Sports news in brief

Stars open 2013 season tonight

The Rio Rancho-based New Mexico Stars will open their second indoor football season tonight.

The Stars visit San Angelo in a Lone Star Football League matchup.

New Mexico competed in the Indoor Football League in its inaugural season last year.

The Stars will compete, naturally, against a group of Texas-based franchises. That includes San Angelo, Amarillo, Laredo and Abilene.

The Stars will be on the road for three of their first four games.

The home opener is April 6 against Laredo at the Santa Ana Star Center.

Storm athlete gets scholarship

Cleveland’s Malia Gonzales is among the athletes being recognized at this week’s state basketball tournaments.

Gonzales, a state champion runner for the Storm is the recipient of the Dan and Lucille Wood/Gray Gladiator Athletic Scholarship Award.

She also is active when she’s not running. She mentors Cleveland students with disabilities, and is a youth leader in the Sandoval County Youth Leadership Program.

Vikings beat RR softball, 3-1

The Rio Rancho High softball team fell 3-1 to Valley on Thursday afternoon. The Rams were limited to five hits in the nondistrict loss. Jordan Manno, Hannah Obrey, Dominique Soto, Jovanni Felix and BreOnna Castañeda had the hits for Rio Rancho.

The Rams earlier this week beat Eldorado 11-6. Felix was 3-for-3 with three RBIs to lead the Rio Rancho offense.

Rams, Storm at metro baseball

The baseball teams from Rio Rancho and Cleveland will compete next week in the Albuquerque Public Schools Metro Championship.

The Storm open on Monday afternoon at No. 7 Valley. Cleveland is the No. 10 seed.

The Rams are the No. 4 seed, and play host to 13th-seeded Highland.

Both games are 4 p.m. Monday.

The second round is Tuesday. Cleveland faces Volcano Vista or Albuquerque High, while Rio Rancho will take on Rio Grande or Manzano.

This is the first year APS has invited the Storm and Rams into their annual metro events.

The metro title game is next Saturday.

Blades registering for spring sessions

Blades Multiplex Arenas in Rio Rancho is registering skaters for spring sessions of Learn to Skate.

Classes are available for figure skating and hockey, and classes begin March 26. They run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The cost of the eight-week session is $125.

In addition to a 30-minute lesson, all students will receive 30 minutes of supervised practice before or after their class and a punch card for eight additional free public sessions.

Those interested can register in person, over the phone, or online. For more information, contact Blades at 892-9222 or visit bladesnm.com.

♦ Also, Blades is also offering a four-week introductory skating skills class for figure skating and hockey.

Those classes also begin March 26, and the cost is $64.

Seven qualify for year-end event

Seven bowlers have qualified for the year-end “Champion of Champions” tournament after a recent winter 9-pin no-tap event at Tenpins & More.

The seven are: John Lund (Open division); Ron Michel (Men’s “A”); Jay Medas (Men’s “B”); Raz Rael (Men’s “C”); Jodi King (Women’s “A”); Frances Rico (Women’s “B”); and Dana Sanders (Women’s “C”).

Qualfying is already underway for the next no-tap event in May.

♦ Also, five more leagues, including four new ones, will begin in March. There are two Superman ball/bag leagues starting Wednesday, with one featuring one youth and one adult, and the other an adult doubles league.

There is an adult “8 for 8″ league starting March 21, and the final two leagues are for youth bowlers, starting March 23. One league is for kids 5-and-under.
— This article appeared on page 16 of the Albuquerque Journal