FARMINGTON – The road to a blue trophy begins Wednesday for Farmington and Piedra Vista tennis players as the 2026 NMAA State Tennis Championships kick off at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center in Albuquerque.
Coming off a dominant district showing where the Scorpions swept the Panthers, Farmington enters the bracket with several high seeds, while Piedra Vista looks to play the role of spoiler in the individual and doubles brackets.
Farmington junior Conner Clark leads the local contingent as the No. 5 seed in the Class 5A boys singles bracket. Clark, who recently defeated Piedra Vista’s Cyrus LeSueur in straight sets during district play, will open his tournament at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday against Roxas Kendall of Las Cruces.
LeSueur will represent the Panthers in the same quadrant, facing Sean Erosido of Carlsbad in the opening round. On the bottom half of the bracket, Piedra Vista’s Brandt Edwards draws a tough first-round match against Elijah Perea of Los Alamos.
The Scorpions have two players in the girls singles hunt. No. 6 seed Haylie Wagner will face Alyna Love of Hobbs at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Her teammate, Mya Beck, opens at the same time against Annabelle Jorgensen of Organ Mountain.
Both Scorpions are looking to build on a season where they helped FHS secure an 8-1 district victory over the Panthers.
Farmington’s best chance at a title may rest with the girls doubles duo of Marley Deswood and Hannah Yazzie. The pair earned the No. 2 seed and will face the winner of the match between Albuquerque High and Clovis on Wednesday afternoon.
“(Yazzie) is serving very well and (Deswood) is seeing the court extremely well and putting the ball in the right spot,” said Farmington head coach Pat McGrath.
In the boys doubles bracket, the Scorpions’ tandem of Clark and Sam Nygren will take on the No. 3-seeded duo of Evans and Jimenez from Hobbs.
Piedra Vista’s girls doubles team of Bella Harris and Genevieve Petersen will also be in action Wednesday, facing the No. 3 seed from Centennial, Lee and Lescombes, at noon.
Individual champions will be crowned Thursday, with team championship tournament action getting underway Friday and Saturday.
The Farmington girls enter the tournament as the top seed in Class 5A, while the Scorpions boys and both Piedra Vista squads have secured top-six seeds in their respective brackets.
The top seeded Scorpions earned a first-round bye and will open their tournament in the quarterfinals at 5 p.m. Friday at the Jerry Cline Tennis Center. They will face the winner of the opening-round match between La Cueva and Alamogordo.
The Panthers girls team kicks off its championship run at 11 a.m. Friday against Hobbs. A victory would advance the Panthers to a quarterfinal matchup later that evening against the No. 4 seed, Centennial.
The Farmington boys tennis team, seeded No. 3, also earned a bye through the first round. They are scheduled to begin play in the quarterfinals on Friday at 2 p.m. at Jerry Cline against the winner of Cleveland and No. 6-seeded Hobbs.
The Panthers open the tournament at 8 a.m. Friday in a first-round battle against Sandia. If the Panthers advance, they will face a steep challenge in the quarterfinals against the No. 1 seed, Centennial, on Friday afternoon.
Backed by strong individual performances in both sprints and distance events, the Navajo Prep boys track and field team captured the NMAA District 1-3A championship Saturday at Kirtland Central High School.
The Eagles’ boys tallied 147 points to comfortably outpace runner-up Thoreau (101) and Tohatchi (71). On the girls’ side, Navajo Prep finished third with 78 points in a competitive field won by Zuni High School (121).
The Eagles will be represented by several top contenders this weekend when the New Mexico Activities Association hosts the Class A-3A track and field championships, on Friday and Saturday at the UNM Track/Soccer Complex.
Navajo Prep’s Iosefo Mauga proved to be the fastest man in the district, sweeping the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes. Mauga clocked 11.93 seconds in the 100 and a 23.90 in the 200, narrowly edging teammate Macallen Cousens, who took silver in both events.
The Eagles also flexed their muscles in the middle-distance and distance ranks. Elijah England turned in a dominant performance in the 800-meter run, winning with a time of 1:59.75. In the 1,600, Darington Ramone led a Navajo Prep podium sweep with a time of 4:40.64, followed closely by teammates Kenai Begay and Deaken Begay. Kenai Begay later added a district title in the 3,200 (10:19.74).
Last year, England took home two state individual titles winning the 1600-meter and 3200-meter races.
In the field, Shayden Hatathle secured double gold for the Eagles, winning the shot put with a toss of 40 feet, 10.25 inches and the discus with a throw of 103-10.
Prep’s relay teams further cemented the victory, taking first place in the 4×100, 4×400, 4×800 and the 1,600 sprint medley.
The Navajo Prep boys track and field team, led by head coach Lenny Esson, is looking to win the first team title in school history. The Eagles team finished fourth in last year’s Class 3A state meet behind St. Michael’s, New Mexico Military Institute and Santa Fe Prep.
Nataya Serrano led the Navajo Prep girls with standout day. The speedster swept the short sprints, winning the 100-meter dash in 13.82 and the 200-meter dash in 28.55. Serrano wasn’t finished on the track, leaping to a first-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 16-00.00.
The Eagles’ distance crew also picked up crucial points. Emily Whitedog took second in the 1,600 (6:15.45) and third in the 3,200 (13:59.73), while Carianna Holiday finished right behind her in both events to secure third and fourth, respectively.
Navajo Prep’s relay teams showed consistency, earning silver medals in the 4×100, 4×800 and the 1,600 sprint medley.