Event heartens Sandia’s Gunther
Shock leaves Cliff for Alamogordo
Community support for cancer-stricken Sandia High School baseball coach John Gunther was evident last Sunday.
Several hundred people turned out at Bullhead Park for Gunther Strong, a 5K/1K run/walk that served as a fundraiser for the 54-year-old Gunther, who earlier this year was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer.
Gunther said earlier this week that the run raised just under $10,000.
“It was a great turnout. Holy cow,” Gunther said. “It was very cool. Very generous people. I had tears in my eyes.”
Gunther has continued to coach the Matadors this season, as he also undergoes chemotherapy treatments.
“I’m overwhelmed by the amount of support people are throwing my way,” he said.
NO SHOCK: Almost continuously since the mid 1930s, a Shock has been coaching boys basketball at Cliff.
Dale Shock, who died in 1998, coached the Cowboys for over four decades, until his retirement in 1974.
His son Pete took over the program in 1977-78, and retired after the 2013 state tournament, in fact informing his team of his impending retirement in the final seconds of a championship game victory over Hagerman.
Pete’s son Brian took over Cliff from Pete, and led the Cowboys to Class 1A titles last year and this year.
But the bloodline at Cliff was severed earlier this week when Alamogordo named Brian Shock as its new head coach.
It is one of the splashiest coaching hires the Tigers have made in quite a long time in any sport; they will be dropping from Class 6A to 5A starting
next season.
But this won’t be his first assignment with a larger school. He once took Piedra Vista to the state semifinals in Class 4A earlier this decade.
In three seasons with Cliff, he was 76-12.
“I’m very thankful and blessed to be born into a basketball pedigree such as my dad and my grandfather,” Shock told the Alamogordo Daily News.
CLEVELAND SIGNINGS: Several Cleveland High’s most prominent athletes will be signing national letters of intent next week at the school.
Track and field sprinter/ jumper Nia Powdrell, who has a chance to be the high-point individual at next month’s state meet, will sign with Division I Portland (Ore.) State.
From the softball team, second baseman Hannah Obrey is signing with Division I Miami (Ohio), and center fielder Lindsey Paboucek is signing with Mesa (Ariz.) Community College.
PLAYOFF BASEBALL: After a year with all the finals at Santa Ana Star Field across the street, Isotopes Park is back in the championship game rotation this season for the state tournament. But not for everybody. The Class 6A final is noon Saturday, May 14, at Isotopes Park. And that venue also will be the site of the Class 1A/2A and Class 3A title games on Friday, May 13.
But Classes 4A and 5A will play their championship games at Santa Ana Star Field, both on May 14 with the 4A game starting at 10 a.m., following by 5A at 1 p.m.
Isotopes Park also is hosting the 6A semifinals on May 13, at 3 and 6 p.m.
RESCHEDULE: The championship softball game of the Kristin Griego Memorial Tournament was postponed by wind two weeks ago, but Rio Rancho and Cleveland, have found a new date: April 15 at 6 p.m. at Cleveland.