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High School Athlete of the Week
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THIS WEEK'S
SAFECO INSURANCE / INSURANCE EXCHANGE
STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Mike Maya
Valley basketball
He scored 22 points for the Vikings in their 70-67 District 2-5A tie-breaker victory over La Cueva, and then 34 points -- again against the Bears -- in the 2-5A championship game Saturday night. Maya and the Vikings are the No. 3 seed in the Class 5A state tournament.
***If you want to nominate an athlete for the Safeco Insurance/Insurance Exchange Student Athlete of the Week, click here.***
The Team’s Athletes of the Week archive
2009-2010
for the 2008-2009 winners, click here
JERIC MAGNANT / WR / RIO RANCHO
The Team's first Student Athlete of the Week for the 2009-10 season is Rio Rancho senior Jeric Magnant. The senior wideout played a critical roll in the Rams' shootout 44-40 victory over Aztec on Sept. 11. Magnant logged 12 catches for 141 yards and four TDs.
RONNIE DANIELS / RB / LA CUEVA
Hard to say what was more surprising, the fact that La Cueva's football team so harshly thumped southern power Clovis, 49-0, on Sept. 18. Or that Daniels, the Bears junior, racked up 278 yards and four TDs without playing much of the second half.
Baldinger, a La Cueva senior, is the latest Student Athlete of the Week, after he scored two of the Bears' three goals in their 3-2 victory over District 2-5A foe Sandia on Sept. 22. He led Class 5A in scoring last season and, with 15 goals already this year, is second in the classification this season.
Del Norte junior Jamie Fletcher, who scored five of her team's six goals in the Knights' 6-0 shutout of Belen -- their eighth in a row -- on Sept. 29. As a sophomore, Jamie scored 23 goals and had 10 assists to finish fifth in scoring in Class 4A; this season, she has 15 goals and nine assists and leads 4A in scoring.
Albuquerque Academy senior QB Kevin Clauss, who ran for 140 yards and passed for 163 yeards in the Chargers' 56-35 romp over visiting Grants last Saturday. Clauss scored four times, on runs of 50 and 2 yards, and twice on 1-yard runs. Academy (6-0) is one of only two metro area teams that remains unbeaten.
Cibola senior midfeidler Mauricio Bruciaga, who assisted on his team's first goal and then scored twice as Cibola beat West Mesa 3-0 on Oct. 17, keeping their hopes alive for the District 1-5A championship.
In the Sartans' 56-20 victory over Grants, he had a 56-yard punt return for a TD, a 31-yard run for a TD and a 31-yard pass reception for a TD. Rarely is there a down in which Garcia isn't on the field. He's a defensive back, running back, quarterback (in Wildcat formation) and holder for kicks. Garcia has four interceptions and 13 TDs this season. He's also holding down a 3.6 GPA.
Branch helped the Chargers shred Ruidoso on Oct. 30, racking up 265 rushing/receiving yards and scoring three TDs. He carried the ball 13 times for 188 yards and two TDs, and caught three passes worth 77 yards and another TD. Academy, the fifth ranked team in Class 3A, won 56-10.
This week's Student Athlete of the Week is Rio Rancho High School senior quarterback Tyler Baker, who threw four TD passes, including the game winner in overtime, and ran 19 yards for another score last week in Rio Rancho's 43-39 victory over Cibola in the District 1-5A championship game.
Sandia High junior quarterback Jordan Ratliffe, who ran for 248 yards and four touchdowns in the Matadors' stunning 38-14 over defending 5A champ Las Cruces last Saturday afternoon at the Field of Dreams.
Manzano senior running back Jordan Llamas, who ran for 96 yards on 16 carries and scored four TDs, and caught a 30-yard TD pass from QB Tyler Krueger in the Monarchs' 52-7 wipeout of Sandia in a Class 5A state quarterfinal game last Saturday at Wilson Stadium.
La Cueva senior quarterback Jordan Wade, who was 5 of 8 passing for 59 yards and a TD, plus kicked two PATs and added a 24-yard field goal, and helped the Bears win a state semifinal game with his two-point conversion pass to Brian Hubbell last Friday.
We've got our first two-time award winner in La Cueva junior running back Ronnie Daniels, who carred the ball 44 times for 199 yards and caught a 27-yard TD pass as the Bears beat Mayfield 31-14 for the Class 5A football championship last Saturday.
She led her Matadors to the girls championship at last weekend's Joe Armijo Classic at Albuquerque Academy. Ebony scored team highs of 13 points (in a 63-22 first-round win over Los Alamos), 19 points (in a 50-38 semifinal win over Valley) and then 12 points in the 50-38 victory over Las Cruces in the tournament championship game.
LAWRENCE OTERO / VOLCANO VISTA
The Hawks freshman won the 119-pound division at last weekend's APS wrestling invitational at Rio Grande High School, leading Volcano Vista to the team title. Otero also was named outstanding wrestler for the lower weight divisions.
Trujillo, a three-time state champ who won the 130-pound division at the 92-team Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nevada, the week before Christmas. Trujillo helped the Rams finish fifth in Reno, and he earlier won his weight division at the Southwest Duals and Las Cruces Invitational. He is signed to compete for Arizona State next season.
Valley High senior guard Angel Reyes, who canned six 3-pointers and finished with 30 points in the Vikings' 66-39 victory over Onate last Friday. On Saturday, Reyes had 10 points in the Vikings' 51-48 victory over visiting Mayfield. Earlier in the week, she scored 13 in her team's 75-45 victory at Los Lunas.
The Cleveland High sophomore scored 21 points in the Storm's win over Clovis last Saturday. Earlier in the week she had four blocks in a win over Valley.
Eldorado High School senior Christian Sacoman scored 24 points in the Eagles' win over Highland on January 22 and last Wednesday notched 19 points against Volcano Vista -- and was the FM Sports Radio 101.7 The Team "Player of the Game." He also excels in the classroom and received a 4.0 during the first semester.
Volcano Vista senior heavyweight wrestler Franco Flores was one of six Hawks who won championships at last weekend's Metro Championships. He also won last month's Vivian Classic in his weight class and was a state runner-up last year.
Eldorado High School senior guard Kya De Garmo, who led the No. 1 Eagles to two big wins last week, scoring a game-high 16 points in EHS's 57-42 victory over No. 4 Gallup last Monday and then a game-high 14 points in a 38-26 victory at No. 2 Sandia on Thursday.He led the Rams to an overtime win at West Mesa last Thursday, when he scored a game-high 29 points and was 9 of 10 at the foul line in OT. Two nights later, in a 57-54 loss to No. 2 Manzano, Lucas scored a game-high 18 points and sank three 3-pointers. Additionally, Lucas has the Rams record, and maybe the state record, for consecutive free throws made: 47. He accomplished that feat in January.The Volcano Vista senior 152-pounder, who capped his second consecutive perfect season on the mats with a 36-0 record and his second individual state championship, helped the Hawks win the Class 4A state championship at Santa Ana Star Center last Saturday.
