Local standouts named to regional teams

Several local high school players were named this week to the New Mexico High School Coaches Association all-regional teams for large- and small-school basketball. Only outgoing seniors in good academic standing were eligible for recognition, and each is now a potential North-South AllStar participant later this summer.

Highlighting those all-region teams were four boys from a trio of Santa Fe schools and six girls from three city schools.

Capital had three players named to the boys Large School Northeast All-Region Team, which was for schools in Class 4A and 5A. Outgoing seniors T.J. Sanchez, Brandon Saiz and Chano Herrera were selected, while Santa Fe High had Jordan Campos and Carlos Dassaro. All but one of the remaining 10 players on the team were from Albuquerque schools, the exception being Gavin Campos of Los Alamos.

Among the players named to the boys Small School Northeast All-Region Team were three players from both Pecos and Robertson, with two from West Las Vegas and one from St. Michael’s.

Pecos seniors Ish Villegas, Xavier Padilla and Anthony Armijo helped the Panthers win a fourth straight state title in March and headlined the 15-player list that included Thomas Wood of St. Michael’s; Jon Balizan and Estevan Gonzales of West Las Vegas; and the Robertson trio of Antonio Padilla, Santiago Gonzales and Julius Vaughn.

Mora’s Jerome Pacheco also was named to the team, which was made up of players in Class 1A, 2A and 3A in the area extending from Santa Fe north to the Colorado border and extending east to the Texas and Oklahoma state lines.

The girls Large School Northeast Regional Team drew from players as far south as Albuquerque. Capital’s Alyssa Martinez was on that list, as was Lady Jaguars teammate Darien Casados. Los Alamos and Pojoaque Valley also had a pair of players named: Seniors Natalie Gallegos and Rebecca Green played for the Lady Hilltoppers in Los Alamos while Michaela Martinez and Ashten Martinez helped Pojoaque make a state tournament run last month.

Every other player on the team was from Albuquerque.

The girls Small School Northeast All-Region Team had St. Michael’s senior Carisa Padilla joined by Santa Fe Indian School’s Franki Maestas-Chavez and Hunter Garcia, as well as Peñasco teammates Carly Gonzales and Adrianna Tafoya. Others on the 15-player roster were Robertson’s Tessa Ortiz and outgoing seniors Desiree Sena of Pecos and Skylin Morgan of West Las Vegas.

The four regional teams at each level will be cut down to two rosters of 12 players each in time for this summer’s annual NMHSCA North-South All-Star series, tentatively scheduled for late July in Albuquerque.