Former Los Lunas coach Henington lands at Cleveland

Whether or not Greg Henington will one day become a head coach again remains an open-ended thing, but he has found a new job.

The former Los Lunas High football coach, unexpectedly fired in mid-December, has landed a coaching position at defending Class 6A state champion Cleveland.

It isn’t yet known exactly what role Henington will fill on Robert Garza’s coaching staff, but the Storm most definitely have added a proven winner with an excellent pedigree.

“To be honest, I’m not too concerned about that,” Henington told the Journal about his thoughts of perhaps being a head coach once more down the road. “I’m just happy to be part of the best staff in the state. That’s what I’m excited about.”

Henington, 46, was wildly successful in his five seasons at Los Lunas, including leading the Tigers to a Class 5A state title in 2021. He was 43-16 in his five seasons, making his dismissal one of the more surprising in recent memory.

The school is actively searching for a new coach; athletic director William Hays said he expected interviews to be scheduled in the coming weeks. Los Lunas starting next season is rejoining the 5A ranks after four years as a Class 6A program. Los Lunas was beaten in the 6A quarterfinals last season by Las Cruces.

Henington said he reached out to Garza “pretty quickly” after what happened at Los Lunas.

“I really was asking if they had a teaching position available first … and they had both,” Henington said. He also is a former head coach at Belen.

“The whole thing with Los Lunas was pretty devastating, so I’m just looking to get back into coaching and heal a little bit,” Henington said. He’ll be a language arts teacher at Cleveland.

RAHMER: Eldorado sophomore Gianna Rahmer on Wednesday was named as the Gatorade Girls Cross Country Player of the Year.

Rahmer last fall won her third consecutive Class 5A state championship, and led the Eagles to the state team title. She has yet to lose a prep race inside of New Mexico in her three seasons of varsity competition. She did place second at the Desert Twilight race in Phoenix.

She was fourth at the Nike Cross Southwest Regional race, and qualified for two national races last fall, the Nike Cross Nationals in Portland and the Brooks XC Championships in San Diego.

BOYS SWIMMING: La Cueva won a narrow victory over Eldorado, 448-401, at last weekend’s Albuquerque Metro Championships at the West Mesa Aquatic Center.

There were three double winners at metros: Igby Adams of Sandia, Tristan Dons of Eldorado and Tyler Sinsabaugh of La Cueva.

Adams, a junior, was the sprint freestyle champion, taking first place in both the 50-yard (21.91 seconds) and 100-yard (49.73) finals. 

Dons, a senior, was first in the 100 backstroke in 53.02, and the 200 free in 1:45.89. Sinsabaugh raced to victory in the 100 butterfly (52.80) and the senior also added the 200-IM title in a time of 1:59.89.

Junior Brayden Bundy of La Cueva was the winner in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.19) and he also finished second in the 200 IM. Freshman Arden Berg of Eldorado won the 500 free final in 5:13.08. Tucker Blair of La Cueva, with 441 points, captured the 1-meter diving title.

Oren Duneman of Valley had a solid meet, with runner-up finishes in the 100 back and the 200 free.

Cleveland, in a close finish with Sandia, took the 200 free relay title. Eldorado was first in the 200 medley and 400 free relays.

Rio Rancho (338) placed third in the team standings.

COBOS PROMOTION: John Cobos, Bernalillo’s longtime head football coach, is now also the Spartans’ athletic director. The 51-year-old took over officially on Jan. 7, replacing Ira Harge Jr., who left to become the Director of Operations for the Chama Valley Independent School District.

Cobos already was the AD for the Bernalillo middle school athletics programs; he’ll continue in both roles for the immediate future. And he is going to continue to be Bernalillo's head football coach.

“I hope to be able to grow our programs. I definitely want to keep growing where we’re currently at,” Cobos said. He’s been at the school for 18 years overall.

Enhancing the school’s participation numbers, he said, is a priority.

“We feel like if more of our kids are involved, we feel the success rate for them when they leave is higher than if they’re not,” he said.

MILESTONES: Cleveland senior guard Remy Albrecht on Tuesday night was recognized by the school for last week having reached the rare 2,000-point plateau in his career with the Storm.

Rio Rancho's girls recently honored two of the three Martinez siblings – sophomore Madi and senior Lilly — for having surpassed 1,000 total points with the Rams.

THIS AND THAT: Kolby Gonzales, a Las Cruces High sophomore and the 145-pound Class 5A state champion last February, placed third at 157 pounds in his U15 open division at the prestigious Tulsa (Oklahoma) Nationals last weekend. … Former Cleveland High and UTEP standout Strat Shufelt announced Wednesday on his social media page on X that he was transferring to Missouri State.

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.