Effort and excellence: Here’s to local champs

NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier this spring provided sports fans with an interesting look at the games people play. A few minutes after his Milwaukee Bucks were vanquished in a playoff series, Antetokounmpo dismissed the notion his team’s season had been a failure.

“There is no failure in sports,” he said. “There’s good days, bad days. Some days you are able to be successful; some days you’re not. Some days, it’s your turn, some days it’s not your turn. And that’s what sports is about. Some days you don’t always win. Some, other people are going to win.”

Antetokounmpo has a point. His message: The common denominator in sports is neither the winning nor the losing, but striving to reach maximum potential.

But there are moments when winning is achievable, and in its own way, glorious. And today, for several column inches on this editorial page, we are going to celebrate Northern New Mexico athletes who were able to win when it counted most — at state championship meets and games.

The following is a list of state champions, both on the individual and team levels. You’ll agree it’s an impressive group. We salute them today, not only for their victories, but for their constancy of effort. As Antetokounmpo noted, it’s only through a push to improve that winning eventually comes.

Boys cross-country

◆ Class 1A-2A: Jude Martinez of Peñasco was the individual champion. Pecos won the team title.

◆ Class 4A: Los Alamos won the team title by 27 points with three runners in top 10.

Girls’ cross country

◆ Class 1A-2A: Peñasco won the title by two points over ATC.

◆ Class 3A: Raylee Hunt of St. Michael’s was the individual champ. SFIS was the team champion by 16 points over second-place Santa Fe Prep.

◆ Class 4A: Emma Montoya of Los Alamos. The Hilltoppers took the team championship.

Volleyball

◆ St. Michael’s defeated Las Vegas Robertson for the title.

Boys basketball

◆ In Class 3A, St. Michael’s was champion, beating Robertson in a ’22 finals rematch. In Class 2A, Pecos beat ATC.

Boys swimming

◆ 200-yard medley relay: Los Alamos (Duncan Henderson, Ming-Yuan Lo, Nikolai Nelson and Hayden Sutton).

◆ 200 individual medley: Duncan Henderson, Los Alamos.

◆ 100 butterfly: Ming-Yuan Lo, Los Alamos.

◆ 100 backstroke: Duncan Henderson, Los Alamos.

Girls swimming

◆ 50 freestyle: Anna Wetteland, Los Alamos.

◆ 100 butterfly: Anna Wetteland, Los Alamos.

◆ 100 freestyle: Sophia Pieck, Los Alamos.

◆ 200 freestyle relay: Los Alamos (Sophia Pieck, Emily McLaughlin, Lena Ronning, Anna Wetteland).

◆ 100 breaststroke: Raylee Hunt, St. Michael’s.

Girls wrestling

◆ Liana Fernandez, Las Vegas Robertson, 138 pounds.

Softball

◆ Robertson won Class 3A, beating SFIS in the championship.

Boys tennis

◆ Kameron Dunmar and James Utton of St. Michael’s, 4A doubles.

Boys track

◆ 100 and 200 meters: Bryce Melton, Santa Fe.

◆ Class 4A team: Los Alamos.

◆ 4A high-point: Melaki Gutierrez, Los Alamos.

◆ 100 and 200 meters: Melaki Gutierrez, Los Alamos.

◆ 800: Grafton Urbatsch, Los Alamos.

◆ 4x200 relay: Los Alamos (Daniel Kim, Julian Singell, Lyas Eidenbenz, Melaki Guiterrez).

◆ 4x400 relay: Los Alamos (Alexander Pasulka, Daniel Kim, Lyas Eidenbenz, Grafton Urbatsch).

◆ 1,600 medley relay: Los Alamos (Haiden Jorgenson, Grafton Urbatsch, Lyas Eidenbenz, Rocco Quintana).

◆ Class 3A team champion: St. Michael’s.

◆ 3A high point: Daniel Kupcho, St. Michael’s.

◆ 100, 200 and 400: Daniel Kupcho, St. Michael’s.

◆ 110 hurdles: Soren Annon, St. Michael’s.

◆ 4x100 relay: Santa Fe Prep (Cyrus Hnasko, Weston Stump, GB Davis, Asher Nathan).

◆ 4x200 relay: Santa Fe Prep (Cyrus Hnasko, Weston Stump, GB Davis, Asher Nathan).

◆ 4x400 relay: St. Michael’s (Daniel Kupcho, Alexander Archuleta, Lucas Gurule, Soren Annon).

◆ High jump: Cole Sandoval, St. Michael’s.

◆ Long jump: Daniel Kupcho, St. Michael’s.

◆ Triple jump: Christopher Tenorio, Santa Fe Indian School.

◆ Class 2A, 300 hurdles: Malik Barrens, Pecos.

◆ 1,600 medley relay: Pecos (Walter Bastien, Justin Muller, Joshua Gonzales, Elijah Lujan).

Girls track

◆ Class 4A team: Los Alamos won with 176.5 points.

◆ Class 4A high-point: Jaiya Daniels, Los Alamos.

◆ 100 and 200 meters: Jaiya Daniels, Los Alamos.

◆ 400 meters: Anna Wetteland, Los Alamos.

◆ 1,600 and 3,200 meters: Emma Montoya, Los Alamos.

◆ 100 and 300 hurdles: Angelina Passalacqua, Los Alamos.

◆ 4x100 relay: Los Alamos (Angelina Passalacqua, Meredith Brown, Allie Holland, Jaiya Daniels).

◆ 4x200 relay: Los Alamos (Allie Holland, Jaiya Daniels, Syana Sanchez, Meredith Brown).

◆ 4x400 relay: Los Alamos (Colette Bibeault, Meredith Brown, Anna Wetteland, Angelina Passalacqua).

◆ 4x800 relay: Los Alamos (Hailey McDowell, Zorah Fullop, Rebecca Beaux, Anna Wetteland).

◆ 1,600 medley: Los Alamos (Kayli Lincoln, Carley Holland, Jenna Montoya, Hailey McDowell).

◆ Pole vault: Colette Bibeault, Los Alamos.

◆ Long jump: Nyla Lee, Los Alamos.

◆ Triple jump: Jaiya Daniels, Los Alamos.

◆ 3A team: St. Michael’s.

◆ 3A high point: Rebekah Bagwell, St. Michael’s.

◆ 100, 200 and 400 meters: Rebekah Bagwell, St. Michael’s.

◆ 800 and 1,600 meters: Raylee Hunt, St. Michaels.

◆ 100 and 300 hurdles: Jada Lujan, St. Michael’s.

◆ 4x100 relay: Santa Fe Prep (Maddie Mena, Dahlia Reyes-Newell, Lusa Hirsch-Arnett, Marley Belyeu).

◆ 4x200 relay: St. Michael’s (Grace Sandoval, Raylee Hunt, Uma Chang, Sophia Miera).

◆ 4x400 relay: St. Michael’s (Grace Sandoval, Rebekah Bagwell, Jada Lujan, Sophia Miera).

◆ 1,600 medley relay: St. Michael’s (Grace Sandoval, Jacque Gorman, Sophia Miera, Raylee Hunt).

◆ Pole vault: Jaque Gorman, St. Michael’s.

◆ Shot put: Carmen Pacheco, St. Michael’s.

◆ Javelin: Liana Fernandez, Robertson.

◆ Class 2A, high point: Charli Koseoglu, Academy for Technology and the Classics.

◆ 100 and 200 meters: Charli Koseoglu, ATC.

◆ 1,600 and 3,200 meters: Rochelle Lopez, Peñasco.

◆ 100 hurdles: Charli Koseoglu, ATC.

◆ Javelin: Charli Koseoglu, ATC.

LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO TOP RIGHT: Academy for Technology and the Classics’ Charli Koseoglu celebrates after winning the 100-meter race earlier this month at the state track meet at the University of New Mexico.

NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO TOP LEFT: St. Michael’s head coach Gerard Garcia celebrates with his team in March after they beat Las Vegas Robertson in the boys Class 3A state basketball championship in The Pit in Albuquerque.

GABRIELA CAMPOS/NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO BOTTOM RIGHT: Los Alamos’ Anne Wetteland leads the pack in the preliminary girls 100-yard butterfly in February at the State Swimming and Diving Championships at Albuquerque Academy Natatorium.

LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/NEW MEXICAN FILE PHOTO BOTTOM LEFT: St Michael’s Daniel Kupcho, center, wins a 100-meter heat early this month a day ahead of winning the state championship at the state track meet.