Lobos, Demons start football practice
Even amid the recent increase in COVID-19 cases, sports are resuming. Monday signals the start of football at the University of New Mexico and Santa Fe High.
The Lobos will start voluntary workouts, according to athletic director Eddie Nuñez, in a statement released on Wednesday. He also released information that 88 tests were conducted on players, coaches and staff, with one positive result, although he did not disclose an identity.
“We will continue to follow our own department and university guidelines as well as all state and city regulations, and we will continue to work with our medical team moving forward,” Nuñez said.
The news came amid the rise in cases in New Mexico, as the figures rose to as much as 291 positive tests on Saturday before dropping to 204 on Sunday. The state has gone five straight days with more than 200 cases
Meanwhile, Santa Fe High will start workouts Monday after delaying an anticipated July 1 start. Demons head coach Andrew Martinez said on Friday he did not feel the urgency to rush into summer activity, especially as virus cases rose. However, he added that he felt it was important for the players to get back on the field and start preparing for the season, regardless of the state’s start date.
The New Mexico Activities Association has yet to announce any changes to the 2020-21 school year. Sally Marquez, the association’s executive director, said in a weekly interview June 29 on the NMAA website that she still expects sports to commence, but when they will begin and how they will look probably won’t be determined until later this month.
“The next two weeks are going to be critical as to what’s going to happen,” Marquez said.
There already was an impact on fall schedules as Rio Rancho saw its season-opening football game against a school in Flagstaff, Ariz., canceled because of the coronavirus epidemic.
The coronavirus already impacted summer activity for athletic programs at some schools. Carlsbad Municipal Schools suspended workouts when a staff member tested positive last week.
Also, the Las Cruces and Los Lunas school districts postponed resumption of activity until July 13 because of the Fourth of July holiday.
West Las Vegas went back to a familiar face to guide its athletic program. Richard Tripp was hired as the school’s athletic director, a position he held from 2014-2018. Tripp replaces his replacement, Valerie Villa-Lopez.
Meanwhile, Peñasco hired Javier Roper as head basketball coach last week to replace Brandon Gurule. Gurule was fired after three seasons and a 23-57 record.
Roper played at Northern New Mexico College half of last season before being suspended for the rest of the year for his part in a brawl during a game in December.
The Panthers went 10-17 last season, their highest win total in the past nine seasons.