Prep notes: 11 whirlwind days to end prep calendar begin Wednesday

The postseasons of New Mexico’s five spring high school sports are compressed into an 11-day window. That window opens on Wednesday.

Tennis is the first sport to stage its state tournament. Individual singles and doubles are Wednesday and Thursday, followed by team competition (Class 5A and 1A-4A) on Friday and Saturday.

All of the 5A singles and doubles will be played at the Jerry Cline complex.

Ketan Garg of La Cueva is the No. 1 seed in singles, with Mitchell Rocca of Albuquerque High seeded second. Lily Walker of Cleveland and Savannah Reiman of Organ Mountain are the top two seeds for the girls.

And there will be a new state champion in girls 5A singles, since the last two state champions, Vianca Corley (2023) and Vivica Corley (2024) are not in the bracket. The Eldorado sisters instead are playing doubles together this week, and they are, not surprisingly, the top seed.

The 5A singles have two rounds Wednesday (1:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.), followed by the semifinals and championship matches on Thursday (10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.).

Doubles rounds are noon and 3 p.m. Wednesday, and 9 a.m. and noon on Thursday.

Class 1A-4A singles and doubles begin at Albuquerque Academy on Wednesday, then move to Jerry Cline on Thursday.

Henry Kaufman of Santa Fe Prep is seeded No. 1 in singles, with Albuquerque metro champ Austin Curtis of Academy seeded No. 2.

Avery Williams of Goddard is first in 1A-4A girls singles, followed by Andrea Voinescu of Santa Fe Prep.

The singles finals are 2 p.m. Thursday.

The 1A-4A doubles championship matches are noon Thursday at Jerry Cline.

When the team action begins Friday, it will bring the start of Academy’s quest for a remarkable 22nd consecutive boys state title in the 1A-4A division. The Chargers (boys and girls) both are seeded No. 1.

The Hobbs boys and Sandia’s girls have the top seeds in 5A. La Cueva’s girls have won state four years in a row. Academy’s girls are on a heater, as the Chargers have won state in 1A-4A every year since 2019. So have the La Cueva boys.

The 5A team finals are 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Jerry Cline, preceded by the 1A-4A finals at 3 p.m.

MORE STATE: The small schools state track and field meet also is on tap this week.

Field events begin at 8 a.m. Friday, track events at 8:30 a.m. at the University of New Mexico complex for Classes 1A, 2A and 3A.

On Saturday, it’s 8 a.m./10 a.m. start times.

St. Michael’s is chasing its sixth straight boys Class 3A blue trophy, and the Horsemen girls are looking to win five in a row.

Logan’s boys are seeking a three peat.

HARBIN RETURNS: Rich Harbin is back in the metro area as a girls head basketball coach.

Harbin is the new girls coach at Atrisco Heritage. He previously coached at Valley for 13 seasons and Eldorado for two seasons. He left the Eagles after the 2018-19 season.

“I think for most coaches, coaching is in your blood,” Harbin said.

He faces a challenge with the Jaguars, who won just two games last season.

“I don’t know how much change I can make, but I know I can be a positive influence,” Harbin said.

He said he has missed being on the sideline.

“I truly believe we can get Atrisco to be a competitive program,” he said. “I believe that with all my heart. We just need to increase the numbers. … I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

SIGNINGS: Cibola and St. Pius both have had a handful of athletes sign to compete at the next level.

For the Cougars, most of their recent signings came from the baseball team. Jacob Segotta signed with Howard Junior College in Texas, Derrick Chee with Arizona Christian College, Jadyn Conlan with New Mexico Highlands, and Isaac Harvey with Luna Community College in Las Vegas. Mason Taylor signed to run cross country with Eastern New Mexico.

For St. Pius, Frank Barela has signed to play goalkeeper for St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. Also, Liam Chavez signed to run cross country and track and Regis University in Denver.

Brooke Kelly signed to run in both sports at New Mexico State, Macy Freeze signed to play women’s basketball for Concordia University in California, Maximilliano Lopez signed to run track and field at Central Arizona College, and Kiley Patalan signed to play women’s soccer at Eastern New Mexico.

PREP BASKETBALL UPDATES: Sandia’s lengthy (6-7) and athletic senior guard, Zaire Ndyabagye, has committed to play for New Mexico Highlands. Ndyabagye averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Matadors, and was a proven scorer at multiple levels.

Meanwhile, La Cueva junior guard Jordyn Dyer, one of the state’s top players and coming off a terrific season, has her first Division I offer, from Idaho State. Dyer averaged 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists for the Bears.