Prep notes: What to know about state tennis and track this week
May 8—Tennis is the first of the five spring sports to have its state tournament. The singles/doubles portion of the event runs Wednesday and Thursday.
Leo Rocca of Albuquerque High, undefeated until a loss to Albuquerque Academy's Connor Dils in the championship match of the recent metro championships, is the No. 1 boys seed in Class 5A.
Eldorado's Vivica Corley this week is trying to become the fourth Corley sister to win a state singles title. Her twin Vianca was the 2023 winner, but is doing state doubles this week instead of singles. Ivana and Carmen Corley are previous singles champions for the Eagles.
Two-time state champion Cameron King from La Cueva is the No. 2 seed in 5A girls singles.
Dils is the top seed in 4A boys, with Mariella Rigales of St. Michael's seeded No. 1 for the girls.
First round and quarterfinal matches are Wednesday. The semifinals and finals are Thursday at the Jerry Cline Courts. The singles championships in 5A and 1A-4A are all scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday. The finals in doubles in both classes are set for noon Thursday, also at Jerry Cline.
The team portion of state is Friday and Saturday. La Cueva's boys and girls are both seeded No. 1 in 5A.
The Academy boys, chasing a 21st consecutive blue trophy (2003-23, minus the 2020 season which was canceled due to the pandemic), are the top seed in 1A-4A boys. The Academy girls also are seeded first.
The 5A championship matches are at 3:30 p.m. (doubles) and 5 p.m. (singles) on Saturday. The 1A-4A title matches are 2 p.m. (doubles) and 3:30 p.m. (singles) on Saturday, all at Jerry Cline.
TRACK AND FIELD: The first of two weekends of state track and field gets underway Friday at the University of New Mexico Complex with the Class 1A, 2A and 3A meets.
The running program begins at 8:30 a.m. Friday. There are a slew of field events, scheduled anywhere from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.
The remaining field events begin with various start times on Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m.
The individual running finals, except for the 1,600-meter final which is Friday, will be held starting at 10 a.m. Saturday.
SIGNINGS: Albuquerque High has announced some spring signings.
Adriana Deming (volleyball) has signed with Laramie County Community College in Wyoming; Maddie Everett (soccer) has signed with Adams State in Colorado; Isaiah Maldonado, the Bulldogs' leading boys basketball scorer, has signed with New Mexico Highlands; and Kathryn Unverzagt (swimming) has signed with Trinity College in Connecticut.
Rio Rancho also had a handful of athletes sign their national letters of intent recently.
Mia Martinez of the Rams' softball team has signed with New Mexico State, while teammate Ellie Kissinger signed with Howard College in Texas.
The Air Force Academy locked up two Ram athletes: thrower Arianna Valenzuela from the track and field team, and Dylan Archuleta from the baseball team.
Also from the baseball team, Casen Savage signed with New Mexico Junior College and Bryson Martinez signed with the University of the Southwest in Hobbs. Addisyn Leeds from the track and field team signed with Fort Lewis College in Colorado.
THIS AND THAT: Fredrick Ford of Albuquerque High (24 points) and Grace Erinle of Albuquerque Academy (18 1/2 ) were the high-point athletes at last weekend's Metro Track and Field Championships. ... La Cueva offensive tackle Mark Handy has added an offer from the University of Minnesota.
