Los Lunas girls basketball in action against Cibola.
Basketball
The Belen boys basketball team fell short of taking home the championship in the Sandia Prep Tournament over the weekend.
Belen defeated Bernalillo on Thursday and St. Pius on Friday to reach the championship contest against Albuquerque Academy on Saturday night. Fate was not in the Eagles’ favor in that contest as they lost to the Chargers by a final of 51-37.
Following last week’s contests, Belen is now 4-1 on the season. The Eagles play at Gallup this week before beginning the Hub City Tournament on Thursday in Belen.
The Los Lunas boys team suffered a similar fate at the City of Champions Tournament in Artesia over the weekend.
The Tigers grabbed wins over Deming, 51-39 on Thursday, and the host Artesia Bulldogs, 47-35 on Friday, to make the championship round versus Hobbs.
The Eagles proved to be too much for the Tigers, as they went on to win by a final of 58-31.
“We are a work in progress right now, but the team is coming together step by step,” Los Lunas head coach Travis Julian said.
After the tournament the Tigers are now 3-3 on the season and will play at Atrisco Heritage this week before hosting Las Cruces next Tuesday night at LLHS.
The Valencia boys basketball team finished seventh over the weekend at the Capital City Tournament.
After dropping their first two contests to Los Alamos and Taos, the Jaguars closed out the tournament with a 40-33 win over St. Michael’s on Saturday.
The Jaguars now sit at 2-3 on the season and will play at Robertson on Tuesday, host Los Alamos on Thursday and play at Artesia on Friday this week.
The Valencia Lady Jaguars lost in the championship game of the Capital City Tournament in Santa Fe over the weekend. They defeated Cleveland and Santa Fe before falling 37-25 to Robertson on Saturday night.
Valencia is up to a record of 2-3 on the season after the tournament.
“I thought our girls played well,” Valencia head coach Micaela Medina said after the tournament. “The first time we competed in this tournament was three years ago and we finished last. Now we made the championship game, so we are progressing. This tournament was a definite confidence booster for us.”
Jadyn Montoya and Azalia Malizia were both named to the All-Tournament Team following Saturday’s contest.
This week, the Lady Jaguars will play Los Alamos on Tuesday before taking on Miyamura on Thursday, and Esponola Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 14.
The Belen Lady Eagles finished seventh in the Red or Green Invitational in Hatch over the weekend. They lost their first two games of the tournament to Hot Springs and Silver before defeating Cobre, 53-40, on Saturday to take home seventh.
Belen is now 1-3 on the season following the tournament.
This week for Belen is contests with Moriarty on Dec. 7, and Robertson on Dec. 8, followed by a visit from Pojoaque Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 14, and at Valley on Thursday, Dec. 16.
The Los Lunas Lady Tigers lost to Sandia on Saturday by a final of 42-25.
The loss drops Los Lunas to 0-5 on the season.
Up next for the Lady Tigers is a contest with Bloomfield on Dec. 7, and then a visit from Volcano Vista on Dec. 18.
Wrestling
On the wrestling scene, Belen took home first place over the weekend at the Capital Tournament.
The Los Lunas wrestling team won two of their seven duals on Saturday during the Tom Torres Tiger Duals at LLHS.
Naithan Gurule collected victories in each of the dual wins for Los Lunas. Jonathan Trujillo, Noah Gurule, Paul Ramirez Aaron Zamora, Ryan Vega, Ernie Gonzales, Isaiah Baca and Filomeno Fliss also collected wins in the two victories during the Tiger Duals.
The Tigers will be taking on Atrisco Heritage and Bloomfield this week, with the dual against Bloomfield taking place on Saturday in Bloomfield.
The Valencia Jaguars boys wrestling team dropped their opening dual of the season to Cleveland on Dec. 1. The Jaguars fell 84-0 to the Storm. They will be back in action on Friday, Dec. 10, when they visit Miyamura.
The Valencia Lady Jaguars also dropped their opening dual of the season against Cleveland. This one by a final of 33-9.
Chiara Perez won her 107-pound match over Cleveland’s Alexis Saavedra via decision. Nevaeh Bracamonte also won her 120-pound match for the Jags.
The Lady Jaguars will also be at Miyamura on Friday, Dec. 10.
The Belen Eagles wrestling team was in Capital on Saturday, Dec. 4, for the Jaguar Invite, which proved to be quite successful. Belen took home the most points overall of any team at the invite with 189.5 points.
Diego Avila won the 138-pound division, and Quinton Thompson made the finals of the 132-pound division, losing out to Andres Lopez from Moriarty in the match.
Tregg Johnson, Bobby Orona, Anthony Rodriguez, Peter Duran and Julian Sisneros also finished runner-up in their weight classes during the Jaguar Invite. Evert Tuttle took third place in the 132-pound division.
The Belen Lady Eagles were also at the Jaguar Invite on Saturday, taking home fourth overall. Kaitlyn Maria took home top honors for the Eagles in her weight division.
Up next for Belen will be a visit to Miyamura on Saturday, Dec. 10.
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 19, 2024
