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BASEBALL
Dylan Blomker
La Cueva | senior
This was an exceedingly tight call, one of the most difficult on the board, trying to pick between the LSU-bound Blomker and the University of Oklahoma-bound Anthony Del Angel, Cleveland’s stellar shortstop. The edge goes (ever so slightly) to Blomker because of his ability to impact the game both with his bat and his arm. He was 8-1 with 113 strikeouts in 53.2 innings, and he also hit .395 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Carmen Dorsey-Spitz Moriarty | junior
An extremely rare appearance by a Fighting Pinto among our AOY roster, and this was a coin flip, with Gianna Rahmer of Eldorado the only other person in the conversation. We go somewhat outside the box with Dorsey-Spitz, who won the two huge regular-season meets — the Rio Rancho Jamboree (in commanding fashion) and Albuquerque Academy Extravaganza — plus the 4A state meet.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Jordyn Dyer
La Cueva | senior
What quality depth there was in the metro area at the guard position this year; I’m going with Dyer, the Bears’ quick, 5-foot-8, stellar two-way guard who is headed to the University of Pacific. She averaged 23 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.8 steals and her speed in the open court was, for all practical purposes, unmanageable for opponents.
GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
Grace Erinle
ABQ Academy | junior
One of my favorite athletes to watch, in either gender, in any sport. Erinle is simply a force of nature at a track facility, whether she’s dominating the long jump or triple jump, or whether she’s running one of the open sprints. She was a four-time state champion last month, and was possibly New Mexico’s most elite and versatile track and field athlete.
GIRLS TENNIS
Aurelia Fulgenzi
ABQ High | junior
Fulgenzi was nearly perfect in the spring of 2026. She dropped only one match, the Class 5A state final to Savannah Reiman of Organ Mountain. She was the APS Singles tournament champion and during the season had convincing wins over other top metro players such as Lily Walker of Cleveland and Sadye Bruce of Albuquerque Academy.
BOYS TENNIS
Ketan Garg
La Cueva | junior
Garg enjoyed a spotless 2026 spring season for the Bears, capped by his straight-set victory in the Class 5A state final, his second 5A title in a row. Garg was unstoppable in the postseason as he dropped only eight games in his four matches at state, and this was part of a trend, since he was dominant throughout and completed an undefeated season.
GIRLS SOCCER
Emma Gurule
Eldorado | senior
This was the single most agonizing decision of our 22, choosing between Gurule and Hope junior midfielder Bryson Fankam. Gurule’s merits: the senior forward had a 74-point season as the Eagles won the Class 5A state championship. She scored 33 goals, many of them clutch tallies. Among those 33, she had the game-winner both in the state semifinals against La Cueva and in the final against Rio Rancho.
GIRLS GOLF
Adelyn Haas
ABQ Academy | junior
Haas capped her season with a triumph at the Class 4A state tournament at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, winning by five shots. It capped a five-win wraparound season for Haas, who also captured first place at the Shootout in the Desert at Canyon Club in April, where she edged eventual 5A state champ Kendall Trujillo of La Cueva by a shot. Haas also was the metro tournament runner-up.
FOOTBALL
Jordan Hatch
Cleveland | senior
Hatch was utterly brilliant in each of his final two seasons with the Storm. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior spun his way to 2,888 yards and 40 touchdowns versus just five interceptions in Cleveland’s 2025 championship season, and he completed a whopping 75.2% of his passes. He could also be a sneaky effective running threat. A complete package at the quarterback position.
BOYS GOLF
Nixon Knee
La Cueva | freshman
The youngest member of the 2025-26 AOY roster, and quite worthy. So much game contained within Knee’s slender frame, but he played with the savvy and experience of an upperclassman for the Bears in their 5A state championship season. He won the individual title at New Mexico State University Golf Course by an impressive four shots. He also won the metro tournament at Arroyo del Oso GC.
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
Jay Lee
Legacy Academy | senior
It is rare we venture into the Class 2A ranks to find one of our individual sport AOYs, but Lee merits inclusion into our year-end roster. He was as much a multitasker as any boy in any classification, excelling as a state champion sprinter, a state champion hurdler and also one of the state’s premier pole vaulters. He’s going to Colorado State to become a decathlete.
BOYS BASKETBALL
David Lunn
Volcano Vista | junior
Few things were as thrilling to watch as when the 6-foot-4 Lunn began a move toward the basket, and there was almost nothing defenses could do to stop this determined, extremely athletic talent from finishing around the rim. Lunn, in leading the Hawks to a fifth straight 5A title in March, averaged 20.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
BOYS WRESTLING
Roman Luttrell
Cleveland | senior
Numerically, there was something truly special about Luttrell’s valedictory season with the Storm. Not only did he compile a remarkable 50-0 record in his senior season, he also won a fifth individual state championship, just the 10th New Mexico wrestler to have reached that plateau. He finished his career with four first-period pins at state. Going to Utah Valley.
SOFTBALL
Zoë Mangrum
St. Pius | senior
An abundance of outstanding talents were on display in the metro area this spring. Mangrum, who has signed with Division I Howard, had a monster season, no other way to describe it. The outfielder hit .722, with 54 hits, 65 runs scored and a stupendously impressive 73 RBIs. She slugged 15 home runs and struck out only twice all season.
GIRLS WRESTLING
Jaden Meadows
Sandia | senior
There were two tremendous options in this slot, Cleveland’s Eloise Woolsey being the other. We couldn’t go wrong with either. Meadows went 36-0 in her senior season, capping a nearly perfect career with the Matadors that saw her lose just one match — to Woolsey when both were juniors. Meadows won four state titles and leaves as one of the best girls to have ever been on the mat in New Mexico.
GIRLS POWERLIFTING
Rebecca Neal
Highland | senior
Neal won her third straight state championship in this still relatively new sport, and went out and dominated the 165-pound weight class in April at the Rio Rancho Events Center. She won her division by over 100 pounds, and was rated as the top female lifter at the competition for the weight classes spanning 165 to 259+.
GIRLS SWIMMING/DIVING
Matilda Nethery
ABQ High | junior
Nethery was a powerhouse in the pool all winter for the Bulldogs, and hers is a worthy choice on our end-of-year roster. She capped her outstanding junior season with excellent swims in the 200-yard freestyle, and then also the 500 free. She was a state champion in both events for the Bulldogs.
BOYS POWERLIFTING
Brandon Pingao
Cleveland | senior
It wasn’t just that Pingao won the 148-pound division at April’s state competition, but it was an overall rating (known as the Schwartz rating) that gives him the edge. More than any other lifter in Class 5A, in any other weight division, Pingao was proportionally stronger, relative to his size, than any other boy at state.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Nicholas Ponte
ABQ Academy | senior
Among several strong candidates, we go with Ponte, who repeatedly excelled on the big stage. He won the Academy Extravaganza, with the fastest time of any boy in any of the divisions. He also won a thrilling duel against La Cueva’s Nikko Mihan at metros, winning by the width of a body. And he ended the year by winning the 4A state title. He was undefeated in races in New Mexico. Headed to Harvard.
BOYS SWIMMING/DIVING
Roman Rodriguez
Cottonwood Classical Prep | junior
We have a CCP swimmer on our roster for the second straight year, and why not? The Coyotes have become a force in the pool with four consecutive small-school state championships. For the boys, at the center is Rodriguez, who broke a 10-year state record in winning the 100-yard butterfly at February’s state meet. He also was a winner in the 100 backstroke, capping a brilliant season.
BOYS SOCCER
Winston Starr
La Cueva | senior
It was a season to remember for Starr, the Bears’ outstanding midfielder. Not only did he help lead the Bears to the Class 5A state championship last November, but he earned recognition on the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region team, and he was chosen as New Mexico’s player of the year. The cherry was him being named to the USC’s All-American squad for the fall 2025 season.
VOLLEYBALL
Jula Utash
La Cueva | junior
Utash, like so many La Cueva outside hitters over the last decade, sported a dominating right arm from the outside as the Bears got all the way to the 5A state championship match. She doesn’t have imposing size (5-9), per se, but she still rattled off 370 kills in La Cueva’s dynamic offense, and put away over 45% of the sets she was fed.
2025-26 Metro Athletes of the Year
*
Highland's Rebecca Neal does it all — and keeps doing it better every year
A four-sport athlete, she earns Female Metro Athlete of the Year honor for the second consecutive year
*
St. Pius star Hershul Olloway Jr. dazzled on the football field and track
Junior running back and sprinter named Journal Metro Male Athlete of the Year
Continue reading...
Dylan Blomker
La Cueva | senior
This was an exceedingly tight call, one of the most difficult on the board, trying to pick between the LSU-bound Blomker and the University of Oklahoma-bound Anthony Del Angel, Cleveland’s stellar shortstop. The edge goes (ever so slightly) to Blomker because of his ability to impact the game both with his bat and his arm. He was 8-1 with 113 strikeouts in 53.2 innings, and he also hit .395 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs.
GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY
Carmen Dorsey-Spitz Moriarty | junior
An extremely rare appearance by a Fighting Pinto among our AOY roster, and this was a coin flip, with Gianna Rahmer of Eldorado the only other person in the conversation. We go somewhat outside the box with Dorsey-Spitz, who won the two huge regular-season meets — the Rio Rancho Jamboree (in commanding fashion) and Albuquerque Academy Extravaganza — plus the 4A state meet.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Jordyn Dyer
La Cueva | senior
What quality depth there was in the metro area at the guard position this year; I’m going with Dyer, the Bears’ quick, 5-foot-8, stellar two-way guard who is headed to the University of Pacific. She averaged 23 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.8 steals and her speed in the open court was, for all practical purposes, unmanageable for opponents.
GIRLS TRACK AND FIELD
Grace Erinle
ABQ Academy | junior
One of my favorite athletes to watch, in either gender, in any sport. Erinle is simply a force of nature at a track facility, whether she’s dominating the long jump or triple jump, or whether she’s running one of the open sprints. She was a four-time state champion last month, and was possibly New Mexico’s most elite and versatile track and field athlete.
GIRLS TENNIS
Aurelia Fulgenzi
ABQ High | junior
Fulgenzi was nearly perfect in the spring of 2026. She dropped only one match, the Class 5A state final to Savannah Reiman of Organ Mountain. She was the APS Singles tournament champion and during the season had convincing wins over other top metro players such as Lily Walker of Cleveland and Sadye Bruce of Albuquerque Academy.
BOYS TENNIS
Ketan Garg
La Cueva | junior
Garg enjoyed a spotless 2026 spring season for the Bears, capped by his straight-set victory in the Class 5A state final, his second 5A title in a row. Garg was unstoppable in the postseason as he dropped only eight games in his four matches at state, and this was part of a trend, since he was dominant throughout and completed an undefeated season.
GIRLS SOCCER
Emma Gurule
Eldorado | senior
This was the single most agonizing decision of our 22, choosing between Gurule and Hope junior midfielder Bryson Fankam. Gurule’s merits: the senior forward had a 74-point season as the Eagles won the Class 5A state championship. She scored 33 goals, many of them clutch tallies. Among those 33, she had the game-winner both in the state semifinals against La Cueva and in the final against Rio Rancho.
GIRLS GOLF
Adelyn Haas
ABQ Academy | junior
Haas capped her season with a triumph at the Class 4A state tournament at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, winning by five shots. It capped a five-win wraparound season for Haas, who also captured first place at the Shootout in the Desert at Canyon Club in April, where she edged eventual 5A state champ Kendall Trujillo of La Cueva by a shot. Haas also was the metro tournament runner-up.
FOOTBALL
Jordan Hatch
Cleveland | senior
Hatch was utterly brilliant in each of his final two seasons with the Storm. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound senior spun his way to 2,888 yards and 40 touchdowns versus just five interceptions in Cleveland’s 2025 championship season, and he completed a whopping 75.2% of his passes. He could also be a sneaky effective running threat. A complete package at the quarterback position.
BOYS GOLF
Nixon Knee
La Cueva | freshman
The youngest member of the 2025-26 AOY roster, and quite worthy. So much game contained within Knee’s slender frame, but he played with the savvy and experience of an upperclassman for the Bears in their 5A state championship season. He won the individual title at New Mexico State University Golf Course by an impressive four shots. He also won the metro tournament at Arroyo del Oso GC.
BOYS TRACK AND FIELD
Jay Lee
Legacy Academy | senior
It is rare we venture into the Class 2A ranks to find one of our individual sport AOYs, but Lee merits inclusion into our year-end roster. He was as much a multitasker as any boy in any classification, excelling as a state champion sprinter, a state champion hurdler and also one of the state’s premier pole vaulters. He’s going to Colorado State to become a decathlete.
BOYS BASKETBALL
David Lunn
Volcano Vista | junior
Few things were as thrilling to watch as when the 6-foot-4 Lunn began a move toward the basket, and there was almost nothing defenses could do to stop this determined, extremely athletic talent from finishing around the rim. Lunn, in leading the Hawks to a fifth straight 5A title in March, averaged 20.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists.
BOYS WRESTLING
Roman Luttrell
Cleveland | senior
Numerically, there was something truly special about Luttrell’s valedictory season with the Storm. Not only did he compile a remarkable 50-0 record in his senior season, he also won a fifth individual state championship, just the 10th New Mexico wrestler to have reached that plateau. He finished his career with four first-period pins at state. Going to Utah Valley.
SOFTBALL
Zoë Mangrum
St. Pius | senior
An abundance of outstanding talents were on display in the metro area this spring. Mangrum, who has signed with Division I Howard, had a monster season, no other way to describe it. The outfielder hit .722, with 54 hits, 65 runs scored and a stupendously impressive 73 RBIs. She slugged 15 home runs and struck out only twice all season.
GIRLS WRESTLING
Jaden Meadows
Sandia | senior
There were two tremendous options in this slot, Cleveland’s Eloise Woolsey being the other. We couldn’t go wrong with either. Meadows went 36-0 in her senior season, capping a nearly perfect career with the Matadors that saw her lose just one match — to Woolsey when both were juniors. Meadows won four state titles and leaves as one of the best girls to have ever been on the mat in New Mexico.
GIRLS POWERLIFTING
Rebecca Neal
Highland | senior
Neal won her third straight state championship in this still relatively new sport, and went out and dominated the 165-pound weight class in April at the Rio Rancho Events Center. She won her division by over 100 pounds, and was rated as the top female lifter at the competition for the weight classes spanning 165 to 259+.
GIRLS SWIMMING/DIVING
Matilda Nethery
ABQ High | junior
Nethery was a powerhouse in the pool all winter for the Bulldogs, and hers is a worthy choice on our end-of-year roster. She capped her outstanding junior season with excellent swims in the 200-yard freestyle, and then also the 500 free. She was a state champion in both events for the Bulldogs.
BOYS POWERLIFTING
Brandon Pingao
Cleveland | senior
It wasn’t just that Pingao won the 148-pound division at April’s state competition, but it was an overall rating (known as the Schwartz rating) that gives him the edge. More than any other lifter in Class 5A, in any other weight division, Pingao was proportionally stronger, relative to his size, than any other boy at state.
BOYS CROSS COUNTRY
Nicholas Ponte
ABQ Academy | senior
Among several strong candidates, we go with Ponte, who repeatedly excelled on the big stage. He won the Academy Extravaganza, with the fastest time of any boy in any of the divisions. He also won a thrilling duel against La Cueva’s Nikko Mihan at metros, winning by the width of a body. And he ended the year by winning the 4A state title. He was undefeated in races in New Mexico. Headed to Harvard.
BOYS SWIMMING/DIVING
Roman Rodriguez
Cottonwood Classical Prep | junior
We have a CCP swimmer on our roster for the second straight year, and why not? The Coyotes have become a force in the pool with four consecutive small-school state championships. For the boys, at the center is Rodriguez, who broke a 10-year state record in winning the 100-yard butterfly at February’s state meet. He also was a winner in the 100 backstroke, capping a brilliant season.
BOYS SOCCER
Winston Starr
La Cueva | senior
It was a season to remember for Starr, the Bears’ outstanding midfielder. Not only did he help lead the Bears to the Class 5A state championship last November, but he earned recognition on the United Soccer Coaches All-Far West Region team, and he was chosen as New Mexico’s player of the year. The cherry was him being named to the USC’s All-American squad for the fall 2025 season.
VOLLEYBALL
Jula Utash
La Cueva | junior
Utash, like so many La Cueva outside hitters over the last decade, sported a dominating right arm from the outside as the Bears got all the way to the 5A state championship match. She doesn’t have imposing size (5-9), per se, but she still rattled off 370 kills in La Cueva’s dynamic offense, and put away over 45% of the sets she was fed.
2025-26 Metro Athletes of the Year
*
Highland's Rebecca Neal does it all — and keeps doing it better every year
A four-sport athlete, she earns Female Metro Athlete of the Year honor for the second consecutive year
*
St. Pius star Hershul Olloway Jr. dazzled on the football field and track
Junior running back and sprinter named Journal Metro Male Athlete of the Year
Continue reading...
