Four Corners Sports June 2013

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3Four Corners SPORTSJune 2013

content| 6 |

IDPAWORLD CHAMPGlenn Shelby is a self-taught shooter.

Growing up on a farm, he taught himself

how to aim at targets and his craft

steadily worked up from there and even-

tually, in 2011, Shelby became the world

champion in the International Defensive

Pistol Association World Championship.

| 18 |

BLUE TROPHYELUDES TEAMSThe 2013 New Mexico Class 4A State

Championships took place on May 13 and

14 at the New Mexico State University Golf

Course. And while the blue trophy eluded

every local team that participated, there

were many noteworthy performances

from San Juan County participants.

| 26 |

TENNISLEGACYThe Farmington High School Boys Ten-

nis program has been going strong for

37 years, under the leadership of Coach

Larry Larson.

| 32 |

PING PONG

Plenty of people play table tennis in

San Juan County. They play it in their

garages, basements, yards, or

wherever they can fit a table.

| 8 | XTERRAFarmington Lake and the local trails

were populated on Saturday, June 1, by

athletes from around the country who

competed in the 6th Annual XTERRA Four

Corners triathlon, consisting of more

than 20 miles of swimming, biking, and

running.

| 10 | 9 OUT OF 19District 1AAAA had a solid 2012-2013 all

around with two state runner-ups in the

fall in Farmington soccer and Piedra Vista

volleyball. It rolled through the winter sea-

son with state champions in wrestling and

bowling at Piedra Vista. But in the spring

season, District 1AAAA was nothing less

than dominant.

| 14 | SAN JUAN OPENThe 49th Annual San Juan Open will

kick off its festivities on Wednesday,

June 19 with practice rounds and a

presentation of players at San Juan

Country Club.

| 28 | KNOTHOLE DAYWhile Dodger executive Branch Rickey

is known as the man who brought

Jackie Robinson to the Majors to inte-

grate professional baseball, he was

also the man who popularized the

concept of Knothole Day. Knothole

Games or Knothole Gangs were part

of baseball lore with ballparks being

surrounded by wooden fences, much

like Ricketts Park today.

| 30 | 10 Questionswith Mark Turner,

Head Track Coach at Piedra

Vista High School

4 Four Corners SPORTS June 2013

Don Vaughan

PuBLISHER

Cindy Cowan Thiele

EDITOR

Debra Mayeux

Lauren Duff

Rick Hoerner

Tom Yost

Margaret Cheasebro

CONTRIBuTING WRITERS

Josh Bishop

Curtis Ray Benally

CONTRIBuTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Suzanne Thurman

Jennifer Hargrove

Michael Billie

DESIGNERS

DeYan Valdez

Shelly Acosta

Aimee Velasquez

Felix Chacon

SALES STAFF

For advertising information

Call 505.516.1230

www.fourcornerssports.com

Four Corners Sports magazine is published once amonth by Majestic Media. Material herein may not bereprinted without expressed written consent of the pub-lisher. Opinions expressed by the contributing writersare not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or FourCorners Sports magazine. Every effort has been madeto ensure the accuracy of this publication. However thepublisher cannot assume responsibility for errors orommissions. © 2013 Four Corners Sports magazine.

Majestic Media

100 W. Apache Street

Farmington, NM 87401

505-516-1230

www.majesticmediausa.com

The values of participating in sportingactivities are well documented.

From a general view, students havehigher grades and better attendance; theyare more disciplined and self-confidentthan students who do not participate insports or performing arts.

This participation carries them through-out their lives in their work, health andwell being. And sports make up some ofpeople’s fondest memories.

Without planning it, this issue has manyarticles that contrast athletes past, pres-ent and future.

A simple look at Knothole Day showsbaseball is alive and well here at home.

It is the official beginning of youth base-ball, a tradition that goes back to the daysof Lefty Fox as head coach at FarmingtonHigh.

On Knothole Day every ballplayer thatsuits up for the summer gets the chancefor their team to be introduced and tohigh-five all of the Scorpions on one base-line and the Panthers on the other.

We’ve also got the inductees into Farm-ington High School Hall of Fame. It recog-nizes past players and coaches who lefttheir imprint on the school’s athletic his-tory.

Our roundup of spring sports highlightshigh school athletes who excel statewide.

We have the state high school golf high-lights and in contrast we have a previewof the 49th annual San Juan Open GolfTournament. The theme of this year’sevent is the focus on some local pastchampions.

This country is filled with generationafter generation of children, teens, adultsand seniors, all with a common thread ofsports activities.

The reality, and the beauty, of sports isthat there are always opportunities to be aleader and to use leadership skills. Thereis a way to test your limits and realize any-thing is possible. Everyone, at every mo-ment, every play, and every second of thegame, has that opportunity. Life outside ofsports is no different — the opportunityfor leadership and self-reliance existseverywhere.

FROM THE

CINDY COWAN-THIELE

EDITOR

covercreditPhotography by Josh BishopPicture on the cover is from Knothole Day 2013.

Athletes past present and future

STORY IDEAS

and PHOTOS

Please send to

[email protected]

6 Four Corners SPorTS June 2013

Glenn Shelby is a self-taughtshooter. Growing up on a farm, hetaught himself how to aim at tar-gets and his craft steadily workedup from there and eventually, in2011, Shelby became the worldchampion in the International Defensive Pistol Association WorldChampionship.

Born and raised in Farmington,Shelby said he got involved in theIDPA in 2003 after a friend men-tioned it to him. “I said let’s go, andwe went,” he said about the firstlocal match at the San Juan WildlifeFederation in which he ever participated. “I won that match.”

IDPA is an international sport thathas recently become popular. Thepremise of the sport is based onself-defense shooting. During the

matches, shooters participate insimulated self-defense scenarios,such as carjackings or being heldat gunpoint at an ATM. “We shoot

for fun but there is a little bit oftraining and preparing yourself ifyou had to defend yourself andyour family members,” Shelby explained.

Participants in the IPDA matchesmust learn to shoot from awk-ward angles, such as in vehiclesor behind walls. “You are shootingfrom real-life situations,” Shelbysaid. He occasionally practicesshooting from awkward positionsat home. “I set up my own scenarios and keep track of themistakes I make and practiceshooting in weird positions to justget better at it,” he explained.

by Lauren Duff | courtesy photos

Glen Shelby’s come a long way from shooting targets on the farm

worlD chAmPIDPA


Shelby said one of the more awk-

ward positions he shot from was

when driving a minivan during a

competition. “This teaches you

basic gun handling skills.”

Since getting involved in the

IDPA, Shelby has participated in

countless local, state and na-

tional tournaments. He won the

IDPA National Championship in

2009 in Tulsa, Okla., and was

runner up in the competition in

2010. In 2012, he won the

National Championship again in

Oxford, N.C. He also won the Win-

ter IDPA National Championship

in Springfield, Mass., in 2012.

During the winter championship,

Shelby said he had to shoot in

low light with a flashlight. “It is

completely different with a flash-

light,” he said. “If someone has a

concealed carry license and they

are serious, I ask if they ever

shoot at night. That is definitely

something to consider. You need

to be ready for that.”

Along with these accomplish-

ments, Shelby has also won 20

consecutive state champi-

onships.

But in 2011, Shelby earned the

title of World Champion in the

Custom Defense Pistol Division

when he participated in the IDPA

World Championships in Frost-

proof, Fla. More than 400 shoot-

ers from around the world

participated in this competition.

Shelby said there are five divi-

sions in IDPA including Custom

Defense Pistol, Enhanced Service

Revolver, Stock Service Revolver,

Stock Service Pistol, and En-

hanced Service Pistol.

“I’m proud of him,” said Shelby’s

wife, Tanya. “He is pretty humble

about it all so I think between my-

self and our girls we brag on him

because he won’t do it.” Tanya

added she and their children try

to attend Shelby’s matches,

depending on their schedules.

At the World Championship,

Shelby had a time of 299.48

seconds, which was 10 seconds

faster than the second place

competitor.

Along with the IDPA, Shelby also is

a member of the United States

Practical Shooting Association and

has competed in various competi-

tions in Massachusetts, Illinois,

Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, and

Arkansas.

Tanya said Shelby meets a lot of

friendly people when he travels to

the various matches.

“The class of people you run into

are good people,” Shelby said.

Shelby’s talents have been

featured in the International

Defensive Pistol Association

Tactical Journal, Combat Hand-

guns Magazine and the television

show, Shooting USA.

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Farmington Lake and the localtrails were populated on Satur-day, June 1, by athletes fromaround the country who competedin the 6th Annual XTERRA Four Cor-ners triathlon, consisting of morethan 20 miles of swimming, biking,and running.

The off-road triathlon is one ofhundreds of XTERRA races thathappen throughout the world. TheFarmington Convention and Visi-tors Bureau have decided for oversix years to host the Four Cornersrace because of the area’s trailsthat are fit for biking and running.

“Going into this, the CVB knew thetrails are great and people lovethem. The mountain bike trailsare a great resource to have,”said Ingrid Gilbert, race director.

This year’s XTERRA Four Cornerscourse consisted of a 1-mile swimacross Farmington Lake, compris-ing two half-mile laps with a shortbeach run between laps; a 17-milebike course, consisting of an uphilldouble track for approximately 3miles and 12 miles of rolling, fast,single track from the Road AppleRally course; and a 5-mile loop runaround Farmington Lake.

The course changed from lastyear as a way to ensure enoughspace for the more than 130 ath-letes who competed this year. “Wehad slight revisions to the bikeand run course where we transi-tioned to the opposite side of thelake to accommodate (everyone).As our race grows, that spaceneeds to do so as well,” Gilbertsaid.

Also, this was the first year therace was part of the New MexicoOpen Swim Triathlon, according toGilbert. “We did see a

boost from people coming up tocompete in the series.”

There were 137 athletes who com-peted in this year’s race, includingthe three professional athletes,Joshua Merrick, Jimmy Archer,and Shonny Vanlandingham.

Merrick, 32, was the overall win-ner of XTERRA Four Corners. Hehas been competing in XTERRAraces since 2007. “I will probably

by Lauren Duff | photography by Josh Bishop

Joshua Merrick takes top spot at XTERRA

more than 130triathletes

9Four Corners SPoRTSJune 2013

run 10 or 11 XTERRAs this year,”

he explained.

Merrick said he enjoys compet-

ing in the XTERRA Four Corners

because the terrain is similar to

the terrain in Alamosa, Colo., his

hometown and where he trains.

“I do better on the sandy terrain

than the rocky terrain.” His over-

all time at Saturday’s race was 2

hours and 53 seconds.

Jimmy Archer, 40, came in second

place with an overall time of 2

hours and 1 minute, and Scott

Archer, 26, came in third place

with an overall time of 2 hours

and 4 minutes.

Another athlete who competed in

XTERRA Four Corners is Brent

Bieshaar, 49, who is striving to com-

plete 24 XTERRA races as a way to

bring awareness and raise money

for the Blazeman Foundation for

ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, a neu-

rodegenerative disease.

Since March, Bieshaar, from Den-

ver, has competed in 10 races

every weekend except for Memo-

rial Day Weekend when there was

no race.

If successful, Bieshaar will be the

first athlete to ever complete the

XTERRA America Tour season by

participating in all the races from

March through August.

Bieshaar’s overall time at the

XTERRA Four Corners was 2 hours

and 36 minutes.

Gilbert said she had much help

during the XTERRA Four Corners,

from the 80 volunteers to course

coordinators Neil Merrion and

Mike Dodds.

She added that Saturday’s race

was successful because “ulti-

mately our greatest concern is

getting everyone on and off the

course safely ,and everyone did

fine,” and because many athletes

complimented the course and “the

work the CVB had done to put this

together.”

Four Corners

overall winners:First Place Joshua Merrick – 2 hours and 53 seconds

Second Place Jimmy Archer – 2 hours, 1 minute, and 39 seconds

Third Place Scott Archer – 2 hours, 4 minutes, and 9 seconds

Fourth Place George Mainas – 2 hours, 5 minutes, and 12 seconds

Fifth Place Eric Snowberg – 2 hours, 6 minutes, and 51 seconds

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SuSieCHANDLERPiedra Vista high School

SarahROOTaztec high School

9outOF 19


District 1AAAA had a solid 2012-2013 all around with two staterunner-ups in the fall in Farming-ton soccer and Piedra Vista volley-ball. It rolled through the winterseason with state champions inwrestling and bowling at PiedraVista. But in the spring season,District 1AAAA was nothing lessthan dominant.

This spring there were eight statechampionships up for grabs andthe district was in the hunt innearly all of them, finishing withthree state championships in

track and softball, five state run-ner-ups in tennis, boy’s track,baseball and softball, a third placein girl’s track, and four teams thatreached the final four. So 19 tro-phies were passed out in thespring season with District 1AAAAtaking home nearly half of themwith nine.

Time to take a look back at a suc-cessful championship May for thelocal high schools.

The first state championships ofthe season were crowned in Las

Cruces at the state golf champi-onships. The story is on Page 18.

The following weekend the tennisstate championships were held inAlbuquerque. The Farmington ten-nis teams reached the finals inboth boys and girls. The No. 1seeded Lady Scorpions lost to LosAlamos 5-4, stopping the Farming-ton championship run at four. Theboy’s team also finished secondlosing to No. 1 Academy who rantheir title streak to 11 in a rowand 19 of the last 20. PiedraVista’s boys reached the semi-fi-

nals before falling to Academy.The Lady Scorpion doubles teamof Molly Merrion/Danielle Nguyenfinished second while the Scorpi-ons double team of CurtisHunt/Nathaniel Pavlik came in asthe 5th seed to take the doubleschampionship.

The final weekend of prep actionbegan on Thursday as the softballteams began their double elimina-tion tournament and the baseballsquads played do or die. Trackwould get underway on Friday withall three winding up on Saturday

District One dominates spring sports by Rick Hoerner | photography by Josh Bishop

12 Four Corners SPorTS June 2013

State Baseballafter blowing out their competi-

tion in the first round, both the no.

1 seeded Panthers and the no. 3

seeded Scorpions looked to be on

a collision course for a fifth game

in Saturday’s championship. While

PV cruised through the quarterfi-

nals and semi-finals, Farmington

ran into academy’s Tyler Buffett.

The charger right-hander was on

his game Thursday with excellent

control on his 90 MPH fastball and

a low 80’s slider. Buffet also ham-

mered a three-run homer in the

first to stake academy to a lead

they would not relinquish, leading

to a 7-2 win over the Scorps. The

Scorpions lone threat came in a

tension-filled 6th where Farming-

ton has the bases loaded with two

out and the top of the order on

deck. after a dropped third strike

the umpire called the Farmington

batter out for interference on a

catcher’s throw that was dropped

by the first baseman ending the

threat. In the bottom of the sixth

more tension built as the same

charger first baseman plowed

over Farmington catcher Elias

Blackwater a good five feet up the

third baseline. as the benches

cleared cooler heads prevailed

and academy’s Zeke Long was

ejected.

Piedra Vista cruised by Los

alamos 17-2 in the quarterfinals.

Then on Friday Panther right han-

der Ian doughty no hit Santa

Teresa in five innings moving PV to

their fifth consecutive champi-

onship game and a shot at a

fourth straight title. The Panthers

faced the no. 7 St. Pius Sartans

after the Pius had knocked off no.

2 Goddard then defeated the one

trick pony chargers 21-2. It was

not to be this year for the Pan-

thers as they fell to St. Pius 7-6

leaving the bases loaded twice

and having two players picked off

in scoring position in the final in-

nings.

State SoftballWhen the seedings came out for

the state softball championships

the committee showed little love

to district 1aaaa with the excep-

tion of the no. 1 Panthers. aztec

was only given a no. 4 seed and

Farmington was slotted in as a no.

11. By the end of the weekend the

district showed how wrong the

committee was. after Farmington

knocked off the no. 6 Valencia

Jaguars, they took down no. 3

seeded Gallup. on the upper half

of the bracket both Piedra Vista

and aztec rolled through their

first games setting up a PV-aztec

matchup in the winner’s bracket

semi-final, a 5-2 Panther win that

moved them into the winner’s

bracket final where they faced

their stiffest challenge in artesia.

after a first inning homer the Bull-

dogs led 1-0 going into the sixth

when the Panthers scored two to

take a 2-1 lead. In the bottom half

of the sixth Vanessa olivas struck

again with her second solo shot to

tie the game2-2. The Panthers put

up three more in the top of the

seventh to move to the finals with

a 5-2 win. down in the play inside

of the bracket both Farmington

and aztec advanced to the final

four with aztec knocking off the

Lady Scorpions to get a shot at

artesia. The Lady Tigers upset the

no. 2 seeded Bulldogs to advance

to the championship game for the

second straight year and yet an-

other matchup with Piedra Vista.

The Panthers played as though

they had been there before, which

of course they had, and took con-

trol early on their way to a 5-2 vic-

tory.

State TrackBoth the aztec girls and the PV

boys came into the state track

meet as favorites to capture the

state championship, and neither

disappointed. The Lady Tigers led

nearly from start to finish with

strong performances in the field

events. Piedra Vista was just the

opposite. despite a mere three

points by the end of day one, the

Panthers were well set up for a

championship run in the finals on

Saturday. Even at the break, PV

was down to academy, but the

writing was on the wall for a big

finish for the Panthers and the

Scorpions who took home second

place.

Individually the district was well

represented as well. christian

Mackey of Kirtland central won

both the discus and the shot put

titles. aztec’s Sierra Martinez won

the long jump and Morgan Smith

was the pole vault champion.

Sarah root and Kayli Farmer both

won two events for the Lady Tigers

with Farmer winning the high

JacyCAVEPiedra Vista High School

JordanMONTOYAPiedra Vista High School

13Four Corners SPOrtSJune 2013

jump and javelin while root won

the triple jump and the 100 meter

hurdles. Piedra Vista’s Katie

Hegarty, Zhianna Flores and Zach

Johnson also brought home multi-

ple titles. Hegarty won both the

discus and the shot while Flores

and Johnson were dominant on

the track. Flores won the 200 me-

ters and the 300 meter hurdles

and Johnson won both the 100

meters and the 200 meters plus

anchored the state championship

4x100 team for the Panthers.

Farmington High’s Jeremy Klepac

won both the 300 meter hurdles

and the long jump then anchored

the 4x200 team to a state title.

As a district, the local teams won

all six throwing events, both long

jump championships, the boys’

4x100, 4x200, and 4x400 titles, and

only a Zhianna Flores false start

kept the district from claiming both

the 100- and 200-meter champi-

onship in boys and girls. it seems

that the lock that Los Alamos and

Academy had on the blue trophies

in track has come to an end

Boys results

Piedra Vista 76

Farmington 56

Academy 48

Girls results

Aztec 76

Los Alamos 59

Piedra Vista 52

JeremyKLEPACFarmington High School

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The 49th Annual San Juan Openwill kick off its festivities onWednesday, June 19 with practicerounds and a presentation of play-ers at San Juan Country Club.

With this being the prelude to the50th San Juan Open, Jeff Roth, SanJuan Country Club Head Golf Pro-fessional, is looking forward tosome new offerings that the 49thwill offer.

“The theme of this year’s event isto focus on some local past cham-

pions,” says Roth. “Some localguys like Woody Dame, who won ittwice, Terry Tobey, Mark Pelletier,Gary Blevins. And we are trying toadd a Senior Professional Divisionthis year.”

With last year’s champion GabeMaier taming the 6,750 yard Par71 championship layout with ascore of 269 (15-under par), thisyear’s event promises to sharethe same excitement as in thepast.

With veteran players such as RyanHogue, Clay Ogden and NathanLashley getting used to the new lay-out of the course – most notablythe longer tee boxes on holes 5, 7, 9and 14 – scores that entered intothe 20+ under par range (in 2009and 2010) might be unreachable,but scores are still expected in themid-teens under par.

“The rough is starting to spreadand fill in from sprinkler to sprin-kler, and getting a lot thicker,” ex-plains General Manager Randy

Kahn. “We could increase thelength of the rough to 3 or 4inches and make this an incredi-bly tough test, but we will keep itlow and let them shoot it out.”

Joe Schmidt, San Juan Country ClubCourse Superintendent, has had theopportunity to groom the golfcourse with new equipment thathas helped condition the course inan almost pristine way. “We havethe best greens in the state,” boastsRoth. “The greens are stimping at10.9 and are just perfect.”

by Tom Yost | file photos

Tourney offers up world-class golf on a perfectly manicured course

San Juan Open49th

16 Four Corners SPOrTS June 2013

“With the new equipment that the

membership allowed me to get

for our Superintendent (Schmidt),

the golf course is in the best

shape that I have ever seen it,” ex-

plained Kahn. “Joe is an incredi-

ble superintendent – he is just

awesome.”

The quality of the golf course will

surely be accompanied by a pro-

fessional field that continues to

get better each year. The heavy

hitters from recent past are back

to challenge the lightning fast

greens of SJCC. With seven top 10

finishes in his career at the San

Juan Open, Hogue will be back to

try to win his third championship.

Also back is Lashley, who has six

top 10 finishes, but has yet to win

the event. They will be joined by

2010 champion Ogden, as well as

Jesse Mueller, who has three top

10 career finishes.

A strong young field headed by

Luke Symon, who finished five

shots behind Maier last year, will

challenge the veterans.

What makes the San Juan Open

unique, though, is the interaction

of professionals and amateurs

playing side by side in the Pro-

Sponsor Event. George Walters,

chairman of the San Juan Open

Committee, loves the unique for-

mat of professionals playing with

amateurs. “It is fun to watch the

techniques of the professionals,”

says Walters. “It is a different

game to observe and watch. The

amateurs take it a lot more seri-

ously when they are paired with a

pro.”

The event is a wonderful opportu-

nity to witness world-class golf –

not only for amateur players, but

for spectators as well. The tour-

nament is a fan-friendly opportu-

nity to see the future PGA Tour

stars of tomorrow play golf at

San Juan Country Club.

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Through the years, many PGA

Tour players have gotten their

start by playing in events such

as the San Juan Open. Players

like Lee Trevino, Curt Byrom, Paul

Stankowski, Notah Begay III,

Brian Kortan, Gary Christian and

Martin Laird played in this event

and used it to springboard for-

ward into greater career

achievements.

“The quality of play is going up

each year,” said Kahn. “Even

though we haven’t had somebody

make it on tour since Martin

(Laird), the quality of all the

golfers entered is getting better

and will be great for the specta-

tors that come out to watch.”

The event wouldn’t be what it is

without the tireless efforts of the

San Juan Open Committee. Staff

and club members meet 12

months out of the year to plan,

raise sponsorship money, set up

the golf course, organize volun-

teers – to name a few of the nec-

essary tasks. “The key is to get a

good group of committee mem-

bers together,” explains Walters.

“The group that we have in place

right now really works hard to

bring this event together and

make it what it is. We have been

together for the last few years

and know what to expect from

each other.”

The San Juan Open is also a very

charitable event, giving $16,000

to the community. The event gave

$13,000 to the Home For Women

and Children and another $3,000

to the IGW Pediatric Cancer Foun-

dation in Albuquerque.

The expectations for mid-June

are for some world-class golf on

a perfectly manicured course.

The 49th San Juan Open prom-

ises to deliver and exceed all of

those expectations for all who

take part in this wonderful an-

nual event.

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18 Four Corners SPoRTS June 2013

by Tom Yost

The 2013 New Mexico Class 4A State Champi-

onships took place on May 13 and 14 at the New

Mexico State University Golf Course in Las Cruces.

And while the blue trophy eluded every local team

that participated, there were many noteworthy

performances from San Juan County partici-

pants.

Darmika Frank, a junior from Kirtland Central

High School, finished second individually with a

two-day total of 160. And right behind her in a tie

for third was Brooke Raney, from Aztec High

School, with a score of 161.

Aztec High School Coach Tom McClurg followed

the two players around the University Course

and offered his analysis, “Darmika was tough

the second day, she made no mistakes and

several lengthy putts. Brooke played hard, but

her short game and putter weren’t as strong

as they usually are.”

PV boys,

Kirtland girls

finish 4th

at state golf

championships

Kirtland Central’s Jerrod Noble.

Bluetrophy eludes

localteams


The Kirtland Central girls team finished infourth place, just 8 total team strokes ahead ofthe Aztec girls team. These two teams battled itout most of the fall and the spring for localand regional tournament victories, so it cameas little surprise that the two would be so

close at the state championships. Deming HighSchool won their fifth consecutive state titlewith a team total of 649.

On the boys side, Riley Rahm of Piedra VistaHigh School and Tristan Goodwin of Kirtland

Central High School finished in a tie for eighthplace with individual totals of 155. Goodwinwas in a tie for 2nd place heading into day twowith a first-day score of 74, while Rahm postedthe low individual score for the second daywith a 1-under par 71. Jackson Gurley finishedin a tie for 14th place with a two-day total of159.

Piedra Vista’s boys team finished in a fourthplace on day two by shooting the lowest teamtotal of any school. The team struggled on dayone, but found their spark on the second daywith a round of 307, led by Rahm’s 71.Kirtland Central’s boys team finished in sixthplace.

Piedra Vista’s Jackson Gurley, far right, in the first round of the state golf tournament in Las Cruces.

Piedra Vista golfers and coaches at the state championships.

Darmika Frank, a junior from Kirtland Central HighSchool, makes a chip shot in regional play. She fin-ished second individually with a two-day total of 160at the state championships. – Curtis Ray Benallyphoto.

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While Dodger executive BranchRickey is known as the man whobrought Jackie Robinson to theMajors to integrate professionalbaseball, he was also the manwho popularized the concept ofKnothole Day. Knothole Games orKnothole Gangs were part ofbaseball lore with ballparksbeing surrounded by woodenfences, much like Ricketts Parktoday.

As the inevitable knotholes wouldfall out of the fences, kids wouldgather at the fence to get aglimpse of their diamond heroes.

As early the 1880s, baseball teamssuch as the New Orleans Pelicanswere offering Knothole days to“youths of sound behavior.” The St.Louis Cardinals, under the direc-tion of Rickey, began their firstKnothole Gang in 1938, a tradition

he continued with the BrooklynDodgers in the 1940s and ’50s.

In Farmington, Knothole Day is theofficial beginning of youth base-ball, a tradition that goes back tothe days of Lefty Fox as headcoach at Farmington High andcontinues today. Initially, KnotholeDay was the opening ceremoniesfor the Farmington Amateur Base-ball Congress with the Scorpions

welcoming the new baseball year.

With the opening of Piedra Vista,Knothole Day has evolved tomerge opening ceremonies with agame that will most likely be oneof two games for a district title.On Knothole Day every ballplayerthat suits up for the summer getsthe chance for their team to be in-troduced and to high-five all of theScorpions on one baseline and the

The present meets the future on Farmington’s field of dreams

Knothole Dayin a baseb

all town

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Panthers on the other. The play-

ers are then welcomed to an af-

ternoon of lunch and a, usually,

beautiful day at the ballpark

watching our local pastime. For

the high schools, they get a

chance to play in front of a full

house before August.

This year the game, as usual, did

not disappoint. The Scorpions and

Panthers were hooking up for a

fourth time with Farmington hold-

ing a 2-1 advantage and the dis-

trict lead. As in the previous

games, Farmington jumped out to

a lead using some timely hitting

from the bottom of the order.

Scorpion lefty Matt Huffhines held

the Panther bats in check to pull

out to a 4-0 advantage. The Pan-

thers pulled within one in the

sixth behind a two-run double

from Kody Russell. PV then tied

the game in the 7th with back-to-

back hits by Zach Ahlgrim and Ian

Doughty. Farmington had its

chance in the bottom of the 7th as

Austin Davis drove a ball to deep

left only to be robbed of a walk off

RBI from leftfielder Ian Doughty.

In the 9th, PV took the lead on a

solo shot from district Player of

the Year Jacy Cave, but the Scorpi-

ons answered in the bottom half

with a run of their own. In the 10th

the wheels came off for Farming-

ton, giving up five runs and what

appeared to be an insurmount-

able lead, but the Scorpions

weren’t done. In the bottom half

Farmington rallied with three

runs of their own and the winning

run at first before the Panthers

prevailed in a 10-8 classic.

Once in Farmington’s recruitment

brochure for new teachers, Farm-

ington was labeled as a baseball

town. A simple look at Knothole

Day shows baseball is alive and

well here at the home of the Con-

nie Mack World Series where on a

beautiful Saturday afternoon the

future meets up with the present.

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For the seventh time since 1991,during a May 24 ceremony atFHS’s main gymnasium, Farming-ton High School inducted severalformer coaches and student athletes into the FHS Hall of Fame.

The coaches and athletes whowere inducted into the Hall ofFame attended the high school atvarious times, but all left their imprint on the school’s athletichistory.

Richard Wallace, FHS assistantfootball coach and a Hall of FameCommittee member, said individu-als are chosen to be a part of theHall of Fame through various nominations. “There are a lot ofcriteria for inducting coaches andathletes,” Wallace explained. “It isbased on success in high school

and things that they did duringtheir high school career thatmade an impact on the school andtheir team.”

The four former student athleteswho were inducted included NeilMerrion for gymnastics, Jeff Clarkfor tennis, Mike Colerick for baseball, and Autumn Andersonfor softball.

Neil Merrion graduated from FHSin 1982 and attended University ofNew Mexico. During his time there,Merrion was an athlete on thegymnastics team, which wascoached by Rusty Mitchell, whoparticipated in the 1964 OlympicGames in Tokyo, Japan.

“It was always a pleasure to haveNeil in the program,” Mitchell

said. “I’m proud of him as a gymnast but more so as a friend,father, and husband.”

In 1985, Merrion was the RockyMountain Open All-Around andHorizontal Bar Champion, and in1986, he was the Western AthleticConference Gymnast of the Year. “Rusty expected a lot of us as student athletes, but becoming re-spectful adults was more impor-tant to him. I’m forever grateful toRusty,” Merrion said.

Anderson graduated from FHS in1995. During her time there, shewas the softball team’s pitcherand attended the 1994 and 1995State Championships. In 1995,she also was recognized as the conference’s Most ValuablePlayer.

“It is a great honor to be inducted.Softball was a huge part of my lifeand it is hard to imagine my youthwithout it,” Anderson said in frontof hundreds of people who at-tended the induction ceremony. From 1997-1999, Anderson playedfor the Mississippi State University softball team, whereshe earned the title of 1998 SouthEastern Conference TournamentMost Valuable Player. Then, in1997 she was on the All-Americansoftball team.

The former FHS coaches who wereinducted include Marv Sanders, aformer FHS boys basketball coach,Gary Graham, former FHS softballcoach, and Roy Johnson, formerFHS wrestling coach and assistantsoftball coach.

Inductees made lasting contributions to Scorpion sports

by Lauren Duff | photography by Josh Bishop

FARMINGTON HIGH SCHOOL

HALL FAMEOF

25Four Corners SporTSJune 2013

Graham was with the FHS softball

team from 1989 to 2004 and was

head coach from 1997 to 2004.

During his time with the high

school, the softball team won six

state championships. “We were

always one of the top teams in

New Mexico,” Graham said.

Since retiring from FHS, Graham

was the pitching coach at Marist

College in New York and is now

the Shiprock High School baseball

coach.

“It is nice that they selected me.

We did a good job helping out FHS

and I’m proud to be a member of

the Hall of Fame,” Graham said.

“The Hall of Fame selection is not

about me, it is about the players

and their commitment to being

successful.”

Johnson coached wrestling at FHS

for 24 years. “Any time you get

inducted into the Hall of Fame and

it’s done by your peers – I feel

really honored. I put a lot of time

at Farmington High School and it

meant a lot to me.” He is now the

Aztec High School softball coach.

During his time at FHS, the

wrestling team attended the State

Championships nine times. John-

son said his most memorable

experience from coaching

wrestling was when the team won

the state championship in 1992. “It

is always exciting to win the state

championship during your

career.”

Johnson also was a National Coach

of the Year Nominee in 1997. Aside

from wrestling, he was the FHS

assistant softball coach when Gra-

ham was the head coach.

“I coached softball with Gary

(Graham) for 20 years and we are

best friends and it is exciting to go

into the Hall of Fame with people

you admire and I appreciate the

things they brought to the school,”

Johnson explained.

Three FHS teams also were

inducted into the Hall of Fame

including the 1986 FHS boys

basketball team, the 1992 FHS

wrestling team, and the 1997 FHS

softball team. “These teams are

all state championship teams,”

Wallace explained.

Emma Weaver, who has attended

many FHS sporting events for over

30 years, was inducted into the

Hall of Fame as a “Special Contrib-

utor.”

“I’m honored to be here among

these athletes, coaches, and

teams,” she said. “This is a great

honor.”

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High School Boys Tennis programhas been going strong for 37years, under the leadership ofCoach Larry Larson.

“If it wasn’t for Coach Larson,none of us would be here,” saidMatt With who has been on theteam since he was in eighthgrade. With, whose father playedfor the Lobos Tennis Team, wonthe winning match at state in2010, earning the Scorps a statetitle.

“Three years ago we were seededthird in the team tournament, andwe upset a very good Los Alamosteam,” Larson said. With had toplay a senior, and he knew itwould mean a win for the entireteam. “He came through and wonit.”

Three years later, With said he stilldoes what he can for the teamand plays his best.

This attitude is one of thestrengths of this Farmingtonteam. The players support each

other, and their parents supporttheir children’s efforts.“We’ve had tremendous parentsupport through all of my years,”Larson said. “I’ve been blessedwith great kids. They are greatkids or I wouldn’t be coaching.”

Larson actually retired fromteaching three years ago, but hekept on coaching. “I never thoughtI would last more than five years,”he said, adding the program haschanged a lot since he began in1977.

“We aren’t playing Albuquerqueschools anymore. Our district wasSanta Fe, Espanola, Gallup, LosAlamos and Albuquerque,” Larsonsaid. “Now it’s both Gallup highschools, Belen, Grants and PiedraVista.”Despite the changes in theschools, the program has re-mained a good one with “prettystrong” teams.

Larson recalled the year that JeffClark played in the State Champi-onship and won the singles match.

Inducted in the FHS Hall of Fameon May 24, Clark was the onlymale tennis player in Farmingtonhistory to win the singles champi-onship. It also was a highlight inLarson’s career.

“Jeff had to beat a guy who hadn’tlost all year,” said Larson, who stillplays a match against Clark everynow and then.

Another great moment was whenBodie Avery and Stacy Ross wontwo state titles. “That was a ter-rific thing,” Larson said.

This year, Curtis Hunt andNathaniel Pavlik won the State

Championship. “They lost the firstset and were behind for the sec-ond and would not quit. It was 7-5in the third set and it was atremendous final match,” Larsonsaid.

“We had good competition all theway around,” said Pavlik, who willbe a senior in the fall. He startedon the team in eighth grade. “Mybrothers and sisters both wentout for tennis. It looked like funout there and I wanted to be apart of it.”

Larson: Great kids, supportive parentshas kept him going for 37 years

by Debra Mayeux | photography by Josh Bishop

Larson continued page 29

At left, Curtis Hunt and Nathaniel Pavlik won the state championship this year.

Sports

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Hunt also joined the tennis teamafter watching his brothers play.“When they finally got me outthere, I enjoyed it,” he said, addingthis year was a challenging one.Tennis still must remain enjoy-able, because Hunt said he plansto play on a club team in college.

Pavlik looks forward to next sea-son, when he hopes to help theScorps grasp the state title. Theycame in second this year.

Larson’s goal for his boys is tohave them leave the program with“a love of the game and the honorof the game.”

He instilled that love in Farming-ton High youth for the past 37

years and even instilled it in hischildren who have careers in ten-nis.

Larson’s son Darryl Larson, whoplayed for his dad for five years, isa tennis pro at Colonia CountryClub in Fort Worth, Texas. Darrylmarried FHS basketball champ –Megan ratliff.

Larson’s daughter Alyssa Larsonplayed tennis on the girls’ teamunder the director of Coach PatMcGrath. She was No. 1 for threeyears and is the tennis teacher atTanoan Country Club in Albu-querque.

Larson also runs the Citizen’sBank Tournament every year. It

will be June 21-23. He is a lifelongplayer and many of his formerstudents also are lifelong players.He and McGrath have been told

they are the reason former stu-dents still play.

“It’s all heart,” Larson said.

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The Farmington High School girls’tennis program met Coach Pat Mc-Grath’s goal this year. They made itto the state finals.

“We were a match away from win-ning the whole thing,” McGrathsaid. The team came in second,which doesn’t happen very often.“In six years we’ve only lost twomatches.”

There were several new varsity play-ers, and McGrath said there was anincredible amount of improvementduring the season. There also weretwo girls who went the farthest attournament. They were Molly Mer-rion and Danielle Nguyen.

Merrion grew up playing tennis andstuck with it. “The most enjoyablething is my teammates,” she said.“We’re all real close. It’s fun to playwith such a good team.”Merrion is off to college and plansto play on a club team. “Tennis hasbeen such a big part of my life for-ever,” she said.

Danielle also has played since

childhood. “It’s really fun. You

learn a lot from it,” she said. “You

learn to work hard and meet a lot

of nice people.”

This group of girls has gotten to

know each other throughout the

years. They travel together to

weekend tournaments and even

participated in a national tourna-

ment, where they went two and

two, McGrath said.

“Farmington tennis is one of thebest kept secrets out there,” hesaid.

“People ask us what pro we workout with, but they don’t have a pro.They just work hard and do it ontheir own.”

They also have an incredibleamount of team spirit.

“In a lot of sports there’s a lot ofcompetitiveness,” said BrydenBaker. “This team of girls hassome of the best team players;we’re really close and we supporteach other.”

Sydney Schumacher agreed, say-ing she enjoys hanging out withthe girls and playing tennis. “I feelso much more prepared for every-thing,” she said. “I like getting bet-ter, working hard and having thehard work pay off.”

McGrath believes part of theteam’s strength comes from thefact that the girls start working to-gether in eighth grade and theystay together through their senioryear.

Others believe the team is strongbecause of their coach. “Pat hasbeen a positive influence on thisprogram. Pat does so much withthe young kids. He gets them inter-ested,” Boys Tennis Coach LarryLarson said.

by Debra Mayeux | photography by Josh Bishop

Girls’ tennis team has only lost 2 matches in 6 years


We wanted the boys to finish the meet like champions, and

they did. We knew after the 1600 Medley relay that we had

the meet won, but Zach Johnson went on to win the 200 dash

and set a new school and state record in that race. Brandon

Levi set a new school record and almost won the 3200 meter

run and then the 4x400 relay boys Matthew Gonzales, Wyatt

Hardy, Clark Otteson and Ty Murphy decided they would win

the relay in school record time and put an exclamation point

on the meet for us. A very special moment for all of PVHS

track.

Roger Ward at Hermosa Junior High asked during my first

year of teaching in 1981 if I knew anything about track. I told

him I low jumped 4 feet, 4 inches as a 6th grader at Mason

Elementary in Durango and he responded, ”You are the new

high jump coach.“ We had over 200 kids out for track at Her-

mosa with seven coaches, most volunteer, during the years

before 8th and 9th grade kids were eligible to play spring

sports for Farmington High School. I have been on the track

each spring ever since then.

Kendra Woodson is the first that comes to mind. Victoria

Martin probably had the most natural talent of any kid I have

ever seen. The combination of Craig Burgess, Evan Lamoreux,

Robert Gunn, Jason McClelland and Scott Darnell come to

mind because they refused to give up in any relay they ever

ran. Andy Miller and Jon Bindues were the epitome of "run

till you drop," Eli and Tyler Finch had talent oozing from their

pores in high school, Eric Varnell seemingly never dropped a

pass or quit on the track, and a kid named Lindsey Barbeau

was probably the finest hurdler I have ever coached. But the

one that really stands out is a girl named Sara Fletcher. Sara

can't be more than 5 feet, 5 inches and was a 17-foot long

jumper and 38-foot triple jumper on sheer will and perfec-

tion on the runway.

The PV coaching staff works very hard to keep all of our

track kids interested and every single one of them has a

chance to compete in at least half of the meets we go to each

season. That is a testament to the manner in which San Juan

County schools run their meets. High school meets outside of

the county are generally open to three entries per event, yet

here in this county the schools make a conscious effort to

allow up to eight kids per event so that we are able to involve

a lot more kids. The result is this creates a somewhat longer

track meet, but the overall effect is now being seen at the

state meet. In the last two years, San Juan County schools

have come home with eight of the 12 trophies from the state

meet.

Roger Ward, from the olden days at Hermosa, got me inter-

ested in track, taught me how to run a track program and

put an entry together, and taught me enough about coaching

each event in track to be dangerous. Roger always said that

he could find something for every kid to be good at in the

Hermosa track program. I try very hard to do the same.

Today I feel that the coaches with whom I am privileged to

work are the role models that I look up to. Jared Howell is

the best motivator and out and out teacher I know. We as a

coaching staff celebrate the kids that show improvement, re-

gardless of overall talent.

MARKTURNERAge: 60

School: Piedra Vista High School

Years Experience: 32 teaching and

coaching - 15 head track coach at PVHS

What was your first thought when you knew your team

had enough of a margin to win your first state track

championship?

1

How did you initially get involved coaching track?2

Outside of this year’s team, who would make the short

list of your greatest athletes?

3

How do you keep younger athletes interested

in track without JV meets? 4

Who is your coaching role model? Why? 5

PVHS HEAD TRACK COACH


I really enjoy being on the sideline as part of the "chain gang" for PVHS

football games.

I am fully in favor of multi-sport/activities student athletes. I believe spe-

cialization in some sports is a result of cost and effective time manage-

ment. For instance, my own child is dedicated to her rodeo sports, and

due to the cost and travel that is just about all she can do. For most

high school athletes, playing multiple sports in different seasons helps

create a well-rounded athlete. Wyatt Hardy is a perfect example this

year, earning an individual state championship in wrestling, two state

championship relays in track and a tough guy on defense in football,

and he had to work all the way from his freshman year to his senior

year to earn those titles.

In our track program, we have consistently worked with and around

other activities that kids have committed to during the school year, such

as the fine arts programs, and encouraged kids that excel in other fall

and winter sports to "get faster" by running track. Robert Gunn, our

first state champion in track at PVHS, was a part-time baseball player

and high jumper. Robert won multiple state championships in relays,

high jump and the horizontal jumps, then went on to run at UNM and

play baseball for Texas Tech. Cassie Crowell and Skylar Tracy ran at the

Richard Harper meet at Albuquerque Academy, then hopped across

town to play in the state band competition that same day.

I truly believe that in today's society we as adults need to spend time

with kids outside of our daily routines. Teachers especially need to be

involved outside the classroom with kids – their own or in an organized

manner such as coaching or sponsoring an activity.

Get involved; use your natural talent to share with the kids. Kids are

looking to learn and excel at any sport – share your enthusiasm and

knowledge!

Don't wait until your junior or senior year to get on the track. Experi-

ence in track, just as with every other sport, does count. Just think what

a kid such as Zach Johnson would have been able to accomplish with

two more years of experience under his belt.

Outside of track, what is your favorite sport as a fan? 6

What is your feeling on your athletes participating in

multiple activities?7

How has coaching influenced other areas of your life? 8

With your years of experience, what is the best advice

you could give to young coaches? 9

What is the one tip you would give young athletes looking

to excel in track? 10

The San Juan River below Navajo Dam is currently flowing at 295 cfs.

Although the flows are lower than average for this time of the year, the

fishing continues to be very good.

In the Quality Waters section the midge hatches have been very good

from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fishing a size 22 gray or chocolate big mac midge

followed by a size 22 black or olive midge emerger has been a very good

combo.

The afternoon baetis hatches are starting to improve with a few fish

starting to look up for some nice surface action. The best combo for

afternoon nymph fishing will be a size 22 gray RS2 followed by a size 22

black or gray midge emerger. If you’re lucky enough to find a few fish

rising, a size 22 olive cdc comparadun should do the trick. As far as the

fishing below the Quality Waters goes, I would recommend salmon eggs,

night crawlers, and the rooster tail lures.

T.J. Massey

San Juan River Outfitters

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FishingFishingREPORTREPORT

FishingREPORT


Plenty of people play table tennis inSan Juan County. They play it intheir garages, basements, yards, orwherever they can fit a table.

Members of the Four Corners TableTennis Association have seen sev-eral of them play at the FarmingtonRecreation Center. The sport ismore commonly known as pingpong.

Though the association has neverbeen officially organized, it's beenaround for more than a decade.

It began sometime after I played in aSan Juan County Senior Olympicstable tennis competition in 2000. Iwas rusty after years of not playing.Athlete Pete Hayden offered tocoach me in preparation for theNew Mexico Senior Olympics.

Pete came several times a week tohelp me practice at Bluffview Ele-mentary School after hours. FormerBluffview teacher Phil Brummellkept a ping pong table there in anempty classroom with permissionfrom Jacque Russell, who was prin-cipal at the time.

Soon other players joined us atBluffview on Sunday afternoons tosharpen our table tennis skills.Among them were Marvin McIntyreand his son, Jonathan, who cameregularly.

Others came to Bluffview when theycould. Some of the most frequentplayers were attorney Eric Morrowand educator Andras Kardash.

When I retired as the Bluffview coun-selor, Dave Wilden, who was thenprincipal at Heights Middle School,let us put our tables on the Heightscafeteria stage and play on Sundayafternoons. We stored our tablesthere until they wore out in 2011.

For awhile we had no place to play

until Senior Citizen AdministratorLarry Bomberger, a city of Farming-ton employee, bought some tourna-ment quality tables and nets. Hemade arrangements for us to storethe equipment and to play at theFarmington Recreation Center onFairgrounds Road next to RickettsPark.

Every week from 10 a.m. to noon onTuesdays and Thursdays we honeour skills there. For awhile, Marvinand I were the only players. Thentennis coach Richard Yancey joinedus. Others of many ages playedwhen they could, among them Keithand Karen Bishop, Mike Smith, NeilMerrion, Isaac and Daniel Bickell,Christa Wiggins, Gavin Gutierrez,Jeff Gilbertson, Donovan Stearns,

Larry Larson and Al Fanto.

Al began playing with us when heretired. When he went back to workpart time, schedule conflicts kepthim away.

"I miss the camaraderie, the exer-cise, and the structure of havingsomething to do twice a week," Alsaid.

The sport is easier on the body thantennis, but you can work up a seri-ous sweat.

"I can play table tennis without hurt-ing my wrist, damaging my joints orplaying on a hard court," Yancey ex-plained. "It helps my reflexes, be-cause you have to be real quick

by Margaret Cheasebro | photography by Josh Bishop

Table Tennis thrives in San Juan County

PINGPONG


when you play table tennis. It makes

me watch the ball closer. I can tell if

my head's pulling away from the ball

before I hit it better than I can in ten-

nis. If your head is not pointing at

the ball and if you're not looking at it

with both eyes equally, you're not

watching the ball like you should.

Don't turn your head before you exe-

cute the shot."

Richard has told me that plenty of

times. One of these days I'll get the

hang of it.

He's willing to give people free 15-

minute table tennis lessons if they

come to the recreation center when

we play there.

Table tennis players often learned to

play the sport when they were kids.

Richard, Marvin and I all started

when we were young. I was 10 years

old, Richard was in junior high, and

Marvin was in college. Though we

quit later, we're having a great time

sharpening our skills again.

"I started playing table tennis in col-

lege to avoid studying, and suc-

ceeded very well," Marvin said with

a laugh. A retired high school math

teacher, he keeps fit by playing both

tennis and table tennis.

All three of us recently competed in

a table tennis tournament at the San

Juan College Human Performance

Center. Personnel there encourage

the sport and are trying to build a

following for it. We played against

several people much younger than

ourselves, and Richard took the

grand prize, a one month center

membership.

Competing with different players

builds our game.

"We need more competition, new

blood," said Marvin. "Your game im-

proves when you play people with

different styles."

Richard still plays tennis and gives

tennis lessons, but he likes to hone

his table tennis skills because they

improve his tennis game.

"You can hit a lot more balls in table

tennis because there's a shorter dis-

tance for the ball to reach you than

in tennis," he said.

More than anything else, one factor

keeps us playing every week. Marvin

summed it up best.

"The main reason I play," he said, "is

because it's fun."

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Four Corners Sports June 2013