Hobbs boys, Carlsbad girls No. 1 seeds at state
Chalk this up to another weird twist in a pandemic-shortened high school sports calendar:
The Rio Grande boys soccer team is in the state tournament.
The La Cueva girls, for the first time in school history, are not.
The New Mexico Activities Association announced the brackets for the postseason Saturday night, with the eight qualifiers in each division.
Hobbs’ boys and Carlsbad’s girls are No. 1 seeds in Class 5A. As there were six districts in 5A soccer, all six district champions earned a spot, leaving only two atlarge teams.
The Albuquerque High boys, in coach Lucien Starzynski’s final state tournament with the Bulldogs before he takes a job with New Mexico United, are the No. 4 seed as AHS looks to go backto-back after winning in November 2019 at the most recent state event.
AHS takes on No. 5 Farmington in the quarterfinals. Rio Rancho, the 6 seed, meets No. 3 Mayfield, and the Ravens, seeded seventh, will play No. 2 seed La Cueva in the quarters.
The Ravens (4-1) were one of the two at-large teams as Rio Grande enters the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. They were the runner-up to Albuquerque High in District 5-5A.
“I felt we deserved a spot,” Rio Grande coach Scott Simpson said. “They know they belong, but inside, they are ecstatic.”
Rio Grande will face La Cueva on Tuesday at the APS Complex. Starting times in all classes should be finalized sometime Sunday or Monday.
“Just to be in is fine with us,” Simpson said. “I’m glad not to be traveling.”
Albuquerque High’s girls are a 2 seed, with Rio Rancho at No. 4 and Volcano Vista at No. 8. The Bulldogs play host to Farmington, the Rams take on No. 5 Piedra Vista and the Hawks will face the top-seeded Cavegirls in the quarterfinals.
Lovington in Class 4A and Sandia Prep in Class 1A-3A (which is just a four-team bracket this spring) are the other No. 1 boys seeds. The featured 4A quarterfinal is No. 3 Highland versus No. 6 Albuquerque Academy.
St. Pius’ girls and St. Michael’s are also No. 1 seeds.