The Gallup McKinley County Schools District had something to celebrate at the school board meeting May 24 after the Lady Bengals won their state championship game three days before.

The board took the opportunity to congratulate the girls’ win with handshakes and plaques.

When it was his turn to congratulate them, Superintendent Mike Hyatt commented that Gallup had not seen a championship in a while, and that some people might not expect it from their school because they don’t have the tallest athletes.

“[The girls] really fought every single game,” Hyatt said. “I watched them play against some girls who were my height and they took care of them quite easily.”

Board member Kevin Mitchell spoke about the challenge COVID-19 introduced into the mix while he was complimenting the team and their coaches.

“To the coaches, thank you very much for working with these girls the way you do,” Mitchell said. “Again, under the circumstances that you guys had to work with, you guys did a great job making sure that they were properly conditioned.”

Board President Charles Long talked about his hopes for the girls in the future.

“If you decide to go to college, I hope you continue to pursue being on a basketball team,” he said.  “Sometimes our local athletes — when they graduate from high school — whether they be in basketball, volleyball, or whatever, you don’t hear about them in college anymore.”

Toward the end of the meeting, Assistant Superintendent Jvanna Hanks presented the FY22 district budget. The Sun reached out to her for a copy, however, she did not respond by press time.