WLV star athlete, coach Salomon Esquibel dies
When it came to sports, Salomon Esquibel was a don among the West Las Vegas High School Dons.
He starred on the gridiron, led his basketball team to the state tournament, and competed in track and field.
“He was probably one of the best athletes that ever came out of West Las Vegas,” said his longtime friend and teammate Steve Long Chase. “He was one of those guys that could do it all. I was fortunate to have him on my team.”
Esquibel, who also sent 10 children through West Las Vegas, including current senior Moses Esquibel, died New Year’s Day after a long struggle with heart and kidney ailments, said son James Esquibel, WLV head track and field coach for both boys and girls. He was 68.
Born in Kansas City, Mo., to a military family, Esquibel grew up in Las Vegas and Chacon.
And it quickly became apparent that he was pretty special when it came to sports, James Esquibel said.
“He was a big athlete,” he said. “When he got out of high school, he played basketball at New Mexico Highlands.”
One of his biggest moments, however, came in a 1968 district tournament game with Los Alamos, with the winner destined for the state tournament.
“Every time we would talk to him, he would share one of his highlights in basketball,” James Esquibel said. “They were playing in Los Alamos in the semis and he was always talking about his last-second heroic shot that he took to beat Los Alamos. He got the inbound pass, dribbles up court, the clock is ticking, he pulls up from long range and hits the game-winning shot.”
It’s a moment that Long Chase remembers fondly, as well.
“He put in the winning basket,” he said. “At the time, there was no threepoint basket, but it would have been a three-pointer and it was that lastsecond shot that took us to state.”
After leaving Highlands, Esquibel served in the military and his athletic aptitude was again on display as he achieved a perfect score in the Physical Combat Proficiency Test.
“This rare feat is a testimony to your physical prowess and indicative of your personal pride and keen sense of responsibility,” his citation read. “Your accomplishment is one which few people attain and you should be extremely proud.”
Not surprisingly, Esquibel’s children continued performing at a high level both in the classroom and on the fields and courts.
“A lot of the siblings were athletically inclined and very smart,” said James Esquibel, who was also Dons head football coach for a number of years. “We had some valedictorians and many have gone on to good things in lives and careers.”
That foundation was established at home, he said.
“Him being strict, more disciplined with structure while providing that backbone to our family,” James Esquibel said. “He was the breadwinner. And mom stayed at home. Them providing all that stability for us was awesome. He told you how it was in a loving and caring way.”
Salomon Esquibel coached several of his children in elementary school basketball and he was a fixture at Dons games until his health prevented him from attending.
“He’d always have his Kelly green and yellow Dons cap,” James Esquibel said. “He was very well known throughout our community. People would like to come up to him and talk to him. They had stories to share about the good old days and the present time. He tried to be at every game until he got too sick. He got to see my younger brother play his last high school football game here at home.”
Watching his dad’s battle for life was an inspiring, yet sad, time, his son said.
“One of the greatest gifts my father gave me unintentionally was witnessing the courage with which he bore through his health adversities,” James Esquibel said.
And even though his dad has passed, he said he will still hold him close.
“Yesterday in our arms, today in our memory and forever in our hearts,” James Esquibel said.