PREP SPORTS ROUNDUP
TAOS Boys Basketball
The Taos Tigers beat Aztec at home last week (Dec. 11) 68-60 and are now 5-1 for the season. After trailing 15-10 after the first quarter, the Taos Tigers outscored the Aztec Tigers by 9 points in the second quarter, going into the half ahead by 4 points. Aztec had the upper hand during the third quarter and the fourth opened with a 1-point gap, Aztec leading. The Taos boys turned it on during the final period, scoring 23 points for a final score of 68-60.
Taos is scheduled to play at Bernalillo at 7 p.m. Tues (Dec. 18) after this section goes to the press and to play Bloomfield at home Friday (Dec. 21), time TBA.
Girls Basketball
The Lady Tigers suffered a hard 47-29 loss at Aztec (Dec. 14), putting them at 1-5 for the season. They are on the road Tuesday, playing at Robertson at 7 p.m. after this section goes to press (Dec. 18) and again on Thursday (Dec. 20) at Escalante at 5 p.m.
Wrestling
At the Rattler Invite in Tucumcari (Dec. 15), the Taos Tiger wrestlers took the second spot among
14 teams, behind only Las Lunas. Tigers Christopher Valencia (126 pounds), Thomas James Clarkson
(113 pounds), and Dominic Lopez (285 pounds) took home first-place finishes in their weight classes, while Tyler Valencia (138 pounds) took second and Jessie Ayala (220 pounds) took third.
Swimming
The Taos Tigers swim team competed in the Belen Invitational Saturday (Dec
8). Both the Tiger girls and boys finished fourth in the
11-team field behind Los Alamos, Clovis and Las Cruces High Schools.
Every single Tiger swimmer (16 in all) achieved personal best times, and the relay teams posted season’s best results as the Tiger swim team inches closer to the qualifying times for the state championships. They have until the end of February to qualify.
The girls were led by Senior Ashley McMains who again came 3 one-hundredths of a second from qualifying for state in the 100 butterfly in which she took first place. She also placed fourth in the 100 backstroke. Grace Goler placed fourth in the 200 freestyle and sixth in the 100 backstroke. The girls 4x50 medley and 4x100 freestyle relays, comprised of McMains, Goler and
8th-graders Aricela Chavez and Maye Montoya, both finished fifth.
The boys posted outstanding swims on both the 4x100 freestyle relay (third place) and the 4x50 medley relay (5th place). Members of those teams were: Hunter Griego, Diego Griego, Estevan Salazar and Lorenzo Cordova. Griego also placed fourth in the 100 butterfly and Salazar finished fourth in the 50 freestyle.
The next competition for the Tiger swimmers is Jan. 19 in Santa Fe at the Horseman Invitational hosted by St. Michael’s High School.
PEÑASCO
The Peñasco boys and girls basketball teams will travel to the three-day Ben Luján Invitational Tournament hosted by Pojoaque High School.
Boys Basketball
The boys play their first game of the tournament against the Menual Panthers of Albuquerque at 9 a.m. today (Dec. 20). The boys go into the game 1-4 after beating Tierra Encantada at home (Dec. 10) 61-34 and losing 92-54 to Laguna Acoma (Dec. 14).
Girls Basketball
The girls play their first game of the tournament against the Bernalillo Lady Spartans at 1:30 p.m. today (Dec. 20). The girls go into the game with a 5-1 record this season after a tight 71-70 win in Cimarron (Dec. 10) and a 76-14 blowout at home against Tierra Encantada (Dec. 17).
QUESTA Boys Basketball
After two tournaments to start the season, the Wildcats head to Maxwell to play the Bears at 7 p.m. Friday (Dec. 21), looking to add a win to their 1-5 record.
Girls Basketball
The 2-4 Lady Cats take on the Maxwell Bears in Maxwell at 5 p.m. Friday (Dec. 21). It’s their first nontournament game of the season.