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Today's Sports

  • Underdogs no longer

    So, how do you top the No. 1 turnaround season in the history of men’s college basketball?

    New Mexico Highlands coach Joe Harge can think of a few things that might do the trick. Winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament and getting to the national playoffs, for example.

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  • Weekend Roundup

    With a sweep of Pecos on Friday, the Mora Rangerettes claimed their fifth consecutive District 4-2A championship.

    Mora won 25-13, 25-14, 25-18 in the finale, held at Montoya Gym in Mora. Pecos had emerged from the weeklong bracket as the challenger to the top seed Rangerettes. Mora will play the District 1 runner-up, either Ramah or Navajo Pine, this week in a regional playoff.

    • • •

    It took overtime to eliminate the Robertson soccer teams from the Class 1A-3A state tournament over the weekend.

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  • Cowboys picked to take title

    A secret no longer, the New Mexico HIghlands men’s basketball team is the preseason favorite to win the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

    After breaking a record for best single-season turnaround in NCAA hoops history, coach Joe Harge and his Cowboys garnered seven of 14 first-place votes in the 14-team league’s preseason coaches’ poll released Wednesday. NMHU was 20-8 and 14-5 RMAC in Harge’s first season at the helm.

    Nationally ranked Metro State was the favorite to win the RMAC East and received five first-place votes.

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  • Roanhaus, Rifilato to meet again

    The last time Chad Roanhaus and Ed Rifilato were at Perkins Stadium together for a football game, the Highlands Cowboys won a share of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship.

    That was 1999, one full decade ago, and Rifilato was head coach at NMHU while Roanhaus, a recent alumnus of the program, was one of the assistants. Now Rif is manning the sidelines at RMAC rival Fort Lewis and Roanhaus is coaching his old team.

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  • Mustangs sweep Cowgirls

    In completing a fall sports sweep of its intrastate rival, Western New Mexico’s volleyball team made quick work of visiting New Mexico Highlands Tuesday night In Silver City.

    WNMU defeated the Cowgirls in straight sets (25-17, 25-20, 25-19).

    Vanessa Leal led the Highlands  attack with seven kills. Linda Stevens collected 19 assists. Katie Spence and Kelsey Groff hit the deck for 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

    Lone Mustang senior Ellen East notched 31 assists, two service aces, nine digs, and three block assists in the WNMU home finale.

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  • Coach hopes for better at...

    Calling this past Saturday’s Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference cross country championships “pretty much a mixed bag for us,” New Mexico Highlands head coach Bob DeVries said he hopes for a much better effort in the regional meet two weeks from now in Wayne, Neb.

    NMHU placed seventh in each of the men’s and women’s races Saturday, a middle-of-the-pack showing in NCAA Division II’s most talent-heavy conference. Adams State, the owner of multiple national titles, cruised to team victories in both races.

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  • State soccer pairings announced

    Pairings for the state high school soccer tournaments have been announced by the New Mexico Activities Association, and Robertson's boys and girls know who they're playing, when and where this weekend to open the postseason.

    Coach Clarence Montoya's Cardinals are the No. 8 seed in the Class 1A-3A boys' bracket and will host No. 9 Bloomfield at 3 p.m. Friday at RHS Field.

    The winner moves on to play No. 1 Sandia Prep at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5, at the new Sue Cleveland High in Rio Rancho.

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  • Dave's Drive-In: Bent for...

    In the 1920s, professional football was regarded as something of an oddity, certainly no comparison to the glory of the college ranks; women sports writers were a novelty in the press box; and the guys on the gridiron wore simple leather caps for protection.

    That’s the America we’re introduced to in “Leatherheads,” a 2008 film co-authored by Duncan Brantley and Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated. George Clooney directs and stars as Dodge Connelly, an aging back (and coach) for the Duluth Bulldogs pro team.

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  • WEEKEND ROUNDUP: East, West...

    Jazmine Harge and Brooke Knezevich combined for nearly three dozen kills Thursday night, leading Robertson to a key District 2-3A volleyball win over host St. Michael's in Santa Fe.

    The Lady Cardinals (13-5, 6-2) swept the Lady Horsemen 25-20, 25-21, 25-14.

    RHS hosts Santa Fe Indian on Tuesday evening.

    West Las Vegas took an improved Raton volleyball team to a fifth set for the second time in as many meetings this season on Thursday, then fell victim to mighty Pojoaque in a Saturday sweep.

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  • Mustangs toss Cowboys

    There were moments Saturday when it seemed New Mexico Highlands simply had to win the football game at Western New Mexico.

    One was when Narciso Diaz heaved the ball downfield into the grasp of Travis Lee, who darted beyond the reach of defenders for a 66-yard touchdown. That score (coupled with Greg Rivara's extra point) drew the Cowboys within 16-14 and may have rattled the collective nerves of the announced crowd of 543 at Ben Altamirano Stadium, on hand to witness WNMU's homecoming game.

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The Las Vegas Optic is your source for local news, sports, events, and information in San Miguel County and Las Vegas, NM, and the surrounding area.