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Congratulations to All-Metro Diamond Picks
Six City high school baseball players and seven softball players were recognized after the season Albuquerque Journals All Metro Teams.
In baseball, Rio Rancho High School second baseman Vascon Smith was the only first-team player.
Two of his teammates — Elijah Castañeda and Dominick Priddy — were called up to the second team as outfielders, though Priddy was the Rams’ starting catcher for most of the season.
Cleveland’s battery of pitcher Jace Dominic and catcher Braylen Elzy and Storm shortstop DJ Sandoval were also on the second team.
In softball, Storm and Rams each had two members on the All-Metro first team: CHS shortstop Mya Pacheco and outfielder Mercedes Lovato, and Rams Kayla Reed and Kionna King — like Priddy, their team’s top catcher — as outfielders.
RRHS pitcher Labraida Tenorio, shortstop Madison Begaye and second baseman Ashley Burriel were named to the second team.
All are seniors except for Lovato, a sophomore, and Smith, a junior.
tennis, anyone?
A teenager shoots a free throw at Cleveland High basketball camp.
Rio Rancho High School will be hosting a youth tennis camp June 20-22 daily from 9:00 am to 11:30 am on the RRHS courts. The camp, which is run by RRHS boys tennis coach Tom Gutierrez, caters to boys and girls ages 6 to 15 and costs $65 upfront.
Campers should wear sneakers and bring their own racquet, water bottle, and snacks.
For more information, contact Gutierrez at [email protected] or call 505-450-9819.
The new Rams coach is planning a camp
Lori Mabrey, the new college girls’ basketball coach at Rio Rancho High School, is beginning her second stint at RRHS with a “lock down” girls’ camp Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. every day at Lincoln Middle School.
The camp, coached by Mabrey and some “defensive all-stars” including former Cibola star Amaya Brown, who plays at UNM next season, is free and includes a t-shirt.
Mabrey can be reached at 505-249-3883.
Youth soccer camp here in June
John Shepard, longtime boys soccer coach at Rio Rancho High School, is hosting a soccer camp for kids ages 7-12 June 22-24 from 8-11 a.m.
The camp takes place on the RRHS football field. The instruction is provided by the Rams coaching team and returning players.
Players receive instruction and practice basic skills and tactics. Advanced players will be challenged with more advanced techniques and tactics. Each player will receive an RRHS Rams Soccer T-Shirt.
The cost is $99 per player; $120 for walk-ups on June 22nd, although space is not guaranteed.
Registration can be done at rioranchocamps.net.
For more information, contact Shepard at [email protected] or 505-896-4042.
Youth Basketball Camp at RRHS
Hosted by head coach Wally Salata, his assistant coaches and current players, the second of two summer youth basketball camps in Rio Rancho will be held Tuesday through Friday at the RRHS gym.
Camp runs from 9am to 12pm each day, with fundamentals emphasized from 9am to 11am and games played from 11am to 12pm.
The camp is open to boys and girls in four divisions (Fall 2022, grades K-2, 3-4, 5-6, and 7-9) and no previous experience is required. Cost is $125 per session, with a maximum of 120 per session and 30 campers per division. Each camper will receive a camp basketball and t-shirt, and a concession stand with ram cones will be available.
Visit rioranchocamps.net for more information and registration.
Also a basketball camp in Cleveland
Cleveland High Girls Basketball is hosting the second of two Next Level Basketball Skill Camps this spring for girls and boys grades 3 through 9 June, Monday through Wednesday, daily from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
The cost is $85.
Sign up at clevelandcamps.net. For more information, contact Head Coach Susan Kubala at [email protected] or 505-550-2523.
RRHS has two volleyball camps
Aries camp 1: Designed for players (grades 1-6 in Fall 2022) interested in learning the game of volleyball. No experience is required. The focus of the camp will include the introduction to the fundamentals and techniques for all of the basic volleyball skills of passing, attacking, serving, footwork, formation and defense.
This camp will also emphasize volleyball skills and practice to prepare sixth grade players for the Rio Rancho Metro League and middle school tryouts (if applicable). Small group games are played daily.
The camp will be held on June 23-24 from 6pm-8pm and June 25 from 9am-11am. The cost is $65 ($75 for walk-ups) and campers receive a t-shirt and can win door prizes each day.
Aries camp 2: Designed to prepare players for tryouts in their respective class. This camp focuses on volleyball skills and practice to prepare 7th through 12th graders for tryouts at school. Fundamentals and techniques for all basic volleyball skills are emphasized. Additional time focuses on team play in small and large groups.
The camp runs from August 1st to 3rd from 6pm to 9pm. The cost per camper is $85 ($100 per day) and campers receive a t-shirt and a chance to win a door prize each night.
Rams varsity volleyball coach Toby Manzanares, his assistants and area coaches will teach.
Latest from the local lanes
Big scores were the order of the day in the Memorial Day Scratch Match-Play Madness tournament at Tenpins & More.
The unheralded JJ Martinez of Albuquerque, a good backer who had never made the Finals, fired 265, 244, 236, 210, 268 and 289 for a personal best streak of 1,512 and finished top seed.
Closely followed by Tylor Macphee, whose 1,474 included three games over 250. It was also quite a stylistic contrast, with Martinez, a slow left-hander, and Macphee, a fast two-handed right-hander.
It took 1,346/6 to survive the cut from 61 starters to 16 for the double elimination.
It proved not to be a place for the faint of heart as many matches were decided by less than 10 pins, including Aileen Linares (224-223 against multiple winner JD Nance), Josh Burnett (225-224) against Kyle Pearce, and DeeRonn Booker squeezed out a 235-234 nod to remove Nance.
Previously, Booker (who added a 300 two days later in the Jim Chapman Trios league) fired 290, 279 and 275 for a booming 844 streak, only to find himself in the loser bracket after beating his third game against Jacob Gills After losing 288, Gill eventually sat out Booker 255-234 to earn the right to challenge undefeated Martinez for the title and $1,000 first prize.
Four straight strikes from frames three through six, coupled with Gill’s trouble finding the strike pocket on the straight lane, made it a first win for Martinez with 27 pins, 213-186. He averaged 234/5 against Sam Small 267-182, Sam Pinge 253-223, Brian Skidmore 213-166 and Gill twice including the Winner’s Bracket Play-off, 224-183.
* Rio Rancho’s Josh Burnett clinched his second Junior Bowlers Tour title — a Major in the Mountain West Invitational — in Silva Lanes last month. Bowled against Brock Bivens in the best-of-three championship round, and after losing the first 165-232, Burnett rallied and went on to win, 221-190 and 246-200.