners, a jumper and a thrower traveled to University of New Mexico Track and Field Stadium in Albuquerque to compete in the Annual Marilyn Sepulveda Meet of Champions April 15. The gathering offers the state’s elite athletes from all five classifications the opportunity to test their prowess against one another in what’s billed as a “one day, one heat, one flight” track meet. 

Mainly, the top individuals from each event are selected to compete in a single heat with no preliminary races and no team score. There are no relay events at this particular gathering, and the meet is completed in a very timely manner.

8. Taos wrestling resurges

Jerome Martinez and Manuel Maes end two-year medal drought with top-six finishes

After two days of rapid-fire wrestling matches, a pair of Taos Tiger grapplers came home from the New Mexico state wrestling tournament with medals — augmenting an impressive season that is witnessing the revival of a once proud and prominent program.

Taos High School senior Jerome Martinez faced six challengers, winning four by fall on his way to a fifth-place finish in the 215-pound division. For the season, Martinez finished with a 27-6 overall record and ended a two-year medal drought for Taos.

In the 121-pound division, Manuel Maes’ journey consisted of six matches that afforded him a sixth-place finish at the wrestling state championship tournament in Rio Rancho Feb. 23-24.

7. Martinez bros bookend relay team

Peñasco 4×800-meter relay team meets expectations and claims state title 

The Peñasco 4×800-meter relay team of Jeremiah R. Martinez, Angel Romero, Matias Vigil and Jude Martinez eked out a win in thrilling fashion by outpacing the class 2A field at the 2024 New Mexico state track meet May 10.

The Panthers entered the event as the favored team with a seed time of 9 minutes, 0.29 seconds, and notched a time 9 minutes, 0.43 seconds — a mere two-tenths of a second ahead of the Hagerman Bobcats in an exciting finish that included a dive across the finish line by Jude Martinez.

6. Coach Abreu steps down

Longtime coach heads south to begin next chapter 

In a surprise announcement, Art Abreu Jr. resigned from his position as the head coach of the Taos Tigers football team. Abreu, who has helmed the Taos gridiron squad for nine years and owns a 59-36 overall record and state title, told his current roster of players during a team meeting March 21 he would be leaving his post.

Abreu will be joining the coaching staff at Eldorado High School in Albuquerque. The Eldorado Eagles are members of district 2/5 in class 6A, which includes Farmington and other Albuquerque Public Schools teams such as La Cueva, Sandia and West Mesa.

5. Alyse Lovato shines again

Sophomore notches a triple jump distance of 35 feet, 1.25 inches

Questa High School sophomore Alyse Lovato’s individual performance at the New Mexico state track and field championships in Albuquerque earned 21 total points to the Lady Wildcat’s total of 28. Lovato brought home gold in the high jump and triple jump; silver in the 400-meter dash; and fifth place in the long jump. Lovato also anchored the 4×100-meter relay team.

For her many triumphs, Lovato was listed as the second-highest female point-getter in Class 2A.

4. Champion and runner-up

Taos Tiger duo finish one, two at state meet

Taos cross-country teammates Judah Daffron and Billy Romero claimed first and second-place respectively in the class 4A race at the New Mexico state cross-country meet in Albuquerque Nov. 11. Competing against their district foes from Los Alamos, the pair battled some of the fastest individuals in class 4A along the winding, undulating trail on the grounds of Albuquerque Academy.

It was Taos sophomore Daffron who picked up his pace and pulled away on the final stretch, making it look easy and leaving no doubt he was ready for the moment. His final kick in the last 300-meters nearly earned him a sub-16-minute time. Daffron crossed the finish line at the 16:02 mark with several meters to spare in front of Romero, who notched final time of 16:06.

3. Anaya Field reopens with fanfare

After several months without a field, the Tigers get a new home

On Sept. 9, in conjunction with Taos High School’s Homecoming, Loren Anaya Stadium was officially reopened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a special tribute to the man whose signature graces the new turf.

Family members, dignitaries, school administrators, coaches, athletes, and fans gathered at the center of the field to formally dedicate the new field and track surface with speeches, praising Loren Anaya for his unbending will to do things “the right way.” Included in the renovations to the field was the inclusion of Loren Anaya’s signature between the 20- and 30-yard lines on the south end of the football field.

2. Number nine for Coach Lisa

Taos Tiger cheer team goes wire-to-wire to claim fourth-straight title

The Taos Tigers cheer team won their fourth straight class 4A state title after competing in the 2024 state cheer and dance event in the UNM Pit April 6. This was also the ninth time in the past 10 years the Tigers clinched the state championship. In total, 13 teams competed in the 4A division with each squad performing a “game day” and a “cheer with music” routine in front of a panel of judges. Coach Lisa Abeyta-Valerio has coached the team through the entire run and stands far and away the most decorated coach in Taos Tigers history.

1. Lady Panthers reign supreme

At long last, the Peñasco Lady Panthers are state champions

After three attempts in the last seven years, and five times in the history of the girls’ basketball program in Peñasco, the Lady Panthers now know what feels like to be on the winning side of championship game. 

Atop the venerated hardwood floor of the University of New Mexico Pit, Coach Mandy Montoya and her Peñasco squad defeated the Tularosa Lady Wildcats 39-36 in regulation to win the class 2A state title March 15. And in the center of the court, atop the UNM logo, the team received their individual medals, state champion banner and coveted blue trophy.

The Lady Panthers beat Clayton 66-31 in the first round; Pecos 50-32 in the quarterfinal round; and Tatum, 42-40 in double overtime in the semi-finals to reach the title game.