NM high school athletes ready for spring sports championships

The state tennis tournaments open on Wednesday as the individual singles and doubles brackets are contested for the next two days.

Ketan Garg of La Cueva, the defending state champion, is the top seed in Class 5A boys singles, and his first match, as with all the players, is Wednesday afternoon at 1:30.

Two rounds of singles will be held on Wednesday, with the semifinals (10:30 a.m.) and championship match (2 p.m.) both on Thursday at the Jerry Cline courts at I-40 and Louisiana.

The 5A girls also are exclusively at Jerry Cline.

Savannah Reiman of Organ Mountain, last year’s champion, is the No. 1 seed in the 16-girl bracket.

Adrian Hanna of Albuquerque Academy is the top seed in the boys Class 4A division; that bracket opens with two rounds at Academy on Wednesday, then shifts to Jerry Cline for the remaining two rounds on Thursday.

Sadye Bruce of the Chargers is the favorite in 4A girls singles and is the No. 1 seed. As with the boys, they are at Academy on Wednesday, followed by the semis and title match on Thursday at Jerry Cline.

Academy’s stunning boys tennis dynasty has won 22 consecutive state championships. The Chargers embark on their quest for No. 23 on Friday when the Class 1A-4A team competition begins. Academy is the No. 1 seed, Belen No. 2.

Academy’s girls, who are working on six straight titles, also are seeded No. 1 this week.

Centennial’s boys have the top seed in Class 5A, with La Cueva, the defending state champion and — like Academy’s girls, chasing a seventh straight blue trophy — seeded second.

Farmington and Sandia are the top two seeds in 5A girls.

The first two rounds in the team tournament are Friday. Championship matches are scheduled Saturday at 3 p.m. for 1A-4A, and 4:30 p.m. for the two 5A finals. All the finals (and the semifinals) are being played at the Jerry Cline complex.

BASEBALL/SOFTBALL: The state baseball and softball tournaments get underway on Wednesday with action in the smaller classes.

In baseball, Classes 2A and 1A are having first-round games Wednesday; Oak Grove Classical Academy of Albuquerque, the 11 seed in 2A, visits No. 6 Estancia at 3 p.m. There are four first-round games Wednesday, with the top four seeds all having byes until the quarterfinals in Albuquerque on May 14.

Class 1A baseball is just a six-team field; there are two opening round games Wednesday, and the bracket will resume May 14.

The 3A and 1A-2A softball tournaments also get started Wednesday. Sandia Prep plays Hatch Valley in a game in a 3A first rounder in Bayard at 4 p.m., with the winner to face No. 4 Cobre at 6 p.m.

First-round games in 1A-2A are Wednesday and Thursday.

STATE TRACK AND FIELD, PART I: The big-school meet arrives next weekend. The smaller schools (1A-3A) have their state meet first, on Friday and Saturday at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex.