2016-17 ATHLETES OF THE YEAR (BY SPORT)
No boy was more consistently in the hunt for meet championships than this Hawk. He didn’t have many victories of note — although he did win the Metro Championships — but Cleveland was always running near the front, with runner-up finishes at UNM and Academy, a third at the Rio Rancho Jamboree and a fourth-place showing at state.
With due — and deep — respect to St. Pius quarterback Drew Ortiz, Foley, a star tailback who rushed for almost 2,100 yards, is the correct call. His 41 touchdowns (offense, defense, special teams) against a ridiculously tough schedule is impossible to ignore, and he accomplished this while often sitting out huge chunks of the second half. A complete package: speed, power, athleticism, vision.
Kelly stands only 5-feet-8 — not exactly the size of a prototypical hitter — but no one was more adept at combining power with crafty angles than this explosive Sundevil. Kelly’s timing and phenomenal hand-eye coordination, along with her amazing vertical leap (better than any Sandia Prep boy), made her arguably New Mexico’s most versatile offensive weapon. Definitely an athlete who catches your eye, simply for the sheer pleasure of watching someone who obviously is on another level than his peers. “A man amongst boys,” was how one coach described Coleman, with his efficient ground strokes and overpowering serve. He rampaged through the Metro Tournament and capped an undefeated season with a Class 5A singles victory at state.
Galloway is a two-time state champion and on pace to become a four-time champ before she’s through. She demands much of herself, and an over-par round — which is extremely rare — will leave her displeased. Having said all that, Galloway won every tournament she played, and her skill set is well beyond that of any other girl in New Mexico.
This was a tough call for me, and I made the rare decision to bring in a little outside help before I settled on Liggins, the Matadors’ standout guard/ forward who led her team to the Class 6A title. She scored, she rebounded, she blocked, she stole — and perhaps most of all, she led. She was simply invaluable at both ends of the floor.
Morris graduates from the Chargers as one of the most accomplished throwers in the history of the state, in any classification. He won all three disciplines — shot put, discus, javelin — in each of his last three seasons with Academy. And this year, he set Class 5A state records in the discus (expected) and shot put (totally unexpected). Headed to Colorado State.
Corley, like Academy’s Coleman, is a repeat selection this season. She is as dominant in relation to the girls in the metro area as Coleman is to the boys, though we all certainly (selfishly) wanted to see Ivana play younger sister Carmen. The future Oklahoma Sooner didn’t drop a match all season, the second straight year she accomplished that. She bypassed state singles to try to win a doubles title, which she did.
Harlan set a state record in February in the 200-yard intermediate medley and was also the state champion in the 100yard backstroke. At the Metro Championships in January, Harlan broke the meet record in the 200 individual medley by a second and a half. He was generally regarded as the top boys swimmer in the metro area.
In a manner of speaking, this is as much a career achievement award as it is an acknowledgement of her terrific senior season with the Sartans. The Air Force-bound forward finished her career with a 32-goal, 78-point season, more than any 5A or 6A girl last fall. She leaves as St. Pius’ all-time leader in both those categories.
In a season that showed great balance, Rizek gets a slight nod over the rest, from this chair. She always managed to score both on the track (where she swept both hurdles finals at state, metros and the Sepulveda), and in the field (where she was third in the 5A javelin at state). She was the high-point athlete at state and at the Metro Championships.
I am not certain that Cormier was the best pure basketball player in the metro area. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s not. But how can we NOT go with the 6-foot-3 forward? He nearly quit the sport to concentrate on football, but did an about-face, returned early in the season, and then spearheaded a March run to the Class 6A state title for the 12th-seeded Hawks. He was spectacular.
The University of New Mexico is getting a gem in Howard, who capped her outstanding career with a terrific senior campaign. She consistently provided the undefeated Bears with a key hit at crucial moments, and she was a defensive stalwart in center field as well. She’s nicknamed “Mo.” Why? A youth coach gave her that moniker many years ago.
Volcano Vista had a pair of undefeated athletes in Marcus Santillanes and Richard Govea. And there were other great candidates, such as La Cueva’s Josh Woisin and Sandia’s Mark Gonzales. But ultimately, Mascareñas was the best choice. He finished his senior season 46-1 against a grueling schedule and capped it with a state title, his third in a row.
The Cornellbound Touche was the state’s best player — not just the metro area’s — last fall as he helped the Chargers win another Class 5A state title. He finished with 35 goals and consistently demonstrated remarkable finishing ability around the net. The gifted forward was a player you didn’t want to take your eyes off of, especially in the offensive half.
This was an exceedingly difficult choice. Cleveland’s Alejandro Armijo, with six victories, was also very much in my thought process. But Davis also had six victories, a scoring average of just over 72 strokes a round, won the Metro Championships and finished third at the Class 6A state tournament. Extremely solid player.
Jones had a pair of dominating individual victories at the metro meet in the freestyle sprints and was part of two winning relays. At state, she had a first place (50 free) and second (100 free) individually, and she anchored two championship relays. She earned All-America honors times in all four of those events, making her the selection for this year.
Mayoral is the latest in a recent line of dominant metro-area distance runners, following Academy’s Julia Foster and La Cueva’s Natasha Bernal. She went undefeated last fall, the second year in a row she didn’t lose a race. And she consistently defeated strong fields — at UNM, at the Rio Rancho Jamboree, at the Metro Championships, and finallly at the Class 6A state meet.
Ware was the Bears’ Triple Crown winner. He led his nationally ranked team in batting average, home runs and RBIs. And, he delivered the single most important swing in this entire championship season for the Bears, a two-run, seventh-inning triple that keyed a state semifinal win over Carlsbad. This was the best player from the best team.