Littlewater, N.M., native stresses ‘greatness’

TSAILE, Ariz. — Leonard Lee hopes to end the coaching cyclone in the Diné College cross country program. Lee, a coaching veteran of more than 20 years, was brought aboard in mid-August to lead the Warriors as head cross country coach.

Lee, a graduate of Newcomb High School, located in San Juan County, met the 12-member team last week. The first cross country meet of the 2017 season is scheduled this month. Diné College participates in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association.

“We have some very good student athletes on our team,” Lee said. “I’m excited. They’re excited. There have been some great coaches who...

Gallup High didn’t have a lot going on this week as the Football team had a bye, and the Volleyball teams and Cross Country squads do not play until the weekend.

That leaves the two soccer teams, neither of which are doing all that well. There are some glimmers shining through though.

For the girls team, it is a spark plug freshman, Kennedy Smiley, who has already earned one Player of the Game Award this season. To be honest, I have not seen her play but I understand that she covers the field well and gives the opponents fits from whatever position she plays. Keep me informed on her progress as I likely will not attend too many games this month.

And the boys team finally...

GALLUP – The Gallup Bengals kicked off their season opener against the visiting Bernalillo Spartans with a towering 33-0 victory in action play Friday night at the Angelo DiPaolo Memorial Stadium Aug. 25.

The Bengals and Spartans had a slow first quarter with offensive and defensive inaccuracies. It took both sides to get comfortable with their team’s play-calling and system.

Bengals had multiple rushers to handle the ball for Gallup. With 2:58 on the clock late in the first quarter, Spartans had turned the ball over with a forced fumble by Gallup. The Bengals took advantage of this turnover and scored first with a touchdown pass from Dominick Stewart to Quincy Smith to get...

Gallup High had a pretty good week in sports, dominating Bernalillo in football and winning both ends of the cross country meet in Tohatchi. Soccer was a win/lose proposition though as the boys took on district foe Belen while the girls had the easier route over a much smaller school, Navajo Prep.

Boys’ Soccer

Belen shut out the Bengal boys’ last Saturday by a score of 7-0. The slightly larger school just played harder and smarter than Gallup on the pitch, but it is early in the season.

Cross Country

Senior Jessica Ramirez came out strong in the first meet of the year on the Tohatchi course tagged as Hamburger Hill. Ramirez finished first in 21:13 and her teammates placed in...