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ON THE MOVE AGAIN: Ira Harge Jr., who won four straight boys state basketball championships at Pecos before leaving to become athletic director at Española Valley, has left the school after a year to become principal and athletic director at Escalante Middle/High School in Tierra Amarilla, he said. “I worked with many, many wonderful people in Española Valley,” he said. “But, for me, it was just too political. There was a difference in philosophies.”
MOVING AGAIN II: Former Mora boys basketball coach Manuel Romero is going back to the Rangers after spending the past nine seasons at Robertson, compiling a 136-111 record. This past season, he led the Cardinals to a 13-1 record and the top seed in the Class 3A state tournament, although they were eliminated in the semifinals. The Cardinals received numerous applications for the position and expect to make a hire soon, said athletic director Juan Carlos Fulgenzi.
HIRED: After one non-season lost to COVID-19 at Robertson, volleyball coach Vanessa Martinez has been replaced by West Las Vegas grad Vanessa Bustos-Gonzales. Bustos-Gonzales has been coaching at the club level and as an assistant with Hope Christian in Albuquerque.
RETIRED: Dawn C’deBaca, who has been the only head volleyball coach at Albuquerque’s Volcano Vista, has retired because of health insurance issues, she said. A 1990 Robertson grad who coached West Las Vegas to the championship game twice, C’deBaca has taken a counselor’s position at St. Pius and hopes to get back into coaching after a mandatory year’s absence.
UPCOMING THINGS TO SEE OR DO:
BASEBALL: The Santa Fe Little League will host the Majors State Tournament, beginning July 17 at Alto Park. It is the first time the tournament has been in Santa Fe since 2009.
TRIATHLON: The Cochiti Lake Triathlon is coming July 31. Featuring a 1,600-meter lake swim, a 25-mile bicycle ride and 10K run, the event is sure to be popular as athletes begin to get back into competitions.
