Los Lunas basketball
The Los Lunas boys scored a pair of victories last week to run their win streak to four in a row and their overall record to 8-6.
In the Tiger’s first contest against Organ Mountain, Jalin Holland scored 17 points in the 55-39 victory.
Ezra Guest had 15 points, and Jamian Perez added 12 points in that win for LLHS.
The Tigers then pulled off a 45-43 win at Carlsbad over the weekend.
In that contest, Holland had 16 points and 13 rebounds, while Guest added 14 points.
The Tigers will have two tough match-ups coming up this week.
First, they play host to the No. 2 team in 5A, the Volcano Vista Hawks. After that, the Tigers will be on a road trip to take on No. 5 in 5A, the Hobbs Eagles.
The Los Lunas Lady Tigers came so close to grabbing their first victory of the season last week.
After being crushed 52-9 against Piedra Vista, the Lady Tigers hung with Espanola Valley, but they weren’t able to get the late basket they needed to pull off the win, and the Lady Tigers fell 30-29.
Against Espanola Valley, Klarissa Hall had 10 points, while Sadie Ortega scored nine points.
The Lady Tigers are 0-12 on the season, and will be at the Hope Christian Invitational this week with three chances to try to notch their first win.
First up in that tournament, the Lady Tigers will take on the Taos Lady Tigers, a foe that LLHS fell to earlier this season by a final of 37-30.
Valencia basketball
Valencia’s Richie Baca looks for his teammates while playing against Bloomfield. Baca scored 20 points in Valenica’s win over Bloomfield.
Adam Evarts | News-Bulletin photos
The Valencia Lady Jaguars got back in the win column last week with a 55-45 win over Bloomfield in Valencia’s only game of the week.
Zoe Brown led the way for the Lady Jags with 14 points, while Jadyn Montoya had 13 points and seven steals. Elena Lucero added 11 points.
The Lady Jags tied their season high with 21 steals in the contest. The other contest in which they had 21 steals was against Espanola Valley.
Valencia is now 7-6 on the season, and will have a busy upcoming week with three contests this week.
First up is a home contest against Valley. The Lady Jaguars will then travel to meet Kirtland Central before ending the week by hosting Santa Teresa on Saturday.
The Valencia boys were also triumphant in their only contest last week, defeating Bloomfield by a final of 52-24.
Richie Baca led the way for Valencia with 20 points on six-3 point baskets. Damian Estrada added 15 points for the Jaguars.
With the win Valencia moves to 4-11 on the season, and will have a couple of games upcoming this week, both at home.
First up is a visit from Capital, then the Jaguars will host Bernalillo on Friday night.
Belen basketball
The Belen boys extended their winning streak to five in a row after defeating Albuquerque Academy, 59-50, in the Eagles only contest last week.
Daniel Corrales led the way with 23 points for Belen, who are now 10-4 on the season. Luis Garcia added 14 points for Belen, who rallied from down 10 in the first half to grab the win.
The Eagles will be on the road for both games this week. First is a visit to Rio Rancho before traveling to take on the Bernalillo Spartans for the third time this season. Belen won both of the first two meetings this season with Bernalillo.
The Belen Lady Eagles were back on the court last week as the dropped a pair of contests.
Belen’s Aleigha Wright looks to pass the ball to a teammate during the Eagles game against Organ Mountain over the weekend.
First up, the Lady Eagles lost to Thoreau by a final of 48-32, and then came a 76-30 loss to No. 6 in 5A, Organ Mountain.
“We’re not giving up, and I think our play is showing that,” Belen head coach Chris Storey said following the Organ Mountain game. “We have a lot of youth on the team with five freshman and an eighth-grader, but we feel like we’re real close and we can’t wait for district play to show what we got.”
The Lady Eagles will have a couple of games this upcoming week, both at home.
First up, the Lady Eagles will entertain Atrisco Heritage before hosting Albuquerque Academy to end the week.
Belen wrestling
Wrestling was back in full swing this past week, and Belen’s Kaitlyn Maria was a big winner.
Belen’s Kaitlyn Maria poses after winning the 285-pound category at the Conflict at Cleveland wrestling match over the weekend.
(Submitted photo)
Maria took home first-place at the 2022 Girls Conflict at Cleveland High School over the weekend in the 235-pound category.
The victory for Maria is her second in the last three competitions.
For the boys at the Conflict at Cleveland, Belen saw Diego Avila come away victorious once again.
Avila scored the championship in the 132-pound category, backing up his wins at the Rio Hondo Scuffle and the Jaguar Invite earlier this season.
In the 160-pound category, Ely Gutierrez finished in third place. In the 138-pound category, the Eagles’ Peter Duran took home fifth-place honors.
That came on the heels of the Eagles beating Grants last week in their dual, by a final of 75-6.
Belen had their dual with Capital canceled for this upcoming week, but will be in action as scheduled against Valencia.
Los Lunas wrestling
The Los Lunas Tigers boys and girls wrestling teams were also at the Conflict at Cleveland over the weekend.
On the girls side, Kiyah Padilla took home second place in the 100-pound category.
Padilla scored a win in the semifinals, but then was beaten in the championship match by Alyssa Sedillo, of Las Cruces.
Julianna Lucero took home third place in the 126-pound category for Los Lunas, after taking out Victoria Moore from Centennial in the third place match.
On the boys side, the Tigers saw Ryan Vega finish runner-up in the 285-pound category after losing out to Kioni Benally, from Farmington, in the championship match.
Naithan Gurule and Miguel Andrade both won third place in the 152-pound and 170-pound categories, respectively. James Garcia took home fifth place in the 220-pound category for Los Lunas.
The Los Lunas boys wrestling team is scheduled to be at the Joe Vivian Invite this upcoming weekend in Albuquerque, while the girls are scheduled to be at the Shash Duals at Fort Wingate.
Valencia wrestling
The Valencia boys wrestling team was in action in the Academy Invite in Albuquerque last week.
On the boys side, Anthony Cano finished runner-up in the 145-pound category after losing to Alejandro Lopez, of Highland, in the championship round.
The Jaguars will be back in action this week when they visit Belen for a dual match-up with county rivals.
Adam Evarts is a graduate of the University of New Mexico where he studied journalism and history. He has lived in Valencia County most of his life. Adam covers sports for the Valencia County News-Bulletin, including prep competitions for the three local high schools, Senior Olympics, rodeo, Little League and more.
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April 18, 2024
