Pendley vies to be Olympian

Three Oklahoma softball alumni will participate in the USA Softball Women’s Olympic Team Selection Trials held Oct. 2-6 at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City.

Among them is former Rio Rancho High School standout Shelby Pendley, an OU alum of 2015, who’ll be among 29 players vying for a spot on the 2020 USA Softball Women’s Olympic Team roster that will compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in addition to select tour stops as part of the Stand Beside Her Tour.

Pendley was a member of the USA Softball coalition that captured the gold at the 2019 Pan American Games to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

During the selection process, athletes will participate in position drills as well as simulated games and be evaluated by the USA Softball Women’s National Team Selection Committee (WNTSC) in accordance with the Athlete Selection Procedures approved by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC).

The team roster will be announced at the conclusion of the trials and a press conference featuring the 2020 roster will be held on the morning of Oct. 8.

The U.S. Women’s Olympic Team will be coached by Ken Eriksen (Tampa, Fla./Head Coach at South Florida) pending approval by the USOPC. The 2020 schedule will be announced at a later date.

 

Storm distance teams third, fourth

at Academy Invite

Cleveland High cross country runners Jonathan Fragua and Lucas Futey finished seventh and eight, respectively, to help take the Storm into third place in the Sept. 27 Albuquerque Academy Invitational at the Academy.

The CHS teammates were the first 5A runners to finish the 21-team race. The Storm had a score of 81 points, behind winner Academy (34) and Los Alamos (65).

The Storm girls (145) finished fourth, behind Academy (58), Los Alamos (67) and Eldorado (76).

Eldorado’s Jasmine Turtle-Morales won the race, avenging her loss in the Cleveland Invitational, where she finished behind CHS’s Leah Futey, who was second at the Academy meet and the lone Storm runner to crack the top 10.

 

Kantowski’s team in U of Dubuque

Athletic Hall of Fame now

Ray Kantowski, a longtime staff member of the Rio Rancho Parks, recreation and Community Development Department, was among athletes recently inducted into the University of Dubuque (Iowa) Athletic Hall of Fame during an awards ceremony on Sept. 21 in Heritage Center.

Along with six individuals, the 1980-81 UD men’s basketball team was also honored. That was the first UD basketball team to qualify for the NCAA Championships. A last-second shot, made by Kantowski (Class of ’82) — from 45 feet — gave UD a 60 to 59 win over William Penn College.

UD was sent to the West Regional playoffs in Whittier, Calif., where it lost, 71-65, in their initial game against Muskingum University from Ohio. In the consolation game against California State-Stanislaus, UD won, 86-73, finishing that season with a 20-8 overall record, 10-4 and in second place in the Iowa Conference.

 

City’s middle school teams battle

The third annual Rio Rancho Public Schools “Middle School Football Championship Doubleheader” is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 17, at Rio Rancho Stadium.

At 4, Lincoln Middle School and Eagle Ridge Middle School will battle in the consolation game to decide third place. At 6, the championship game for the third year in a row features Mountain View Middle School and Rio Rancho Middle School.

RRMS is the defending champion, after beating MVMS, the 2017 champion, last fall.

 

Storm get coveted Director’s Cup in 5A

Melrose, Pecos, Sandia Prep, Albuquerque Academy and Cleveland were all honored last Monday for claiming the Subway Director’s Cup for the 2018-19 school year.

The Subway Director’s Cup is awarded annually to the top New Mexico Activities Association member schools in each classification based upon success in activities, athletics, and sportsmanship.

Cleveland claimed the Class 5A cup while winning state championships in boys cross country, boys soccer, girls golf, boys track & field and choir. In addition, the Storm finished as the state runners-up in football, girls cross country, wrestling, baseball, bowling and concert band.