Santa Fe New Mexican NorthStars, 2013-14

NorthStars NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S TOP PREP ATHLETES 2013-2014

Female athlete of the year

TAYLOR

Male athlete of the year

ISAIAH

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DESERT ACADEMY

ST. MICHAEL’S HIGH SCHOOL

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S U N DAY, J U N E 8 , 2014

2 NORTHSTARS The Santa Fe New Mexican Sunday, June 8, 2014

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Sunday, June 8, 2014 The Santa Fe New Mexican NORTHSTARS 3

The best of 2013-2014 FALL Nov. 8, 2013 This was a big day for boys soccer in Santa Fe. Not only did the Capital boys soccer team make it to the Class AAAA semifinals for the second year in a row, but the Monte del Sol boys made it to the A-AAA semifinals for the first time in school history.

While both teams ended up losing to traditional powerhouses this day at the Albuquerque Public Schools Soccer Complex — Capital to Albuquerque Academy and Monte del Sol to Albuquerque Sandia Preparatory — they both solidified themselves as threats in their respective classes.

The Jaguars were tied 0-0 at halftime before allowing the Chargers to score two unanswered goals in the second half. Capital got on the board with a Diego Pichardo header in the 75th minute, but it was too late to spark a Jaguar comeback.

Monte del Sol, on the other hand, lost 3-0 to the eventual state champions. The Dragons did not make their match as exciting as Capital’s, but they showed that a team does not need its own facilities to compete for a championship.

Monte del Sol forward Luis Lozoya led District 2A-AAA with 26 goals and is the first student from the school to sign a national letter of intent. He will play at Eastern New Mexico University next year.

Nov. 9, 2013 Northern New Mexico cross-country teams ran wild all over Rio Rancho on this day.

The Los Alamos boys and girls teams collected state championship hardware for the third year in a row, with the girls winning five consecutive championships for the second time in school history. Colin Hemez won the individual Class AAAA boys title, while five Lady Hilltoppers finished in the top 16.

The Taos boys and girls teams also swept state titles. The boys handily beat St. Michael’s for first place, and the girls had five finishers in the top 17 to lift them over Albuquerque Sandia Preparatory.

Pojoaque’s Jereme Santistevan finished his prep career with his second consecutive AAA title and helped the Elks to a third-place finish in the meet.

Last, but not least, Taylor Bacon of Desert Academy started a dominant year by winning the Class A girls individual title.

Pojoaque Valley’s Cheyenne Law, left, and captain Kristin Woody, right, volley with Ruidoso’s Andi Harrelson on Nov. 16, during the third game of a four-game match for the state title. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN

Nov. 14, 2013 The West Las Vegas volleyball team could have

stayed home to mourn the loss of head coach Mary Bustos the day before, but the players collectively decided to honor her by playing in the Class AAA State Tournament at the Santa Ana Star Center.

Bustos was a longtime coach and teacher at West Las Vegas and Las Vegas Robertson before she lost her battle with amyloidosis, a condition in which amyloid proteins can build up in any tissue or organ. Even her daughter, senior Caelin Bustos, played the day after the coach’s death.

The school took two buses full of supportive students to Rio Rancho, and the Lady Dons were greeted with applause when they entered the arena for pool play. Even Las Vegas Robertson, the Lady Dons’ first-round opponent, wore green ribbons in their hair to honor Bustos.

West Las Vegas beat Robertson to advance to the quarterfinals, but everyone in Las Vegas will remember this day as the one on which the Lady Dons overcame the ultimate loss.

Nov. 16, 2013 Not even three different head coaches could slow down the freight train that is the Pojoaque Valley volleyball team.

On this day, the Elkettes, under first-year head coach Eric Zamora, won their fifth straight Class AAA state title. Zamora stepped into the coaching role after Joey Trujillo and Brian Ainsworth led the team to the promised land.

The Elkettes beat Ruidoso in four games, 25-20, 16-25, 25-18, 25-23, with seven of 14 players who had no previous varsity experience. It was also the 13th straight win for Pojoaque.

Senior outside hitter Kristin Woody had 24 kills to lead the Elkettes, and she finished her prep volleyball career by scoring the championship point. She will play at New Mexico Highlands this fall.

Dec. 7, 2013 Las Vegas Robertson was the football state champion no one saw coming.

Before the Cardinals earned the title by dismantling Silver 34-7 in freezing temperatures on their home turf, they stumbled to a 1-3 start. But the team slowly started returning players from injuries and went on to finish the regular season 5-5 and set up a memorable playoff run.

After the ninth-seeded Cardinals beat No. 8 Portales in the first round, they pulled off the upset of the year by going to No. 1 St. Michael’s and beating the Horsemen 23-13 in a chippy game. That win also snapped the Horsemen’s 23-game winning streak and avenged a 50-0 loss earlier in the season.

Robertson then beat District 2AAA rival Taos 22-13 for the title berth. Against Silver, the Cardinals stuck to what made them successful late in the season, rushing for 380 yards with the running back duo of James Gonzales III and Dominic Lucero.

THE MOMENT

Grieving team finds comfort at state tourney One day, the West Las Vegas volleyball team grieved for the loss of Mary Bustos.

The next day, the team made the bus trip to Rio Rancho to play in the Class AAA State Tournament.

A community grieved for the loss of Bustos, the Lady Dons’ head coach who died from complications of amlyoidosis on Nov. 13, the day before the start of the tournament.

A volleyball community.

A Las Vegas community.

A Dons community.

The healing began when the team decided to go to Rio Rancho’s Santa Ana Star Center on Nov. 14 to honor Bustos and try to win a title. Everywhere the Lady Dons went during their two-day stay in the tournament, they were comforted and honored. The St. Michael’s team prayed with them before pool play began Thursday morning.

Las Vegas Robertson, Pojoaque Valley, Silver and other schools paid tribute to the team and to Bustos by wearing green and/or gold in some fashion. When the Lady Dons hit the court at 2:09 p.m., they were greeted warmly by the crowd in the arena, as well as by other teams warming up for pool play.

While West Las Vegas ended up finishing second in pool play, the reception the team received stuck with the players.

“It means a lot, it really does,” said sophomore Deanna Bustos, a niece of Mary Bustos. “They are here supporting us, and they don’t have to be. They’re here for us, for Mary and for Mary’s family, and that means a lot.”

Still, it wasn’t easy. Tears were shed by many in the West Las Vegas entourage, from daughter and middle hitter Caelin Bustos, to sons Justin and D.J. Bustos and husband David Bustos (who were on the bench until the Lady Dons lost to Pojoaque Valley on Friday afternoon). Assistant coach Karli Salazar, who eventually became Bustos’ replacement, even struggled to maintain her composure before play began.

A week later, thousands of people said goodbye to Mary Bustos at her funeral in the gym she called home — Gillie Lopez Memorial Gymnasium.

Karli Salazar, center right, coaches the West Las Vegas volleyball team at the state tournament on Nov. 14. The Lady Dons’ head coach, Mary Bustos, died the day before. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

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4 NORTHSTARS The Santa Fe New Mexican Sunday, June 8, 2014

The best of 2013-2014 WINTER

Jan. 18, 2014 If there ever was a sign of things to come in the wrestling season, it came at the Joe Vivian Classic.

Hailed as the premier regular-season meet in which the state’s best, regardless of class, often appear, five Northern wrestlers came away with gold medals signifying an individual championship. Koery Windham of St. Michael’s won at 160 pounds, beating Rio Rancho’s Miguel Barreras (the eventual Class AAAAA champion) 5-2 in the finals. The other wrestlers to take home titles were Las Vegas Robertson’s Rico Montoya (132) and a trio of Capital wrestlers: Jose Tapia (112), Isaiah Anaya (145) and Ernesto Salvidrez (152).

Of that quintet, only Anaya failed to win a state title a month later. But each of the five made it to the finals of his respective weight division and class.

Feb. 19, 2014 Sarah Lott knew she was fast, but she didn’t realize how fast she was.

That changed when she won the 100-yard freestyle in 52.07 seconds at the State Swimming

and Diving Championships at Albuquerque Academy. The Los Alamos sprinter’s time was a personal best and broke the school record in the event by a full second.

“It feels awesome. I was not expecting that,” Lott said. “Everyone I was going against was really fast, so I didn’t think I would be able to beat them, and when I did, I was like, ‘Oh, OK, that’s cool.’ I’m really excited.”

Lott’s day was not complete though. She also set a school record in the 200 freestyle with a 1:53.68, and she helped the 400 freestyle relay team take second and the 200 freestyle relay earn fourth. That helped Los Alamos to a thirdplace finish on the girls’ side.

Lott wasn’t alone in swimming success, as teammate Michael Moore took third in the 500 freestyle.

Feb. 19, 2014 It was the perfect ending for St. Michael’s senior Koery Windham.

The 160-pounder capped a stellar wrestling career with his first undefeated season as a Horseman, going 36-0 and winning his fifth straight Class A-AAA individual title. He is among three other wrestlers to accomplish that

feat. He also recorded his first championship pin when he took down Bloomfield’s J.D. Robinson in the third period.

As Windham wrapped up his career, Las Vegas Robertson’s Rico Montoya and Capital’s Jose Tapia were picking up steam. Montoya, a junior, won his fourth straight state title in A-AAA with a 14-2 major decision over Geno Palermo of St. Michael’s. That helped Robertson to a thirdplace finish Meanwhile, the freshman Tapia went 39-0 and pinned Piedra Vista’s Wes Rayburn at 113 to win his second straight AAAA crown. It was a good night for the Jaguars, as junior Ernesto Salvidrez won his second title, this one at 152, after heartbreaking misses as a freshman and sophomore, while senior Isaiah Anaya was the 145 runner-up.

March 14, 2014 Jackie Martinez made a promise — and a dream — come true.

As a precocious freshman, she promised head coach Elmer Chavez to help Santa Fe High to a state girls basketball championship. On her final night as a prep basketball player, Martinez made good on her vow, helping the Demonettes secure a hard-earned 34-29 win over defending champion Los Lunas in The Pit for the Class AAAA trophy.

“My word is my bond, and he remembers that,” Martinez said.

Martinez scored 15 points to lead Santa Fe High, which had to overcome its worst first half of the season. Trailing 18-9 at the break, the Demonettes chipped away at the deficit.

It was 22-17 after the third quarter and tied at 26-all with less than 4 minutes remaining.

A 3-pointer from Kayla Herrera gave Santa Fe High a 29-26 lead, and a 17-7 flurry in the fourth quarter sealed the win.

It was the perfect ending to the Demonettes’ final season in Class AAAA. Next year, they will call AAAAAA home.

March 15, 2014 There was the matchup everybody expected.

And there was the uninvited guest who almost ruined the party.

For the third straight March, St. Michael’s and Albuquerque Hope Christian battled it out for supremacy in Class AAA, but this matchup was never close. A 9-minute scoring drought left St. Michael’s helpless to battle back, and the Huskies repeated as state champions 55-34.

Hope was never threatened by anyone in AAA, with its closest game coming in a 60-44 win over the Horsemen for the District 5AAA championship.

About six hours later, Escalante tried to upset Hagerman’s attempt at redemption after already ruining its chance at revenge.

The Lobos upset No. 1 Cliff in the Class A semifinals, but they could not muster up the same inspired effort to beat the Bobcats. A year after letting a state title slip through its hands with a dubious technical foul last in last year’s title game against Cliff, Hagerman dispatched Escalante 56-41.

It was Escalante’s first appearance in a championship game since winning it all in 1988.

Las Vegas Robertson’s Kenneth Yara and J.R. Gonzalez take down St. Michael’s Daniel Ortega during the first quarter of the Nov. 23 game at Christian Brothers Athletic Complex. The upstart, overlooked, easily dismissed Cardinals took down the top-seeded Horsemen 22-13. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

THE MOMENT

A shocking upset reshapes the postseason The real story that day was supposed to be the weather.

The Las Vegas Robertson football team had other plans.

Northern New Mexico — the entire state, for that matter — woke up the morning of Nov. 23 to a blanket of fresh snow and thick gray skies that continued to shake a fresh layer of powder every hour through the early afternoon. In Santa Fe, the snow carpeted the grass football field at the Christian Brothers Athletic Complex, necessitating the use of two small tractors and an army of shoveled volunteers to

clear the turf in time for that day’s Class AAA state playoff game between visiting Robertson and unbeaten St. Michael’s.

The story was supposed to end there, with the final score of what was expected to be a lopsided affair a mere afterthought to the novelty of playing ball under Old Man Winter’s heavy hand.

Instead, this day saw one of the most shocking upsets in the history of AAA football. The upstart, overlooked, easily dismissed Cardinals took down the top-seeded Horsemen 22-13. This happened just two

months after St. Michael’s humiliated Robertson on its own turf, pounding the Cardinals 50-0 en route to the Horsemen’s third straight 10-0 regular season.

On this day, Robertson did what the Horsemen had done to so many others the last three years. They played smash-mouth football on both sides, exchanging a slobberknocking hit from St. Michael’s with two of their own. By halftime, the Cardinals held the lead. By the middle of the third quarter, with the biting cold adding to the misery playing out on the field, the Horsemen clearly felt

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Every failed offensive drive, every failed stop by the rock-solid defense was greeted by looks of exasperation and muffled curses on the St. Michael’s sideline.

When it was all over, Robertson had singlehandedly reshaped the course of the playoffs and paved the way for one of the unlikeliest state championships in the history of New Mexico high school football.

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Sunday, June 8, 2014 The Santa Fe New Mexican NORTHSTARS 5

The best of 2013-2014 SPRING April 14, 2014

The day before the IRS made everyone’s tax deadline miserable, Santa Fe High’s Tiffany Garcia began to etch her name into the collective memory of track and field fans across the state.

One of a handful of Santa Fe-area athletes invited to the annual Marilyn Sepulveda Classic at The University of New Mexico, the senior got everyone talking when she blazed to first-place finishes in the 100 and 400 meters. Just call it foreshadowing.

A year of exhaustive training had her ready for one of the most impressive sweeps in state history just one month later at the Class AAAA state meet.

On this sunny afternoon, however, she was a virtual unknown before her remarkably comfortable wins in her two individual heats against the state’s best.

When she arrived, she was just another face. By day’s end, she had everyone talking.

May 8, 2014 The final match of Day 2 at the state tennis tournament in Albuquerque proved to be the best — and without question, the longest.

On one side was Santa Fe High’s Warren Fulgenzi Jr. On the other side was polished Albuquerque Academy senior Alex Dunning. Fulgenzi had gone unbeaten and virtually unchallenged all season, not losing a single set the entire spring. Dunning’s tougher match play slate had produced a few losses, but he was still the top overall seed.

Playing until nearly 10 p.m., well after every other match was done, the pair had exhaustive exchanges on virtually every serve. Dunning won the first set 6-4, then stormed back in the second to win 7-5.

A few shots here and there would have pushed the match until at least 11. Considering their similar talent levels, it would have been worth the wait.

Santa Fe High School Head Coach Elmer Chavez hugs senior Jackie Martinez after the Demonettes’ win against Los Lunas High School in the AAAA state championship March 14 in The Pit. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

THE MOMENT

A very special championship It would be easy to pick the Santa Fe High girls basketball team’s state championship win in The Pit on March 14 as the best moment of the year for the sheer fact that it was a title game, but it was everything that led up to that moment that made it so great.

The Demonettes’ eyes had been set on a state championship since Roswell sent them packing in a 57-47 double-overtime loss in the 2013 Class AAAA semifinals, and they had made that clear to everyone at the start of the season.

Before they could overcome an 18-9 halftime deficit against Los Lunas and outscore the Lady Tigers 17-9 in the fourth quarter to win their first state

championship since 1988, the Demonettes had to get there.

The Santa Fe High girls never shied away from the notion that they were solely focused on a state championship and anything short of that would be a failure. Coaches and players don’t usually don’t speak openly about those kinds of things, but the Demonettes knew they had the talent to back it up.

They backed it up with a school-record 30 wins and a 19-game win streak. The players knew they were part of one of the best girls basketball teams Santa Fe had seen in a while, so the Demonettes had to work hard at staying humble.

That humility helped them in times of

May 15, 2014 The calendar shows the prep baseball season ending on May 17. For Northern New Mexico’s lone remaining entrants in the state tournament, however, the end actually came 48 hours earlier — a black Thursday, of sorts.

It started with Los Alamos’ 4-1 loss to Roswell Goddard in the Class AAAA quarterfinals at Cleveland High in Rio Rancho. Seeded seventh as the disrespected champion of a weak District 2AAAA, the Hilltoppers kept it close with solid pitching and decent defense.

Two hours later, it was St. Michael’s taking the early exit with a 3-0 loss to Raton. Behind future UNM pitcher Matthew Smallwood, the Horsemen became the only higher-seeded team to bow out in the final three rounds.

Sandwiched in the middle was Questa’s 10-3 loss to Roswell Gateway Christian in the Class A championship game at Isotopes Park. It was the first title appearance in the Wildcats’ history.

crisis, like when they overcame a 24-16 halftime deficit to beat Española Valley 51-48 in overtime of the District 2AAAA Tournament championship game, and when Valencia grabbed a 37-36 lead with 2:33 left in the AAAA semifinals before winning 38-37.

The Demonettes also worked with a sense of urgency, as they knew the move to AAAAAA next season might hurt their chances of winning another title.

All the hard work, determination and confidence that the Demonettes displayed during the season is what made the championship game so special — not just for Santa Fe High, but for all of Santa Fe. Edmundo Carrillo

May 16, 2014 It was a Friday afternoon in Rio Rancho, right around 12:50 p.m., when the stars aligned and brought about two remarkable walkoff wins in the Class AAA state softball tournament at Cleveland’s sprawling complex.

On one field was Las Vegas Robertson and No. 2 seed Portales. On another, just a beer-league pitch away, was the Pojoaque Valley-Albuquerque Hope Christian game. Each started at 11 a.m., and each was close until the final pitch.

Down to its last strike in a loser’s bracket game against the Lady Rams, Robertson got a walkoff two-run home run from shortstop Samantha Montaño to take a stunning 4-3 victory that sent Portales packing. Just moments later, Hope’s Faith Romero snapped a 4-all tie against the Elkettes by launching a solo homer over the power alley in left for a dramatic win against Pojoaque.

That proved to be the only drama the rest of the way, as none of the remaining were decided by fewer than four runs.

May 16-17, 2014

Santa Fe High School’s Tiffany Garcia, center left, and Akeisha Ayanniyi, center right, race to first- and second-place finishes respectively during the girls 100-meter race May 17 at the State Track and Field Championships. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

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The annual state track and field championships turned into the Tiffany Garcia Show thanks to a performance for the ages. The Santa Fe High sprinter set the tone for the entire meet when she obliterated the all-classifications state record in the 200-meter preliminaries on Friday, crossing the finish line in a time of 24.17 seconds.

That same day, she was part of the 800-meter relay team that broke the Class AAAA state record in the prelims.

She followed that a day later by setting the Class AAAA state mark in the 400, then tying the record in the 100.

Her exploits largely overshadowed a weekend that saw Taos sweep the boys and girls team championships in AAA, and a number of other athletes walk off with their own bits of hardware.

While the state championships of 2014 might be remembered for the start of Albuquerque’s grasshopper infestation, it will always be remembered on Siringo Road as the Garcia Show.

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6 NORTHSTARS The Santa Fe New Mexican Sunday, June 8, 2014

Sunday, June 8, 2014 The Santa Fe New Mexican NORTHSTARS 7

Justin Flores St. Michael’s Big-school basketball

Koery Windham St. Michael’s Wrestling

Joedy Quintana West Las Vegas Golf

Juliana Guerin Las Vegas Robertson Tennis

Tiffany Garcia Santa Fe High Big-school track and field

Megan Herrera Pojoaque Valley Big-school cross-country

Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage Santa Fe High Big-school basketball

Warren Fulgenzi Jr. Santa Fe High Tennis

Kristen Woody Pojoaque Valley Big-school volleyball

Colin Hemez Los Alamos Big-school cross-country

Marcus Chavez Questa Small-school baseball

Ian Andersson Santa Fe Preparatory Small-school basketball

Taylor Bacon Desert Academy Small-school cross-country/Small-school track and field

A 6-foot-4 senior with the proverbial wingspan of your basic pterodactyl, he was the go-to guy for a team that lost 11 seniors following a title-game run the year before. He averaged 13 points and eight rebounds a game for head coach Ron Geyer, leading a youthful club to 24 wins and yet another appearance in the AAA finals against big, bad Albuquerque Hope Christian. While the coronation was a blowout loss in the finals, there was no doubt that Flores was the main man for the area’s top team.

In a crowded field of wrestling excellence in the North, Windham’s claim to this title was found in the number five — as in the number of state titles he won. The senior became just the fourth wrestler in New Mexico to achieve the feat, and he did it with his first undefeated season.

Windham went 36-0 and earned a first with a title at the Joe Vivian Classic, widely considered the most prestigious regularseason meet. At the A-AAA meet in February, he accomplished another first in beating Bloomfield’s J.D. Robinson at 160 pounds — he pinned his foe to win a state title.

The Lady Don shot 16 over par to tie for fourth place at the Class A-AAA State Tournament after shooting an 82 in the first round and a 79 in the second. A threesport athlete in golf, track and basketball, she scored eight points in the Lady Don’s girls basketball team’s state quarterfinal loss to Albuquerque Hope Christian.

Her storied prep career may be over, but her accomplishments will never be forgotten. The Lady Cardinals senior wrapped up her time in red and black by winning her fourth Class A-AAA singles state championship, giving her four titles in five years.

Her only miss came during her freshman year, a year that she said was the catalyst for championships in her final three tries.

Along the way she developed a powerful forehand return and reliable service game, making her one of the state’s all-time best.

Talk about a transformation. The senior went from being one of many good sprinters in Class AAAA to perhaps the best in the state, regardless of class. Garcia completed a senior year to remember by smashing the state’s record books in one weekend. She set records in the 200 (24.17) and the 400 (55.58) and helped the 800 relay team set state records in back-toback days (from 1:44.17 to 1:42.02). Garcia’s win in the 100 tied the AAAA mark of 12.11, while her 200 time topped the record books in any classification. To top it off, she led Santa Fe High to its best finish at the state meet, with a second place that was just one point behind twotime state champion Aztec (78-77).

While Taos sped away to the AAA title, Herrera was the lone runner who could keep up with Albuquerque Sandia Preparatory’s Rachel Fleddermann. While the freshman finished 7.35 seconds behind Fledderman, it was good enough to outstride Las Vegas Robertson’s Annabella Miller for second in 19:40.55. Herrera did not win a meet, but she consistently was one of the top runners in her class. She took third behind Miller and Taos’ Haley Rach at the District 2AAA meet and was the No. 2 AAA runner in the championship race of the Rio Rancho Jamboree.

Big-time players step up when the moment calls for it, and the 6-foot-2 LozadaCabbage did her part to lead the Demonettes to a Class AAAA state title in March.

She led the team in scoring with 13.9 points per game, and averaged a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game.

When Santa Fe High faced top-seeded Los Lunas in a 1-vs.-2 matchup for the blue trophy, she more than held her own against the state’s other top post player, 6-2 Teige Zeller. Both players scored eight points, and Lozada-Cabbage added eight rebounds and a block as the Demonettes walked away with a 34-29 win.

The latest cog in the Fulgenzi tennis machine is this diminutive 5-foot-7, 160-pound sophomore. He went unbeaten through the entire season until losing to Albuquerque Academy senior Alex Dunning in the Class AAAA singles finals. It was the first time all season Fulgenzi had lost a set, let alone a match, and it came in the midst of a tournament run in which he was playing with chronic pain in his dominant right shoulder, forcing him to serve underhanded much of the way.

The senior outside hitter for the Elkettes was clearly the best player in Class AAA. The first-team All-State performer averaged just less than 18 kills per match, led the team with 63 aces and showed her well-roundedness with five digs per match. She saved her best performances for when they mattered the most. Woody came up with three crucial kills in Game 2 of an AAA semifinal against Portales that led to a 25-19, 26-24, 25-10 win. In the finals, she hammered 24 kills to lead Pojoaque to its fifth straight championship.

The path to a AAAA threepeat went directly through Hemez. The senior won three meets, never finishing lower than third. He won the rainy ATC Everybody Invitational in September, beating out Santa Fe High’s Zack Grand and Pojoaque’s Jereme Santistevan in the process. In the final two weeks of the season, he won the District 2AAAA meet and the Class AAAA event. His time of 15 minutes, 54.40 seconds was the best time of all runners at the state meet, and it helped Los Alamos eke out a 52-54 win over Albuquerque Academy for the team title.

The day after pitching a complete game in a 5-3 Class A semifinal win over Magdalena, Chavez pitched six innings in a 10-3 loss to Roswell Gateway Christian in the championship game at Isotopes Park. He was a part of history those two days as the Wildcats had never been to the title game, even after making it to the semifinals the two previous years. After making history, he competed in Questa’s first title game since the boys basketball team took home a blue trophy in 1994.

The starting center on what will probably go down as the most talented starting lineup in the history of Blue Griffins basketball, this 6-foot-5 junior averaged a double-double for a team that bowed out early with a disappointing quarterfinal loss to Texico in the AA state tournament.

Andersson averaged team highs in points (13.6), rebounds (10.3), blocked shots (3.1) and steals (1.6) while dishing out 1.4 assists per game, leading the Griffins to 23 wins.

While the cross-country season didn’t start off strong for the junior, she finished with a flourish and won her last three meets — Desert Academy’s own Wildcat Invitational, the District 2A meet and the Class A Championships. She also finished second at the Northern New Mexico Challenge on Oct. 12, and 10th at Santa Fe Indian School’s John Grimley Memorial Invitational on Oct. 5. Bacon’s time of 20:41.55 was more than 12 seconds faster than the rest of the field — and just the start of a stellar 2013-14 season. It wasn’t enough to just win the cross-country honor. Bacon is the only Northern New Mexico athlete to be honored as a NorthStar selection in two sports. Again, her strength was in the distance events, as she completed the sweep of the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 at the Class A meet in May. It was the 800 that prevented Bacon from accomplishing the feat last year, but she made up for it by dominating the race in 2:21.54, which was more than 7 seconds faster than runner-up Teryn Kaeser of Mountainair. Bacon also accomplished her other goal for the season, setting the A record in the 1,600.

Michael Moore Los Alamos Swimming

Nate Spingler St. Michael’s Golf The only senior on the St. Michael’s boys golf team shot 7-over 79 on the first day of the Class A-AAA State Tournament in Las Cruces and a 4-over 76 the second day to put him in a fourway tie for second place. His Day 2 performance boosted him from fifth place to runner-up and helped the Horsemen finish third in the tournament.

Jared Mang Los Alamos Big-school baseball The numbers tell you all you need to know about Mang. A force on the mound and at the plate, the Hilltopper had an 8-2 pitching record with an earned-run average of 1.01. On the offensive side, Mang batted .605 with 49 hits and two home runs while only striking out three times all season. He will return next year and try to help the Hilltoppers win their seventh consecutive district title as well as get past the state quarterfinals for the first time in coach Mike Gill’s 10-year tenure.

Desiray Anderson Santa Fe Preparatory Small-school volleyball The junior outside hitter was a force at the net for the District 2AA champions, averaging 9 kills per match and leading the team with 50 aces. Anderson came up big in the 2AA championship match, collecting 18 kills, three aces and a block against Mora. For that, she earned All-District honors and was named the player of the year in the district.

Mark Chavez New Mexico School for the Deaf Small-school track and field It’s gotta be the shoes, right?

Wearing the same pair of shoes teammate and best friend Immanuel Neubauer wore to win the Class A 400 meters in 2013, Chavez won the 200 in 23.03 and finished second in the 100 with an 11.44 that was just .06 away from first place. A year earlier, Chavez missed out on qualifying in any events for the state meet. Adding his performance on the 400 relay team in 2011, Chavez is one of the more decorated athletes to come to NMSD. The shoes, meanwhile, will be placed in a case on display in the school’s museum.

Destiny Pacheco Mora Small-school basketball

Zoie Hensley Taos Soccer

Pacheco’s senior year appeared to be over when she tore her anterior cruciate ligament during the volleyball season, but she worked her way back onto the hardwood for the winter. Even though she missed the first four games of the season, she went on to finish with a 12.2 points-pergame average and grabbed 7.2 rebounds per contest, both second on the team as Mora went 23-4 and was seeded third in the Class AA bracket. Pacheco ended up with a second-team AllState selection to boot.

Hensley can’t be overlooked for leading Class A-AAA with 54 goals and 17 assists, but she would also be given the Comeback Player of the Year award, if we gave that out. She had surgery in January 2013 to fix a bilateral fracture in her back that kept her to six goals in the 2012 season. In her first full match back on Sept. 19, she scored both of Taos’ goals in a 2-1 win over Santa Fe High. She then led the Lady Tigers to the A-AAA semifinals, where they lost 1-0 to Albuquerque Hope Christian.

Sarah Lott Los Alamos Swimming The sophomore didn’t leave the state championship meet with just a gold medal in the 100yard freestyle, but with three individual school records in the 200-yard freestyle, 100-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle. She broke three school records, one of which was her own, during a two-day span at the championship meet. The humble Lady Hilltopper didn’t even think she would finish in the top 3 in the 100 freestyle, much less win it in a schoolrecord time of 52.07.

HonorRoll Honor Roll

Jimmy Buchanan Santa Fe Preparatory Small-school cross-country Buchanan, a senior, was always at the front of the line for the Blue Griffins. A week after leading Prep to the District 6AA title by taking first place, he was seventh in the Class AA meet with a 17:04.70 to represent the best finish of any AA or A runner in the North. He was fifth in a tough field at the Bosque Fall Fiesta and Zuni’s Patason Amesoli Invitational in October, as well as the fourth-best AA runner at the Rio Rancho Jamboree.

Reynaldo Atencio Escalante Small-school football His 1,386 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns were impressive. So, too, were his 971 passing yards and 13 scores. They pale in comparison to his recordsetting junior season, yet are more than enough to earn him this honor for a second straight year. He capped his remarkable prep career third on the state’s all-time rushing list, second for career touchdowns and No. 1 for career points. He led the Lobos to the Class A state semifinals, losing to Capitan in a rematch of the previous year’s title game.

Isaac Gonzales Taos Big-school track and field It was almost the banner year for the Tigers senior and UNM-bound track athlete. Gonzales won the Class AAA long jump (20 feet, 11 ¾ inches) and the 200 meters (in 22.23 seconds) as well as anchoring the 1,600 relay team that won the event in 3:24.00. If not for a disqualification in the 400 preliminaries, he likely would have repeated as the AAA champ in that event. And if not for Isaiah Dominguez of St. Michael’s, he also might have won the triple jump, but he took second with a jump of 43-9¾.

PHOTOS BY CLYDE MUELLER, JANE PHILLIPS AND LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

THE TOP BIG- AND SMALL-SCHOOL ATHLETES FROM FALL, WINTER AND SPRING SPORTS

Even though he was battling an illness the week of the state swimming and diving championships, Moore still managed to get on the podium with a third-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle in 4:57.53, the same exact time that he posted in the preliminaries the day before. He also managed a ninth-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley.

Amber Yara Las Vegas Robertson Softball

Daniel Ortega St. Michael’s Big-school football

Jason Alarcon Capital Soccer

The rock. As the Lady Cardinals’ leadoff hitter and first baseman, that’s exactly what this junior became for a team that had a memorable run deep into the Class AAA State Tournament. She led her team in hits (46) and had 13 doubles, seven triples and three long balls. She drove in 32 and scored 52 times, finishing the season with a .500 batting average and .553 on-base percentage.

More than that is her speed.

A terror on the bases, she is a heady player who became the inspirational team leader on and off the field.

The lone returning two-way starter for a team that ran undefeated to the previous season’s state title, this Horseman senior was the feature back for an offense that ran almost exclusively through him for much of the season — many times with him at the helm of the Wildcat formation. He didn’t disappoint, rushing for 1,305 yards while setting a school record for touchdowns (32). He also led the team in tackles (87) and had five interceptions, two of which he returned to the house.

Alarcon had 22 goals and 11 assists to lead the Jaguars, but his true impact on the team can’t be measured in statistics. As a forward, the offense ran through him, whether he has putting the ball in the back of the net or feeding any of Capital’s other talented scorers. He also had some sweet footwork, leaving opponents guessing where the ball was going. His offensive arsenal, coupled with strong leadership, helped the Jaguars win District 2AAAA and make the Class AAAA semifinals for the second year in a row.

8 NORTHSTARS The Santa Fe New Mexican Sunday, June 8, 2014

TAYLOR

BACON

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Desert Academy’s Taylor Bacon, left, approaches the finish line after lapping several runners and catching another group during the 1,600-meter race at the Class A State Track and Field Championships at the UNM Track Complex on May 10. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

Grand ambitions fuel multisport athlete

By James Barron The New Mexican

T

hank you for all that you’ve done, Grand Canyon.

Sincerely, Taylor Bacon

If you need to leave a “thank you” card there this summer, Taylor Bacon, maybe you can use this.

If not for the Grand Canyon and the role it played in the lives of the family of William “Wink” and Laura Bacon — which includes daughters Taylor and Eliyah, both students at Desert Academy — who knows what the oldest daughter would be doing now? Perhaps Taylor Bacon still would have found the path that led her to athletic success, especially in cross-country as well as track and field.

Perhaps Bacon still would have set the Class A 1,600-meters state record like the junior did in May with a time of 5 minutes, 18.89 seconds. She might still have won the A cross-country title in November, which she did in a time of 20:41 at Rio Rancho High School. Would swimming still have been her third sport, considering that her parents also involved her and Eliyah in soccer and dancing?

Would Taylor have been The New Mexican’s NorthStars female athlete of the year for the 2013-14 school year — an honor she earned for her success on the cross-country course, on the track (winning the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 to help the Lady Wildcats to a third-place finish) and in swimming?

Wink Bacon believes it’s all in her genes, especially considering the paths her parents have taken.

“For a while, I was doing competitive cycling and road-bike and mountain-bike racing,” Wink Bacon said. “Her mom has been a

runner, doing ultra-marathons, 50 [-kilometer races], triathlons. It’s just the way our family works. We are active people, and it’s a natural extension for the kids to be active as well.”

Still, it was the Grand Canyon that carved the path for Taylor. Her dad was a certified Rio Grande Tour Guide when he was younger and was licensed to be a Grand Canyon guide. His dream was to take his family, along with other family members, on a 16-day, 225-mile trip through the majestic national park. He wanted to do it so much that he put his name in on the wait list for the trip in 1993. When it changed to a lottery system in 2000, he kept his bid alive.

Now that Taylor and Eliyah are old enough to handle the two-week trip, it’s time to bookend to what has been a whirlwind 12-month period for the family.

“It’s really exciting,” Taylor Bacon said.

“We’ve done river trips before, and they have been amazing. But this is an entirely different level than anything we’ve done. I think it will be an amazing experience.”

This is how the athletic seeds were planted for Taylor. Wink Bacon decided his girls were going to learn how to swim so they would be ready for the Grand Canyon trip. Both of them swam for club teams in Santa Fe, and Taylor moved on to the Desert Academy swim team. Swimming then led to running for both girls.

For Taylor, running has led to sprinting, both in a figurative and literal sense.

The turning point for focusing on one sport (swimming) and then another (running) came when she was a freshman competing at junior varsity cross-country meets. It seems appropriate that the transformative moment came at a meet in Pecos, a place steeped in running tradition. Taylor won the Pecos Invitational meet on Sept. 17, 2011, for her first

cross-country win.

“It was really exciting because I had been the slowest girl on the team,” Taylor said. “I hadn’t placed very well, and then there was a switch in the ninth grade, and I started winning races and I moved up to the varsity. It as the first time I was really good at something.”

Laura Bacon, though, said the change actually occured a week earlier, when Desert Academy went to Taos.

“The lead bike lost them [Taylor and teammate Eliza Donahue], and they were in first at the time,” Laura Bacon said. “They came back to the intersection and the bike wasn’t there.

They finished ahead of people, but not in first place. So the next week at Pecos, she was off from the line, and not looking back. She just dominated that race and it was amazing to see.”

The transformation wasn’t immediate, though. Bacon finished 50th at the state crosscountry meet as a freshman, but she was sixth in the 3,200 that spring. As a sophomore, Bacon took second in the inaugural Class A cross-country meet, but it springboarded her into the track and field season in 2013.

Taylor found herself running among some of the best runners in AA, AAA and AAAA in the distance events and was the top seed in the 1,600 and 3,200, plus No. 2 in the 800, entering the state meet. While she won the 1,600 and 3,200, it was her loss to Mountainair’s Teryn Kayser in the 800 that motivated her.

The difference between the two came in the final 250 meters, as Kayser outkicked Taylor for the victory and robbed her of a chance to sweep the three distance events. Revenge came in May, when Taylor did the unexpected — she started her kick near the end of the first lap of the 800 when Desert Academy head coach Liz Desmond yelled “Go” to her.

Please see BACON, Page 10

THE BACON FILE Who: Taylor Morgan Bacon, age 16 Where: Junior, Desert Academy Sports: Class A cross-country champion; A champion in the 800, 1,600 and 3,200 meters in track and field; member of the Desert Academy swimming and diving team.

Family: Parents are William “Wink” and Laura Bacon; sister is Eliyah Bacon, an eighth-grader at Desert Academy.

Vices: Circles. Even though she runs on a track in the spring, Taylor can’t stand “running around in circles.” She avoided competing in track until she was a freshman because of it, even missing out on mandatory middleschool track meets.

Fast fact: Bacon will be the president of Desert Academy’s student council next year, has straight A’s and is on track to be valedictorian. She also is the captain of the speech and debate team, and she mentors students at La Mariposa Montessori School in computer programming.

Did you know: Bacon planned to run in the 800 and 1,600 at the Great Southwest Classic this weekend. Teammate Zoe Castro was to run in the steeplechase, but Bacon said she wouldn’t do it for fear her coordination over the steeple might cause her to fall.

Or as Laura Bacon put it: “Wink looks up ‘Steeplechase Fails’ [on YouTube],” Laura said with a laugh.

“You look at some of those, and you think, ‘Oh, I don’t know about that.’ ” Bacon quote: “I am very honored [to be The New Mexican’s female athlete of the year]. It was really exciting when I found out. It was exciting last year just being track athlete of the year, especially for a small school. … I think Desert is growing as a school, and this is really exciting for the school, both athletically and academically.”

Always supporting our local area student athletes & graduates.

Sunday, June 8, 2014 The Santa Fe New Mexican NORTHSTARS 9

ISAIAH

MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

DOMINGUEZ

Isaiah Dominguez of St. Michael’s High School takes second place as he clears the bar at 6 feet, 2 inches in the boys high jump at the Class AAA State Track and Field Championships last month at the Great Friends of UNM Track Complex. CLYDE MUELLER/THE NEW MEXICAN

Who: Isaiah “Big Zay” James Dominguez, age 18

Standout showed skills on field, court, track

Where: Senior, St. Michael’s High School

By Will Webber

THE DOMINGUEZ FILE Sports: All-state in football, starting forward in basketball, state champion and state medalist in five events in track and field Family: Raised in a single-parent family by mother Amy Dominguez; has no siblings, but counts grandparents Carmen and David Dominguez as a second set of parents Superstition: Oh, there are many.

Chief among them is his love for the color orange. His shoes and socks are the color of construction barrels, and it all started when his mother bought him orange gloves for football his freshman year. The first time he wore them, he had a good game, sparking a love for the color, which he believes brings him luck.

Fast fact: He has had several broken bones, namely a broken tibia in his left leg suffered while attempting the high jump at Santa Fe Indian School during his eighth-grade year. He nearly quit track as a result, not taking up the high jump again until his sophomore year.

Did you know: He can’t wear his state championship football ring from 2012 because the knuckle on his ring finger swelled after he broke it when his hand was smashed between two helmets.

Big Zay quote: “Every sport I’ve tried, there’s always been someone just a little bit better. In football, it was [teammate] Daniel [Ortega]; in basketball, Justin Flores was just a little better; and in track, Armando [Blea] was always faster. All of them pushed me to get better, to always try harder.”

The New Mexican

A

s a teacher for Santa Fe Public Schools, Amy Dominguez has had access to outstanding health care benefits.

Over the years, she has definitely needed them — not for herself, but for her only child, the doctor’s most loyal customer known as Isaiah Dominguez.

His lifelong string of ailments reads like a shopping list gone horribly wrong. He’s needed a cast for both wrists, each of which he has broken multiple times. He required a cast and weeks of rehabilitation after snapping his leg. He has needed braces and wraps more times than he can count because of knee sprains, bum shoulders and bruised ribs.

Then there are the concussions, cuts, sore muscles and — not to be forgotten — the toes. By Isaiah’s recollection, he’s fractured or damaged just about every one of them along the way.

“Oh, my,” begins Amy Dominguez with a laugh. “We have spent a lot of time at the doctor’s office or the emergency room. We know exactly where to go.”

Isaiah even broke an ankle without realizing it. It happened during a football game in 2012. Limping off with what he thought was a sprain, he played through the pain for the remainder of the team’s games and dealt with soreness all through the ensuing basketball season. It wasn’t until a year later that a routine X-ray revealed a former hairline fracture that had healed itself over time.

“I didn’t even know,” Isaiah recalls. “It did hurt, but I’ve been hurt so many times that I didn’t even think it was broken.”

Despite all that, Isaiah has developed into one of the state’s top high school athletes. It

all came together during a solid senior year in which he was at the center of three team sports for St. Michael’s High School.

It’s a distinction that has made him The New Mexican’s male athlete of the year for the 2013-14 prep season.

Isaiah starred for the Horsemen football, basketball and track and field teams each of the last two years, winning a state title in one sport as a junior and capping it by taking home an individual title during the state track meet three weeks ago.

In between, he has shown a consistent pattern of growth and maturity both on and off the playing fields.

He was among the football team’s leaders on both sides of the ball as a senior. He led the Horsemen in pass receptions and yardage, playing mostly out of the tight end’s spot.

On defense, he had 41 tackles, a blocked punt, forced one fumble and made a team-high 24 stops behind the line of scrimmage.

His 23.7-yards-per-catch average as a senior speak to his ability as a deep threat who had the speed and strength to shed tacklers. His biggest impact, however, was on defense.

Opposing coaches knew that, too.

Early last fall, he had a career-high five sacks against Lovington. The following month, he had four against Silver. As a defensive end, his quickness off the snap made easy work of offensive linemen, forcing opponents to send a blocking back in a futile attempt to chip him in the backfield.

A dominant pass rusher, he also was a capable run stuffer. He had the speed to overpursue a play and run ball carriers down — as he sometimes did. He also had the size to disrupt passes and the sheer strength to occupy double teams and allow other Horsemen a seam to make the stop.

It all underscores the toughness Isaiah has

always seemed to question in himself. After most series, St. Michael’s football head coach Fernandez said, Isaiah’s “baby giraffe” — more on that later — would be his own worst enemy.

Every now and then, that enemy never had a chance. During a game against Las Cruces Centennial last fall, Isaiah went down with a rib injury after taking a direct shot to the abdomen on a passing play near the Horsemen sideline.

Removed from the game and, by all accounts, out for the rest of the afternoon, Isaiah found the resolve to ignore the burning in his ribs and get back out there. On his first play, he caught a midrange pass from his cousin, quarterback Keith Dominguez, and ran right over the same Centennial defensive back that had just put him under the care of St. Michael’s trainer Tom Fagan.

“That’s a good feeling when you pay a guy back because, really, that’s what every defensive player wants to do — to put a good hit one someone,” Isaiah said. “He probably thought he got me out of the game, but I couldn’t let that happen.”

Isaiah said he and his Centennial counterpart exchanged a few words after the second play but, as Isaiah explained, none of them are fit for publication.

“He’s disruptive because he’s such a strong, fast kid,” said Centennial head coach Aaron Ocampo after that game. “He took a shot and he got right back up. The kid’s a beast.”

In basketball, Isaiah’s play could best be described as Roy Hibbert-ish, a reference to the Indiana Pacers’ NBA All-Star center who was unstoppable on occasion and nearly invisible on others. There were plenty of nights when Isaiah — nicknamed “Big Zay” by his teammates — was the best player on the floor for a team that reached the Class

Please see DOMINGUEZ, Page 10

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10 NORTHSTARS The Santa Fe New Mexican Sunday, June 8, 2014

DOMINGUEZ: His competitive nature drives him in both sports and life Continued from Page 9 AAA state championship game. On others, he was scoring two points and grabbing a rebound or two, serving as a road grater for the team’s guards or his fellow big man, starting center Justin Flores.

“I think the reason he’d have some games where he wouldn’t score much is he’s one of those teammates that lets the hot player have a good game,” Flores said. “He won’t call for the ball every time. He’s not like that. He’s not looking to score every time we have the ball.”

Flores knows Isaiah as well as anyone not related to him. The two grew up as rivals in youth basketball leagues, often pairing up against one another in the paint from the time both were in grade school.

It wasn’t until the two reached their junior year at St. Michael’s and were sent on a school retreat that they truly bonded.

“I’ve always known him, but [we never became close friends until that week,” Flores said. “He’s a really thoughtful guy. I don’t think anyone knows that about him. They just see him as this big, strong guy and that’s it.”

Flores and Isaiah have decided to carry their friendship forward into college. The two will share a living space while attending The University of New Mexico in the fall. A selfdescribed math geek, Isaiah said he will apply his love for numbers and put it toward an engineering degree, one that hopefully lands him a career in the aerospace industry.

He chose life as a student at UNM over a number of athletic scholarship offers from NCAA Division II schools and another from New Mexico Military Institute.

This week, he savored one last chance to do what he does best as he played in Friday’s North-South AllStar football game in Albuquerque.

He said he has his sights set on possibly walking onto the UNM football or track team once he’s settled in as a freshman.

While football is what he is best known for, Isaiah actually might have the most raw potential in track. An accomplished sprinter, he demonstrated an uncanny knack in the jumping events, namely the triple, long and high jumps. He placed in all three in each of his final two years at the state track meet.

Making his accomplishments all the

Isaiah Dominguez runs the ball during practice in August. Dominguez starred for the Horsemen’s football, basketball, and track and field teams each of the last two years. LUIS SÁNCHEZ SATURNO/THE NEW MEXICAN

more remarkable is that St. Michael’s doesn’t have the facilities for jumping events, let alone a track to run on.

Horsemen football and track head coach Joey Fernandez said the athletes, particularly jumpers like Isaish, essentially had to turn meets into practice times.

“I think we had maybe two practices all year where we had a place to do the high jump or long jump,” Fernandez said. “Isaiah just kind of made it up as he went along.”

That, in a nutshell, is the crux of Isaiah’s life.

Raised in a single-parent household, he has never met his biological father.

When he was 4 or 5, Amy Dominguez said, the family received a birthday card from Isaiah’s dad, but they have had no contact since.

Blessed with a strong family on his mother’s side, the role of father figure fell to relatives around him. Amy’s brothers were a constant presence from the time of Isaiah’s birth. So, too, were Amy Dominguez’s parents, Carmen and David Dominguez. Isaiah and his mother lived with them until

her job as an elementary teacher at Wood Gormley — 16 years and counting, thank you very much — allowed her to get her own place.

“When we moved, Isaiah cried because he wanted us to live with my parents forever,” Amy Dominguez said.

Carmen and David Dominguez have attended nearly every one of their grandson’s games and have, in a sense, served as Mom No. 2 and Father No. 1.

“I couldn’t have done anything without them,” Isaiah said. “I can’t imagine not having my grandparents and my mom.”

From the time Isaiah was a gradeschooler, it was his physical size and inquisitive nature that made him stand out.

He was always considerably taller than the other kids. Although bright and curious about the world around him — “We’d be driving around and he’d wonder how many windows were in each building,” his mother said.

“He’d always try to count them real fast, then add them as we went along.”

— it took him most of his 18 years to

feel comfortable in his lanky frame.

“First time I ever met him was when he was in seventh grade,” said Fernandez. “He was like a baby giraffe. He was all feet, arms and legs; this big, unbalanced kid. You know how you see those baby giraffes stand up for the first time and wonder how they’ll ever walk around? That’s what Isaiah reminded me of.”

Nowadays, Isaiah stands 6-foot-3 and weighs a solid 215 pounds. By any standard, he is a powerfully built young man whose very presence can be intimidating, particularly in New Mexico high school football.

It wasn’t always that way. A secret that has defined Isaiah’s life has been a lack of confidence — a gnawing personality trait that had him privately question whether he was good enough to simply fit in.

Late in elementary school and, for a time in middle school, he dealt with bullies who harassed him about his clumsy gait. He’d stumble into doorways, battle with coordination and put up with unflattering comments about his big feet which, by the way, now

require a 15½ shoe.

“The one thing I’ve always been though is really competitive,” Isaiah said. “Doesn’t matter what it is. If it’s football or doing math problems or playing games, I always want to be better than the other guy. Everything’s a competition.”

Tapping into that competitive spirit has been every coach’s challenge.

From the time his uncle, Chris Dominguez, began coaching him when he was a boy until his crowning achievement as the state champion in the AAA triple jump, Isaiah has always been a coach’s pet project in terms of unearthing that potential.

Last fall, the St. Michael’s football team completed its third straight undefeated 10-0 regular season. Just before the playoffs began, Horsemen defensive coordinator Andrew Martinez was asked about the impact Isaiah could have as a defensive end in the team’s suffocating defense.

“Other teams won’t run his way most of the time,” Martinez said.

“There’s times when [Isaiah] comes out focused and mean. When he does he’s one of the best. … If only I could find a way to make him believe that. I don’t think he knows how good he can be, really.”

For all his accolades, Isaiah came home almost every night questioning himself and his place among his peers.

Amy Dominguez said he would often wonder aloud if he was good enough, if what he was doing was considered acceptable to those around him.

Where that stems from is anyone’s guess. He’s made strides to overcome it, going so far as to toss his name into the ring for homecoming king last fall.

He won, of course.

“That was important for him because he wasn’t sure anyone really liked him,” Amy Dominguez said.

“It was hard for him, I think, because he has always wondered where he fit in.”

Thanks to his overall athletic ability, Isaiah eventually found his own place.

The uneasiness may still persist, but his achievements have allowed him to find a stable base for the rest of his life.

Moving forward, Amy Dominguez knows her son’s only limitations are those in puts upon himself.

That, and his medical bills.

“But the way I look at it,” she begins, “him getting hurt means he’s out there trying to do something fun. It’s better than him not doing anything at all.”

BACON: Not a fan of running in circles, she loves being active outdoors Continued from Page 8 Taylor zipped past Kayser on the front stretch and continued to build her lead until she won the race in 2:21.54, seven seconds faster than Kayser. She admitted she didn’t know how she would run the race until she was in the middle of it.

“I was talking to different people about running the 800, and everyone gave me a different approach,” Taylor said. “So I wasn’t sure what I was going to do.”

The irony of it all is that Taylor doesn’t like track and field for one simple reason.

“I am just not into the idea of circles,” she said.

That was clear when she was in middle school, as she found every way possible to avoid competing in track meets — even when it was required.

“I think I was sick one meet, and the other time, I had hurt my knee in cross-country,” Taylor said. “An eighthgrade level injury. I’m sure I exaggerated that. No track.”

Taylor finally gave in to the sport as a freshman, but she had a lot to learn about training for it. The first time she practiced with the team, she pushed herself too hard and her body pushed back.

“I think she figured out, ‘I can go really fast,’ ” said Desmond, who also doubles as her cross-country coach.

“She may have gone too much, too soon. She created some injuries that nagged her that first year. As an older athlete, she’s figured out, ‘This isn’t so bad.’ ” Even though her two most successful sports involve running long distances, Taylor credits her success on Desmond’s running program, which doesn’t promote a heavy dose of running. Taylor and the team usually don’t run more than 15 to 20 miles per week during cross-country or track season,

Taylor Bacon placed first in the Class A State Cross Country Championship in November at Rio Rancho High School. JANE PHILLIPS/THE NEW MEXICAN

and she said sometimes it feels like she’s not doing enough.

“Sometimes, when our workouts are a little short, I feel like, ‘Are you sure this is enough?’ ” Taylor said. “I can do more. I talk to Liz about it, and she says, ‘Look at how well you’ve done on 15, 20 miles a week.’ With my track coach [June Dickinson, who handles the distance runners], all of our girls on this low-mileage plan hit her predicted times for distance runners.”

What Desmond appreciates about Taylor is how coachable she is.

“Part of her success is that she doesn’t burn herself out,” Desmond said. “She knows how to take a rest and not just run, run, run until her

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legs are so tired that they can’t get any faster. She understands that when her coaches tell her something, it’s for a reason, and she gets it. It takes a special person to do that.”

While she didn’t set any records in cross-country, it is her favorite sport because she doesn’t have to run in circles. In fact, it fits her personality more since it’s on an off-the-track course.

“She loves the outdoors so much,” Desmond said. “It’s something she can do with her parents, with her dog or her sister, just go out on the trails.”

There wasn’t any better scenery than that while she ran over 3.06 miles for the Class A Cross-Country Championships in November. Taylor jumped

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out to a 20-second lead in the opening mile and never looked back as she won the A race in 20:41.55 — 12 seconds faster than Jade Altheide of Jemez Valley. That helped Desert Academy take a second straight third-place finish.

The only downside was that Taylor didn’t reach her goal of breaking the 20-minute barrier at state, although she did do it two weeks later with a time of in 19:40.08 at the USA Track and Field Region X Junior Olympics Championships in El Paso.

While cross-country fits her personality, track allows Taylor and her dad to fulfill another passion — number crunching. Wink Bacon said Taylor wants to study engineering when she goes to college, and that seems to amplify her desire to figure things out. It helps that she has a dad who majored in mathematics in college to foster that passion.

Both of them immerse themselves into breaking down running times from across the country — both high school and college — that they find on the MileSplit website. Their goal is to figure out what times Taylor needs to run to help her earn a college scholarship.

“She has a notebook with all the college times as she looks at college teams and where she might run on them,” Wink Bacon said. “She has that analytical mind, trying to break it down.”

One number she had in mind all through track season was 5:22.54 — the Class A state record in the 1,600.

In fact, she had the time plastered in her bedroom, as well as motivational phrases (“I am strong,” “I believe in me” and “Remove all limitations” are some of them) on a 12-foot-long piece of brown packing paper in the hallway leading to her room.

All that effort came to fruition when she set the new mark on the final day of the Class A track meet. It bested her own personal record by 12 seconds.

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Her run was so dominating, Taylor passed six runners over the final 200 meters in the four-lap race.

It completed a meet where she scored 21 points, which helped Desert Academy to a third-place finish and its first trophy for the girls program in its final year as an A school. Desert Academy will move up to AAA for the 2014-15 school year.

All the while, the sport in which she grew up competing has become a fun outlet for Taylor. She competes in the breaststroke and is a member of the 200-yard medley relay for the Lady Wildcats, but she sees swimming as a way of resting her legs while still maintaining her endurance.

She didn’t qualify for any events in state this winter after being a part of state-competing relay teams the previous two seasons. Taylor enjoys the team-building experience it has become since the small private school is battling schools that are 10 to 20 times bigger.

“Our team is really small — about 10 to 15 boys and girls,” Taylor said. “We have fun traditions, like the last week [of the season], we swim in tights for tapering. We have pasta parties every Friday. It’s just a really fun team to be a part of, even if I’m not breaking records or winning. It’s a fun thing to be a part of.”

Just like the Grand Canyon will be.

Taylor will be a part of a 13-member family group that will make the trip in mid-July. While floating down the Colorado River that cuts through the canyon, Taylor will get a chance to do some hiking and see parts of the canyon that few get to see.

“The canyon itself is just incredible,” Taylor said, “the geology and just all the more scientific aspects of it. And having the opportunity to do this with my family will be very powerful.”

It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Thanks, Grand Canyon.

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Sunday, June 8, 2014 The Santa Fe New Mexican NORTHSTARS 11

NorthStars NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S TOP PREP ATHLETES 2012-2013

NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S TOP PREP ATHLETES 2011-2012

A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011

NorthStars

NorthStars

NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S TOP PREP ATHLETES 2010-2011

Female Athlete of the Year Athletes of the year

Male Athlete of the Year

ST. MICHAEL’S HIGH SCHOOL

LOS ALAMOS HIGH SCHOOL

SALOMON MARTINEZ

ERIN KIRK

Daniel Martinez

LOS ALAMOS HIGH SCHOOL

Yeshemabet Turner

LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON

ST. MICHAEL’S HIGH SCHOOL

PECOS HIGH SCHOOL A S P E C I A L S E C T I O N O F T H E S A N TA F E N E W M E X I C A N

S U N DAY, J U N E 10, 2012

SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013

NorthStars NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S TOP PREP ATHLETES

NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S TOP PREP ATHLETES

NorthStars Athletes of the year

Kyle Pittman LOS ALAMOS

Athletes of the year

The best of years past Taylor Bacon and Isaiah Dominguez, this year’s athletes of the year, exemplify a long-running tradition of excellence among Northern New Mexico’s high school athletes.

Miquella Lovato

Other recent winners include: Photo illustration

by Natalie Guillén

POJOAQUE VALLEY

INSIDE THREE TOP MOMENTS FALL, WINTER, SPRING HIGHLIGHTS HONOR ROLL A S P EC I A L S EC T I O N O F T H E S A N TA F E N E W M E X I C A N

S AT U R D AY, J U N E 5 , 2 0 1 0

VOLLEYBALL BASKETBALL TRACK

DIONNA MONTOYA POJOAQUE VALLEY

2012-2013

Erin Kirk, Salomon Martinez

FOOTBALL WRESTLING TRACK

2011-2012

ESTEVAN VIGIL

Andres Gonzales, Chase Ealey

LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON

A S P EC I A L S EC T I O N O F T H E S A N TA F E N E W M E X I C A N

2010-2011

S AT U R D AY, J U N E 6 , 2 0 0 9

Daniel Martinez, Yeshemabet Turner

NORTHERN NEW MEXICO’S TOP PREP ATHLETES

North

2009-2010

Stars FOOTBALL BASKETBALL TENNIS

Ethan MAESTAS

Miquella Lovato, Kyle Pittman

2008-2009

Dionna Montoya, Estevan Vigil

Athletes of the year

2007-2008

Jake Martinez, Jordan Miller

LAS VEGAS ROBERTSON

2006-2007

Vera Jo Bustos, Ethan Maestas

Vera Jo BUSTOS WEST LAS VEGAS

BASKETBALL VOLLEYBALL SOFTBALL

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The future looks bright with the graduating class of 2014 on the horizon!

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12 NORTHSTARS The Santa Fe New Mexican Sunday, June 8, 2014

THE FLYING MEN FROM VERACRUZ: BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!

Don’t miss the return of the amazing Voladores de Papantla to Santa Fe! Saturday and Sunday July 19 & 20, 2014 10 am to 5 pm

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