San Juan County Prep Spring Sports Season Kicks Off With Championships, Schedule Changes

Winter-like weather may not quite be finished across San Juan County, but the spring sports season for local and area high schools waits for nothing. While the New Mexico Activities Association is still handing out state titles in several winter sports, baseball, softball, track and field, tennis, and powerlifting are already underway across the county, with championships on the line and at least one notable venue change reshaping the postseason landscape.

On the tennis courts, the Farmington High girls tennis team opened its season on the road this weekend in an eight-team tournament in Albuquerque. The Scorpions, winners of the Class 5A state championship last season and owners of eight state titles, will head back to Albuquerque the following weekend for the Early Bird Invitational. The home schedule gets going soon after: Farmington and Piedra Vista co-hosted the Northwest Quad at the Farmington Sports Complex on Thursday, March 3.

In track and field, Bloomfield High boys enters the season with unfinished business. The team finished sixth overall in the Class 4A championships last May, but senior Andrew Himes carried the program's banner with two gold medal performances. Now in his final prep season, Himes will attempt to defend his titles in both the Class 4A 110-meter hurdles and the Class 4A triple jump, a rare dual-title defense that will make him one of the county's most closely watched athletes this spring.

Golf may carry the biggest storyline when it comes to structural change. The varsity season got underway the second weekend in March in Hobbs, with Piedra Vista coming in as the reigning Class 5A champions and eyeing a second consecutive title. What is different this year is where the postseason will be decided. Unlike last season, when championship tournaments were spread across San Juan County, this year's championship events will be held at Turtleback Mountain Golf Course, New Mexico Tech, and New Mexico State University, moving the high-stakes rounds well outside the county's borders.

Detailed previews for baseball and softball are still to come. The Tri-City Record's sports department will publish in-depth previews for both programs in the coming days, with roster breakdowns, schedules, and team-by-team outlooks expected to fill in the picture for two of the spring's most anticipated sports.

Snowy and icy conditions this week have done little to slow the calendar. The spring season, championship ambitions and all, is already in motion.