Four Corners Sports Magazine March 2015

3Four Corners SPORTSMARCH 2015

content| 4 | Full Body Workout

As the calendar has now turned from 14

to 15, the New Year brings about the time

to reflect on the past and set goals for

the future. As hope springs eternal the

human race notoriously writes their

resolutions down in an attempt to make

themselves better.

| 8 | Living the Dream

Angela Magana knew, at an unusually

young age, what she wanted to be when

she grew up. “I have wanted to be a pro-

fessional fighter ever since I was 5 years

old watching movies like Kickboxer and

Bloodsport,” explained Magana.

| 12 | Youth WrestlingMelissa Meechan is a busy wife, mother

and community leader.

| 13 | It all startedwith SmokeySmokey lyon sat at his kitchen table

looking through books that held his

memories. There would be a chuckle,

then lyon would share a memory brought

back to him by a photo or article.

| 28 | Editorial Columnistby Rick Hoerner

| 30 | Fantasy Geekby Rick Hoerner

| 26 | 10 Questionswith Melissa Meechan

| 32 | The First Teeby Tom Yost

| 34 | NASCAR Nellie

| 18 | Prep Sports PreviewAmazingly, the third prep season kicked

off Feb. 2 with the final phase of the prep

sports year. Over the past few years it has

been the spring season where San Juan

County and especially the old district

1AAAA and current 1AAAAA district ex-

celled.

| 22 | New Mexico SportsHall of Fame

Don Vaughan

PuBlISHER

Cindy Cowan Thiele

EDITOR

Rick Hoerner

Tom Yost

Dorothy Nobis

CONTRIBuTING WRITERS

Curtis Benally

Josh Bishop

CONTRIBuTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Suzanne Thurman

DESIGNER

Shelly Acosta

Clint Alexander

Aimee Velasquez

SAlES STAFF

For advertising information

Call 505.516.1230

www.fourcornerssports.com

Four Corners Sports magazine is published once amonth by Majestic Media. Material herein may not bereprinted without expressed written consent of the pub-lisher. Opinions expressed by the contributing writersare not necessarily those of the publisher, editor or FourCorners Sports magazine. Every effort has been madeto ensure the accuracy of this publication. However thepublisher cannot assume responsibility for errors orommissions. © 2015 Four Corners Sports magazine.

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STORY IDEAS and PHOTOS

covercredit

Please send to

[email protected]

Megan Risner, Piedra Vista High SchoolJosh Bishop

4 Four Corners SportS MARCH 2015

5Four Corners SPOrTSMARCH 2015

As the calendar has now turned from 14 to

15, the New Year brings about the time to re-

flect on the past and set goals for the future.

As hope springs eternal the human race noto-

riously writes their resolutions down in an at-

tempt to make themselves better.

The word “better” is extremely vague in and

of itself – but better is usually followed by a

description of what the person wants to be

better at – a better parent, a better listener, a

better partner, a better lifestyle, a better eater

– on and on into eternity.

With the goal of wanting to be better bounc-

ing around in the subconscious of the human

brain, a workout facility on the east side of

Farmington promises to make you better by

teaching you the discipline of cross fit.

Animas CrossFit is an all-encompassing fit-

ness gym with programs that attempt to opti-

mize physical competence in cardiovascular

endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility,

power, speed, coordination, agility, balance

and accuracy. The movements performed are

considered functional and often are performed

during the everyday grind called your life.

Animas CrossFit has been operating in

Farmington for the past five years and is

owned and operated by Farmington Firefighter

Jesse Hickey and his wife Stephanie. The Hick-

eys previously have moved the gym two times,

but have found a home on East Main Street

where U-Haul used to be located.

“I still have people that come into the build-

ing looking to rent a trailer,” joked Hickey.

With the recent popularity of CrossFit,

Hickey says that more people are getting in-

volved because of the physical results and the

“community feel” that many don’t receive when

they go to a standard gym to workout.

“CrossFit has gained popularity because of its

effectiveness,” said Hickey. “Getting in shape is

never easy, but if you put hard work into some-

thing that works you are going to see results.

And with CrossFit, you can measure how much

better you are getting as you go along.”

“The other aspect CrossFit offers is that it is

one of the most supportive environments you

can have. People walk up to new members and

introduce themselves. Our members are very

supportive of the fitness journey for all fitness

levels. The intimidation factor is super low.”

Story by Tom Yost | Photos by Josh Bishop

Animas CrossFit has workouts for all fitness levels

Full body workout

6 Four Corners SPorTS MARCH 2015

Hickey got involved with CrossFit when

he was serving in the military. He took

CrossFit seriously the first time he partici-

pated, noticing how hard the workout was,

even though he considered himself to be in

great shape.

“CrossFit makes you better at real life,”

explained Hickey. “We use a lot of multi-

joint movements and refer to it as func-

tional fitness.”

As a Farmington Firefighter, Hickey defi-

nitely understands why it is important to

be better at real life.

“As a police officer or a firefighter you

are responsible to protect other people as

well as yourself. CrossFit makes me better

at my job,” stated Hickey.

His career as a fire fighter allows Hickey

the necessary time off to run the business

and coach members, but he credits his

wife, Stephanie, as the glue that holds

everything together.

“Stephanie is the one who runs the busi-

ness,” explained Hickey. “I have flexibility as

a firefighter to come in on my off days to

coach and run the business. It is tough at

times, but it is rewarding to both Steph

and I to see people get better, faster and

stronger.”

“We also have a wonderful group of

coaches who help make us successful,”

added Hickey.

And whether you have seen the elite

cross fit athletes on television doing 50

pull-ups or throwing tractor tires around

like feathers, Hickey encourages any and

all fitness levels to give CrossFit a try.

“Animas CrossFit offers a free class on

Saturdays at 11 a.m. for anybody who

wants to see what it is all about,” said

Hickey. “We also offer the opportunity to

just stop in and watch a class to see if it in-

terests you.”

Prices vary at Animas CrossFit, ranging

from $135 per month to a punch card that

offers 10 classes for $125.

“A lot of people see the price at $135 and

think it is too high, but at Animas CrossFit

“The other aspect CrossFit

offers is that it is one of the

most supportive environments

you can have.”

— Jesse Hickey

7Four Corners SportSMARCH 2015

you are not just paying for a regular gym mem-

bership, but a personal training aspect with

each class,” said Hickey.

“All of our classes, except open gym time on

Saturdays, are structured throughout the

week,” explained Hickey. “You don’t have to

come to the gym and worry about what you are

going to do once you get there – it is all

planned out for you. All workouts are led by a

coach, so everyone is doing the same thing at

the same time with the coach walking around

to make sure that you are doing the moves

properly, which prevents injury and maximizes

results.”

With over 100 active members, classes for

adults, kids and teens, with classes for

strength, mobility and yoga as well, Animas

CrossFit is your one stop shop to a better you.

Animas CrossFit is open seven days per

week with classes offered from 6 a.m. until

5:30 p.m.

For more information on how you can get in-

volved with Animas CrossFit, call 505.801.9603

or go to www.animascrossfit.com.

“We use a lot of

multi-joint movements

and refer to it as

functional fitness.”

— Jesse Hickey

8 Four Corners SporTS MARCH 2015

Angela Magana knew, at an unusually

young age, what she wanted to be when

she grew up.

“I have wanted to be a professional

fighter ever since I was 5 years old

watching movies like Kickboxer and

Bloodsport,” explained Magana.

It comes as no surprise to anyone

that Magana now participates in the Ul-

timate Fighting Championship (UFC)

newly announced Women’s Strawweight

division (115 pounds).

“I got my start at age 13 with Frankie

Montano as my boxing coach at a small

boxing gym he opened in Farmington

after his professional boxing career

ended,” said Magana. “I also wrestled

for Tibbetts and Farmington High

School, so I was already participating in

two pieces of mixed martial arts at a

young age.”

Born and raised in Farmington,

Angela has made some tough decisions

regarding her future that included

choosing a professional fighting career

over a nursing career.

Living her

dreamStory by Tom Yost | Photos by Josh Bishop

Angela Magana’s success is her journey as a UFC fighter

10 Four Corners SporTS MARCH 2015

“Eight years ago, I made a decision before

the spring semester to throw caution to the

wind and not re-enroll in the nursing program

at San Juan College so that I could become a

professional fighter,” explained Magana. “I feel

that I can and will go back to school once my

career is over, but there is a certain shelf life

as a professional athlete.”

Magana thinks that shelf life is about 15 to

20 years, and currently at 31 years old, she

feels she has six to eight good years left.

Magana has been living with her 12-year-old

daughter and fiancé in Thailand on an educa-

tion visa for the past year and a half. She home

schools her daughter and studies the combat

sport of Muay Thai, which uses stand-up strik-

ing and clinching techniques. Muay Thai has

become so popular in mixed martial arts that

it is the “go to” stand up fighting technique

used by most (if not all) of their fighters.

MMA fighting has gained a huge following

and as a result has left the sport of boxing to

die a slow and painful death. The UFC has not

only gained popularity with men, but with

women as well. The introduction of the

Strawweight division to accompany the

Women’s Bantamweight division was an-

nounced a year ago. The UFC introduced the

women’s only weight class through a competi-

tive television reality show called The Ultimate

Fighter…A Champion Will Be Crowned.

“This was my dream, so I knew I had to try

out for the show,” said Magana. “I trained for

the show, made it as one of the 16 contestants,

trained the entire time while on the show and

fought other girls during the show in competi-

tive matches.”

Magana came out of the competition with an

11-7 record.

“I am probably strongest at grappling and

the ground game,” mentioned Magana. “The

thing I probably need to work on most are my

nerves inside the octagon. Each fight is the

biggest of my career and each opponent deter-

mines what I need to work on for that next

fight.”

When Magana is home in the Four Corners,

she trains at Durango Martial Arts Academy

under the tutelage of her coach for the past 17

years, Floyd Sword, who runs Team 4 Corners

MMA.

With her greatest goal of getting into the

UFC accomplished, Magana has a level headed-

ness about her and offers a refreshing per-

spective on her career and life moving

forward.

“I am enjoying the journey,” exclaimed Mag-

ana. “Most people put too much weight in the

destination – which will always leave you dis-

appointed. The fact that I am living my dream

and that I am happy are my biggest suc-

cesses.”

11Four Corners SporTSMARCH 2015

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So what does the next six to eight years

have in store for Angela Magana?

“My goals are to climb the rankings and

face a top contender from the UFC,” said Mag-

ana. “But more important is to keep providing

and teaching my daughter by enriching her life

through travel. My daughter is learning so

much and having her come over to Thailand

with me has been a huge learning experience

for her.”

“I just want to continue being a good role

model for my daughter,” added Magana. “We

are extremely happy that we get to experience

life instead of just reading about it. More peo-

ple need to leave their comfort zone, get out of

their current surroundings and experience the

world.”

True life lessons from a Farmington native

who chose the road less traveled and followed

her dream, and loves every minute of the jour-

ney.

“I have wanted to be a professional

fighter ever since I was 5 years old

watching movies like Kickboxer and

Bloodsport.”

— Angela Magana

12 Four Corners SPoRTS MARCH 2015

Melissa Meechan is a busy wife, mother and

community leader.

Meechan is a part time projects assistant

for San Juan College President Dr. Toni Pender-

grass, is a full time student at New Mexico

Highlands University where she is majoring in

elementary education is past president of the

San Juan Rotary Club, and is co-chair of the Ci-

vility First project. Meechan is also a wrestling

coach for Farmington Youth Wrestling and pro-

vides administrative support to the wrestling

program at Farmington High School.

When asked why and how she became in-

volved in youth wrestling, Meechan laughed.

“My high school boyfriend was a wrestler and

he was also my ride home,” she said. “I’d hang

around during wrestling practices (after

school) and help.”

The wrestling team at Konawaena High

School on the Big Island of Hawaii, where

Meechan lived with her family, had other girls

who helped the team as managers. “But they

never showed up,” Meechan explained, “and I

ended up doing their jobs, which was cleaning

mats and taking statistics.”

The team also had a policy that prohibited

team members’ girlfriends from being man-

agers. When the other girls continued to fail to

show, the coach decided to do away with the

“help.”

“But the guys all stood up for me and said I

was doing all of it anyway, so I should be al-

lowed to continue to help. They made me man-

ager,” she said.

And help she did. Meechan went with the

team to tournaments and became knowledge-

able about the rules and regulations of

wrestling. At one tournament, a referee made

a bad call and Meechan was quick to tell him

about it. “I had studied the rule book and I

called him on it,” she said with a laugh. “He

said I was the only person to ever call him on a

bad call, and be right!”

The ref, impressed by Meechan’s knowledge

of the sport, offered to train her to be a referee.

“I declined, but I went to work for him while in

Melissa Meechan proves that moms make great coachesStory by Dorothy Nobis | Photos by Josh Bishop

YOUTHWRESTLINGYOUTHWRESTLING

* Youth Wrestling 14

Smokey Lyon sat at his kitchen table, look-

ing through books that held his memories.

There would be a chuckle, then Lyon would

share a memory brought back to him by a

photo or article. His eyes would mist a bit as

he remembered a friend he made during his

tour with the U.S. Navy and his fingers would

gently touch the photo that reminds him of old

friends and good times.

It was the book of his years in the Navy that

was part of the memories Lyon shared re-

cently. Then there were the articles and the

wrestling shoes he once wore that brought

back memories of starting the wrestling pro-

gram at Farmington High School in 1963.

And it is wrestling that makes Lyon’s eyes

sparkle and his memory sharpen. Lyon was a

wrestler at Grand Junction (Colo.) High School

and loved the sport. When his son, Allen, was

in high school at FHS, Lyon decided the school

needed a wrestling program.

“Allen was too small for football,” Lyon said,

“but I knew he could wrestle.”

He and Bill Bynum went to a meeting of the

Farmington School Board and made a presen-

tation to have a wrestling program. They were

persuasive and the board approved the pro-

gram. There was no money in the school’s

budget for the program, however, so Lyon and

Bynum contacted other business people, and

they all contributed to the costs of mats and

uniforms.

“When they (the board) called me and

asked me what size mats we needed, I told

them 24 (feet) by 24 (feet),” Lyon remem-

bered. “I should have told them bigger ones,

because we had to use old gym mats for side

mats.”

The first year attracted 15 wrestlers to the

program and the program continued to grow.

With the program intact, Lyon decided to stay

involved and became a referee. He refereed

matches at Farmington High School and

throughout southern Colorado.

13Four Corners SPorTSMARCH 2015

It all

started

with

Smokey

Story by Dorothy Nobis | Photos by Josh Bishop

Since 1963 Lyon has shared his love of wrestling with Farmington

* Smokey 16

At left, Smokey Lyon accepts an award from Farmington High School Principal Tim Kienitz on Jan. 22

during an FHS wrestling match. The ceremony and placque honored Somkey for his contributions

to FHS and the sport of wrestling in Farmington.

college, helping to run the tables, overseeing statistics and time keeping,”

she said. Meechan helped the ref for a year, before she left school to get

married. She and her husband, Jason, sold everything they had – except

their clothes, music, movies, a sewing machine and Jason’s tools, which

he needed for work, and moved to Farmington in 1998.

Meechan’s son, Jared, was 4 years old when he started wrestling in

the Farmington Youth Wrestling program. the Farmington program had

about 130 kids participating and only 15 coaches. “they were over-

whelmed,” Meechan said of the coaches. “I started helping some of the

kids I knew when another parent and my husband asked me why I just

didn’t coach.”

the pair tried to convince Meechan to take on a coaching role, but

she resisted. “Moms don’t coach,” she said. “But I went to (Coach) Jesus

Mendoza and offered to help.” things were awkward at first, so after a

few practices Meechan visited Mendoza in his office again. “I said,

‘You’re being run over by all those kids out there. You need help.’ He

asked me if I wanted to become a coach and I said, “I don’t care what

you call me,’ I just want to help.” He realized I wasn’t there to prove any-

thing, and he became one of my biggest supporters.”

Meechan said girls often get involved in wrestling when they’re

younger. “But by the time they’re in middle school and high school, the

boys get stronger and girls just aren’t built the same way, so they move

on to other sports.”

Her first year as a coach wasn’t always easy, Meechan said. “re-

cently, another coach told me that in the beginning he would hear par-

ents say they didn’t want me coaching their kids, but by the third year,

that stopped. there were boundaries to get through, but I (got through

them).”

Meechan doesn’t take her coaching responsibilities lightly. She al-

ready knew the rules of the sport, how points are awarded and the tech-

nicalities of wrestling, but she had never actually wrestled – so she

studied wrestling moves. there was also the issue of the wives of the

male coaches, she added. “I made sure I met every wife,” she said, to

make sure they understood her desire to help the kids wrestle to the

best of their ability, and that was the only reason she was a coach.

the male coaches she works with do give her a hard time, Meechan

admitted. “I’m part of them and they understand that.”

Cody Small met Meechan about 10 years ago, when their daughters

were classmates in kindergarten. “over the years, our girls got to be

close and were involved in many activities together which brought our

families together. We all became very close friends,” Small said. “We

spent a lot of time together and became family. My son, Zack, is about

four years older than Melissa’s son, Jared. Zack and Jared are like

brothers, and Jared wants to do everything Zack does. Zack has been

wrestling since he was 4. Melissa and Jared would come and watch his

matches.”

Small said one of Meechan’s strengths is her attention to detail.

“When we teach a move, she is very good at picking up the fine points of

it and making sure the kids are executing the move the way that they

should be,” Small said. “Being a woman, she also has a different ap-

proach to the kids that becomes very beneficial at times.”

“She can calm kids down and get them back on the mat wrestling

sometimes when I can’t,” Small added.

“I’m very empathetic,” Meechan said, agreeing with Small. “When a

kid loses and his heart breaks, my heart breaks with him. I know the

guys (male coaches) care, but I don’t think they feel it the same way I

do.”

14 Four Corners SportS MARCH 2015

Youth Wrestling continued from 12

15Four Corners SpOrTSMARCH 2015

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Visiting teams have accepted her as well,

but sometimes athletes don’t realize she’s an-

other coach. “I wear the same uniform (as the

male coaches); I have the same tournament

floor pass. It’s traditional that each wrestler

shake hands with all of the coaches and some-

times, the kids will walk past me (without

shaking hands). I understand why.”

As in most youth sports, parents can be a

challenge. Meechan said. “Once, a dad got in

my face and another time a mom accused me

of cheating, and that can be emotionally ex-

hausting. Another time a mom came out of the

stands screaming at us (coaches). (Youth)

sports bring out the passion in people and

when it’s your baby out there wrestling, it be-

comes personal.”

“But I’m five foot eight and I’m a big girl, so

that helps,” she added. “I’m not intimidated by

a lot of people.”

Meechan is quick to say her coaching team

is “awesome.” “They value me as a coach. I see

sports as winning not being the ultimate goal. I

look at each kid and I just want to see

progress.”

Meechan said that while she’s usually easy

going during practices – and her fellow

coaches give her a hard time about that – she

did get mad once. “At a practice one day, the

kids were not listening very well and she

stepped in and started getting on the kids

about it,” said Small. “After she got the kids’ at-

tention back to where it needed to be one of

the other coaches teased her and said, ‘So

that’s you being mad? It needs a little work.’”

* Youth Wrestling 35

16 Four Corners SpOrTS MARCH 2015

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“I went to the practices almost every day,”

Lyon said. “I loved it and I helped develop some

pretty good wrestlers along the way.”

Jackie Thornton was an FHS wrestler Lyon

mentored. An athlete that excelled in several

sports, Thornton was inducted into the FHS Hall

of Fame and was among the best wrestlers,

Lyon said. “I loved watching the kids develop

and I watched Jackie Thornton lose the only

match he ever lost.”

Lyon laughed as he recalled some of his

memories of refereeing. “I was refereeing a

match in Aztec and called a pin on a wrestler.

This lady came out on the mat and said he was-

n’t pinned. I said he was and I had the cops take

her outside.”

Then there was the time Lyon refereed a tour-

nament between Arizona State University and

the UCLA. “I had to stop the match,” Lyon said

with a laugh. “One of the wrestlers crapped his

pants. There was nothing in the rule book to

cover it (that situation), so the coaches decided

to give him an injury time out. He cleaned up

and came back to finish the match.”

Allen Lyon, Lyon’s son, said having a father

who officiated at wrestling matches wasn’t al-

ways easy.

“It was painful,” Allen said with a laugh.

“There wasn’t any gray area and he cut slack for

everybody else but his own kid.”

“He didn’t want to play favorites,” Allen

added. “Lots of people didn’t know he was my

dad when he was referring, and we kept it that

way so it would be fair.”

While his dad was tough on his son during

matches he officiated, Allen said a lot of good

came out of it. “It made me appreciate the team

that much more. I didn’t have someone else

doing it for me.”

As if having a father officiate at his

wrestling matches wasn’t enough, Allen said his

brother-in-law, Gary Howlett, also refereed. “My

matches had either my dad or my brother-in-

law refereeing most of my matches,” Allen said.

Allen was an outstanding wrestler, his dad

was quick to say, “He wrestled pretty damned

good,” Smokey said with pride.

With a wrestling rule book always at hand,

Allen said “I knew all the rules.”

Allen’s ability earned him a state champi-

onship in1969 and a place in the New Mexico

Wrestling Hall of Fame later. But that champi-

onship and his graduation from Farmington

High School didn’t end his love of the sport.

While a student at Fort Lewis College in Du-

rango, Allen discovered there weren’t enough

officials for wrestling in the area. “I got certified

(as a referee) in 1970,”Allen said. “But I didn’t

think it would be long term. It ended up being a

semi-career.”

Following in the footsteps of his father,

Allen has been refereeing matches for the past

44 years. “I still enjoy being around the kids

and, in my estimation, wrestling is the best

competitive sport for kids. The competition is

one to one. There’s no one else helping on the

mat and it’s opponent against opponent.

Smokey continued from 13

* Smokey 25

When Smokey retired from officiating wrestling in 1994 he gave his shoes to friend Herb Stinson as a joke. Stinson had a shadowbox built for the shoes and returned them to his friend.

18 Four Corners SPORTS MARCH 2015

amazingly the third prep season kicked off

Feb. 2 with the final phase of the prep sports

year. Over the past few years it has been the

spring season where San Juan County and es-

pecially the old district 1aaaa and current

1aaaaa district excelled.

a quick look back at 2014 showed state

championships by the Piedra Vista softball,

their 9th in a row; Piedra Vista baseball, their

4th in 5 years; aztec track that completed its

back to back titles in girls track, and Farming-

ton boys track overtaking 2013 state champs

Piedra Vista for last year’s title.

Farmington tennis again made another title

run knocking off albuquerque academy and

winning its 5th title in six years. Once again the

districts have changed, but at least in 5a the

results may very well be the same.

Softball

as usual, any softball preview begins with

Piedra Vista. The Panthers will attempt to win

their 10th consecutive state championship in

2015, breaking the state record of 7 straight

two years ago. PV returns six starters this year

including last year’s starting pitcher megan

Risner, and if last year was supposed to be

their supposed down year. The rest of the state

may be in trouble.

The change in district alignment makes the

toughest district in the state even better. Just

two years ago all five teams in the district

were in the final eight at the state tournament.

aztec again finished second to the Panthers in

2014 and will be right there once again, along

with Farmington.

Bloomfield should again be the dominant

team in Class 1aaaa after finishing third at

state in aaa last season. a drop in classifica-

tion should be beneficial to Kirtland Central

who should be right behind the Bobcats.

navajo Prep was solid last year and again will

be favored in their district.

Baseball

Over the past decade San Juan County has

dominated the state baseball tournament.

Piedra Vista won the title last year building on

their dynasty of four championships in the

past five years. Before that it was Farmington

meganRISNERPiedra Vista High School

Local teams turn it up a notch in spring sportsStory by Rick Hoerner | Photos by Josh Bishop

PreP

sPorts

Preview

19Four Corners SPorTSMARCH 2015

High with only St. Pius and academy interrupt-

ing a run that began at the beginning of a

Class 5a let alone a 6a.

Piedra vista returns three starting pitchers

from last year’s squad in Wyatt Weaver, Gunner

archuleta and Philip archuleta. The Panthers

were dealt a huge blow in losing their top hit-

ter and starting catcher Zach ahlgrim to an in-

jury during the wrestling season. even with the

addition of Gallup and Miyamura, the district

season will still come down to two games be-

tween Farmington and Pv.

For the Scorpions, they will have to enter

the first time in a long time without Beemer

Wicks and Lance Lee. They’ll turn to Chris

Moore to lead the way.

Bloomfield should be favored after winning

the district last year and getting a No. 7 seed.

Kirtland Central showed great improvement

last year knocking off aztec in district play and

avoided getting 10 run ruled in the second

round by either Farmington or Piedra vista.

Boys’ Track

Coaching is obviously not a problem at the

local tracks. recently, Pv Head Coach Mark

Turner was voted to the Track & Field

Coaches association Hall of Fame and Farm-

ington’s Jeff Dalton was named Coach of The

year. Looking back a decade, no one thought

the likes of Farmington and Pv could ever

compete with track and field royalty Los

alamos and albuquerque academy. However,

over the past three years both schools have

won the title and been in the hunt especially

in 2013 where Pv was 1st and Farmington

was 2nd. avery rasher returns for Farming-

ton as they try to repeat.

Bloomfield finished 5th in last year’s state

tournament and should be the favorite to re-

peat in their district. Shiprock will dominate

the distance events and Kirtland will change

the district’s dynamics.

Girl’s Track

Just as in boy’s track, the girls had been

dominated by Los alamos and academy for

better than a decade. But just like the boys,

that all changed in 2013 when anna Strauss’

aztec Lady Tigers won their first of two con-

secutive state championships. The Tigers

should again be in the mix as Sarah root

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20 Four Corners sports MARCH 2015

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21Four Corners sPorTsMARCH 2015

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returns for her senior year. root was the leading scorer in last

year’s state meet winning the 100 meter hurdles and triple jump,

finishing 2nd in the 300 meter hurdles and the long jump, and

third in the 4x200 relay. rikki Newland also returns for aztec after

placing in the javelin, discus and on two relays. PV and Farmington

were also Top 10 finishers at state last year.

In 4a, Bloomfield, shiprock and Kirtland Central will be bat-

tling for district supremacy. While the Bobcats are defending

district champions, Kirtland moving down in class should have

an impact and shiprock is always strong in distances.

TennisWhile only two teams in this area even compete in tennis, they

have become quite competitive with each other. Even though

Farmington has been the dominant team, PV has closed the gap.

The scorpion girls have overtaken the Country Club set of albu-

querque academy to be the dominant team in the state winning

five titles in the last six years. The doubles team of Briody-

Pavlik/Coleman returns for Farmington as they look for another

title.

The weather will start warming up, and if you don’t mind the

wind it’s time to get outside and enjoy the last of the prep

sports seasons where this community has the defending state

champions in five of the spring sports.

sarahROOTaztec high school


Farmington native and former Dallas Cow-

boy Ralph Neely was one of the sportsmen

from the 42nd class for the New Mexico Sports

Hall Of Fame.

There were seven inductees this year, which

is the largest class ever inducted at once.

The 2015 New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame

banquet is scheduled for March 1 at Sandia

Resort & Casino in Albuquerque.

RAlPH NeelyBorn Sept. 12, 1943, in little Rock, Ark., Ralph

Neely was an offensive tackle who played 13 sea-

sons and 172 games for the Dallas Cowboys from

1965-77.

He attended Farmington High School (Class of

1961) where he was an All-State tackle for two

years in football and a standout center for the

basketball team.

Neely was recruited by the University of Okla-

homa and played college football under coaches

Bud Wilkinson and Gomer Jones. The 261-pound

tackle played both ways, and was a dominant

performer on defense and an excellent blocker

on offense.

He was named the Big eight sophomore line-

man of the year and was a two-time All-American

and an all-conference selection in both 1963 and

’64. He was one of three Sooners stars who

missed the 1965 Gator Bowl game aginst Florida

State University: he, fullback Jim Grisham and

halfback lance Rentzel signed with pro teams be-

fore the game and were ruled ineligible for the

contest. (FSU won 36–19 behind four touchdown

catches by Fred Biletnikoff.)

In 1965, Neely was drafted in the second round

of the NFl Draft (Baltimore Colts) and in the AFl

Draft (Houston Oilers). On Aug. 29, 1965, the Colts

traded his rights to the Dallas Cowboys in ex-

change for Billy lothridge and a fourth-round se-

lection in 1966.

Neely accepted the Oilers’ contract offer, which

also included rights to own a gas station in Hous-

ton, but requested it be kept secret to remain eli-

gible to play in the Gator Bowl. When he learned

that the Colts traded his rights to the Cowboys,

he began negotiating with Dallas and returned

his check to the Oilers. litigation ensued between

the Oilers and Cowboys in regard to his rights.

One of the terms of the merger agreement be-

tween the NFl and the AFl was that the Neely con-

New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame

Farmington’s Ralph Neely

among the 42nd class of inductees Sports Hall of Fame inductees at a press conference in December 2014

included, from left, Scott Kiner representing his father Ralph, Pete Shock,

Rocky Arroyo, Trent Dimas and Ralph Neely. Courtesy photo.


tract dispute be resolved. In 1966 the Cowboys fi-

nally agreed to send four draft choices in the

1967 NFL Draft to the Oilers and to start the an-

nual pre-season game, the Governor’s Cup, be-

tween the two teams.

A rookie in 1965, Neely joined the Cowboys just

as they were beginning their ascent in the NFL,

started right away at right offensive tackle and

was named to the NFL all-rookie team.

In 1977, Neely retired after the Cowboys won

Super Bowl XII against the Denver Broncos; he

was selected to the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team.

VICeNTe “ROCky” ARROyOBorn Oct. 4, 1925, Vicente “Rocky” Arroyo’s out-

standing achievements began early and snow-

balled over his lifetime, not all of them were

related to sports.

Twice at el Paso’s Burleson elementary this son

of Mexican immigrants skipped grades on the rec-

ommendation of teachers recognizing his aca-

demic abilities, so he was just 12 when he entered

el Paso High School as a freshman.

In 1941 he was a 15-year-old member of the el

Paso Tigers team that defeated Abilene for the

Texas high school basketball championship.

He graduated from high school at 16 and at-

tended summer school at the Texas School of

Mines

“I was good in math and I wanted that electrical

engineering degree,” he said, securing his ee de-

gree from UNM in four years while competing in

varsity basketball, baseball and football.

The Lobos’ only two Border Conference titles

came in Arroyo’s first two varsity seasons (1943-44

and 1944-45), although several Border Conference

schools closed or cut back in light of students

going off to war. The Lobos won a more impressive

title in 1944-45 with a 14-0 record against college

competition — in a much stronger field that in-

cluded the pre-war conference schools.

At 20, Arroyo steadily built the town of

Bernalillo’s basketball legacy. In the District 3 bas-

ketball tournament, the Bernalillo-OLOS hybrid

school got past the first round in both 1946-47 and

1947-48, finding itself seeded second behind So-

corro in the 1948 tournament (the same year he

was on the Mexican Olympic team).

In 1954, Arroyo left Bernalillo for a job at the

brand new “big school,” Valley High, but after one

season he decided he wanted to pursue the oppor-

tunities that had opened up after the war in his de-

gree specialty and he got a job at Sandia National

Laboratories.

He didn’t give up basketball, and became a ref-

eree at the high school and small-college level. Ar-

royo, now 89, still lives in Albuquerque.

BILL BRIDGeSBill Bridges was born April 4, 1939, in Hobbs.

Ultimately growing to 6 feet, 6 inches tall,

along the way to NBA fame he starred first at

Hobbs High School – playing on coach Ralph

Tasker’s championship teams of 1956-58 — be-

fore going on to play for the University of kansas,

where he still ranks among the Jayhawks’ top-10

players of all time.

With the Jayhawks, he earned All-American

honors in 1961. In his three years at kansas

(freshmen didn’t play on varsity teams then), he

earned three selections to the All-Big eight Con-

ference. Bridges grabbed 1,000 rebounds in 78

games and averaged an amazing 13.9 rebounds

per game as a center at kansas from 1959-61.

kU’s postseason rebounding award bears his

name, and his jersey (32) was officially retired on

Dec. 9, 2004.

He was drafted by the Chicago Packers (whose

lineage leads them to today’s Washington Wiz-

ards of the NBA) in the third round of the 1961

NBA Draft (Walt Bellamy was their first pick, and

first overall pick), but Bridges opted to play for

the kansas City Steers of the American Basket-

ball League. He set the ABL single-game scoring

record with 55 points on Dec. 9, 1962. The Steers

went 54-25 in 1961-62 and finished first in the

ABL’s West Division, with Bridges averaging 21.5

points per game and 13.4 rebounds per game.

Bridges then signed with the St. Louis Hawks

in the NBA and spent 13 seasons (1962-75) as a

member of the St. Louis/Atlanta Hawks, Philadel-

phia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State

Warriors. Bridges won an NBA championship with

the Warriors in 1975 and appeared in three All-

Star Games during the course of his career.

Bridges, nicknamed “The Train,” was known as

a tough defender and a strong rebounder, aver-

aging a double-double (11.9 points, 11.9 re-

bounds) over the course of his NBA career. His

league-leading 366 personal fouls during the

1967-68 season was, at one time, an NBA record.

TReNT DIMASIt took Trent Dimas a little over a minute to win

an Olympic gold medal at the Summer Games in

Barcelona, Spain, in 1992, but the groundwork

for that magical moment had taken years.

Dimas crowned a lifetime of training with a

near-flawless high bar routine that captivated the

audience on that late night in Barcelona. During

his routine, the Albuquerque gymnast executed

several releases above the bar with career-best

proficiency, and then took his triple somersault

dismount for a winning score of 9.875. Afterward,

Dimas leaped into the arms of his coach, ed

Burch, and into the Olympic record book.

Trent’s win was the first gold medal awarded a

U.S. Olympic gymnast – male or female – in an

Olympics held outside the United States since

World War II. His was the only gold medal won by

the American team members in Barcelona and

he became the first Hispanic American to win a

gold medal on the treacherous high bar.

Dimas was a definite long-shot. His was a

breakthrough win in an Olympics dominated by

the Soviet Union.

Dimas, who was born Nov. 10, 1970, began

gymnastics at the age of 5 and climbed steadily

through the ranks and levels of gymnastic com-

petition. By the time he was 13 he was a member

of the U.S. junior national team and at age 15

made the U.S. senior national team.

After the 1992 Games, Trent worked as an as-

sistant women’s gymnastics coach at yale. He

tried out for the 1996 Olympic team but eventu-

ally withdrew from the competition. Dimas went

back to school and earned a degree in General

Studies from Columbia University.

Trent has returned to his hometown and cur-

rently is director of development for the Univer-

sity of New Mexico Foundation.

24 Four Corners SpORTS MARCH 2015

Ralph KineRBefore he even played a Major league game, pi-

rates manager Frankie Frisch proclaimed “(Ralph)

Kiner looks like he’s going to be the best (out-

fielder) we’ve ever had.”

and he

soon was.

Kiner made

his major

league

debut in

1946 at the

age of 23;

he’d lost

three

prime

years to

serve his

country in

World War

ii. he

wasted no

time in making his presence felt, as he led the na-

tional league in home runs and established a new

pittsburgh pirates franchise record in the process.

Born Oct. 27, 1922, in the copper mining town of

Santa Rita, n.M., Kiner said in his 1987 autobiogra-

phy (“Kiner’s Korner”) that his father, Ralph, had

owned a bakery in Farmington before moving to

Santa Rita, where he “was a steam- shovel opera-

tor at the largest open-pit mine in new Mexico.” But

Ralph Kiner died when his son was 4 and Ralph’s

mother, Beatrice, who had served as a nurse in

France during WWi, returned to the nursing profes-

sion after being widowed, and the two moved into a

small house in alhambra, Calif.

Known as a baseball “lifer,” Kiner also was well

known in hollywood circles: he dated elizabeth Tay-

lor and Janet leigh, played golf with James Garner

and Jack lemon, and developed friendships with

lucille Ball and Desi arnaz.

Upon retirement, Kiner became the general

manager of the Cleveland indians’ pacific Coast

league franchise, the San Diego padres, where he

developed his skills in the broadcast booth.

in 1962, the expansion new York Mets hired

Ralph to do their television broadcasts.

he was inducted into the Baseball hall of Fame

in 1975. he passed away Feb. 6, 2014, in Rancho Mi-

rage, Cal., and was buried next to his parents in

Farmington.

peTe ShOCKin a small town like Cliff, n.M., you don’t always

win big with pure talent.

Just ask pete Shock, the hometown kid who was

a star basketball player for the Cowboys in the late

’60s, then came back home to establish a power-

house small schools basketball program that con-

tinues to produce 20-win-plus seasons year after

year.

When pete retired as the boys basketball coach

at Cliff high School in March of 2013, his teams at

the little

school in

southwest

new Mex-

ico had

won 10

state

champi-

onships

and his

coaching

career

record of

854 wins –

including

three years

at Silver

high School – is second only to legendary hobbs

coach Ralph Tasker.

pete Shock graduated from Cliff high School in

1968. he was a star guard on the basketball team

and still holds the career scoring record with more

than 1,700 points. his senior year he was named to

the all-State basketball team and to the South all-

Star squad.

25Four Corners SPoRTSMARCH 2015

Kids have the ability to compete against

other kids at equivalent weight, which makes it

equal. It’s possible for an eighth grader to

compete against a senior and do quite well.”

Allen mentioned Anthony Jukes, who won

his first state championship with Piedra Vista

High School as an eighth grader. “Anthony is a

four-time state champion and could be the

state’s first five-time state champion.”

“My dad really enjoyed officiating and he

had such passion for the sport,” Allen said.

“We’d travel with the (wrestling) team to

matches. My dad would take wrestlers in his

car and other parents would do the same.

There was no budget for a bus for the

wrestling team and my dad gave his time and

his gas to take them to matches.”

“They were good men,” Allen said of his

dad and of Bill Bynum and the other fathers.

“There were some tough times, but they al-

ways made it positive.”

With 44 years behind him, Allen said he

hopes to continue officiating until he has 45.

“As long as I enjoy the sport and being around

the kids and coaches, I’d like to continue.”

Herb Stinson was an outstanding wrestler

at Aztec High School and has fond memories of

Smokey Lyon. “Smokey has always been there,”

Stinson said. “When I was wrestling at Aztec

High, Smokey was ‘the guy.’ He’s always been

such an advocate of wrestling in this area.”

When Stinson returned to San Juan

County after college to coach wrestling, he had

a summer camp for his wrestlers. “Smokey

came to every one (of the sessions). He loved

being around wrestling.”

At a tournament in 1994, Smokey offici-

ated his last match, Stinson remembered. “We

were talking and I looked down at his feet and

said ‘Those shoes are some kinda old.’ They

were Adidas and suede and they were in bad

shape. I told him when he got around to retir-

ing, I wanted those shoes.”

Smokey promised and, true to his word,

when he retired, he gave Stinson the shoes.

Stinson had a shadow box built for the shoes

and returned them to his friend.

His shoes aren’t the only gift Stinson has

for Smokey, however. A member of the New

Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame and on the se-

lection committee for new inductees, Stinson

will be part of the celebration in late February

at the state tournament when Smokey is in-

ducted into the Hall of Fame.

“Smokey is an old school wrestler who is

an old school official,” Stinson said. “They did

things the right way and Smoke calls it like it’s

supposed to be called. He was never afraid to

penalize kids if they weren’t doing things

right.”

“Smokey and I have always had a kinship

and a friendship because of the sport we love,”

Stinson added.

For Smokey Lyon, wrestling will always be

a part of his life and provide memories he will

cherish forever. And at 88 years young, Lyon is

still trying to decide what he wants to be. “I got

too damned old for refereeing,” he said with a

grin. “But I think I’ll be a rabble rouser when I

grow up.”

Smokey continued from 16

He went on to Western New Mexico University on

a basketball scholarship and achieved similar suc-

cess there. He was named to the All-Conference

team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

and to the All-District team.

He graduated from Western New Mexico in 1972

with degrees in business, business education,

physical education and economics.

Shock led the Cowboys to the State Tournament

in his first year as the head coach and the labor of

love turned into a decades-long passion for endur-

ing success.

Today, Pete is still part of the Cliff High commu-

nity. He serves as the athletic director and over-

sees a sports program in which his son Brian is

now the boys head basketball coach.

GeoRGe YoUNGBorn in Roswell, N.M., on July 24, 1937, George

Young was the first American runner to compete

in four olympics: 1960 (Rome), 1964 (Tokyo), 1968

(Mexico City – he trained at altitude in Flagstaff),

and 1972 (Munich).

That training in the Grand Canyon State to our

west paid off: Young won the bronze medal in the

3,000-meter steeplechase!

Young graduated from Western High School in

Silver City, N.M., in 1955, and then attended the

University of Arizona, competing in track and

field. He

began run-

ning the

3,000-meter

steeple-

chase in his

senior year

and finished

second in

that event

at the na-

tional AAU

champi-

onships. He

graduated

from the

University

of Arizona in 1959 with an undergraduate degree

and was tabbed as the “outstanding senior ath-

lete” of the year.

Shortly after graduating, Young qualified for

the 1960 Summer olympics in Rome. During the

preliminary rounds for the steeplechase, he

tripped over a hurdle and thus did not advance to

the finals. The next year, he broke the American

steeplechase record when he ran the event in

8:31. After a classic battle with the University of

oregon All-American Steve Prefontaine at the

1972 U.S. olympic Trials at Hayward Field in eu-

gene, ore., he competed in the 5,000-meter race

at the 1972 Summer olympics.

In addition to his records in the steeplechase,

two-mile and indoor three-mile, he also held

American records for the 5000-meter, 300-meter,

steeplechase, and 4×1500-meter relay, as well as

twelve age group world records. At the age of 34,

he became the oldest person in the world to run

a mile in under four minutes (3:59.6).

He was inducted into the National Track & Field

Hall of Fame in 1981 and into the National Dis-

tance Running Hall of Fame in 2003. He also has

been inducted into the University of Arizona HoF,

National Track and Field HoF, NJCAA Track and

Cross Country HoF and National Distance Running

HoF in 2003.

His 1975 biography is “Always Young.”

He and his wife Nancy reside in Casa Grande,

Ariz.

“I got too damned old

for refereeing. But I think

I’ll be a rabble rouser when

I grow up.”

— Smokey Lyon

Why would you encourage young people to get involved in

wrestling?

1

What are the requirements to participate in youth

wrestling?

2

What can parents do to encourage young people to take

part in sports?

3

What should parents Not do when their kids

are in sports?

4

What kinds of safety controls do coaches

have to prevent injuries in wrestling?

5

Melissa Meechan is a part time projects assistant for san Juan College president

Dr. toni pendergrass. she moved to Farmington in 1998 and she and her husband

Jason are both youth wrestling coaches.

i believe that wrestling requires a level of self-discipline that

isn’t seen in other sports. When a wrestler steps onto the

mat, it’s just him and his opponent. He has a coach to help

him, but he wins and loses on his own. that pressure

requires a high level of self-confidence and self-regulation.

to truly become a success in the sport of wrestling requires

a great deal of heart and commitment and that is what sets

wrestling apart. there are many other benefits to wrestling

such as a high level of physical activity and strength

required. Wrestling teams are often more cohesive than

i’ve seen in other sports. the wrestlers make lifelong friend-

ships with others throughout the Four Corners area. the ath-

letes see each other at their best and worst which helps

them develop strong bonds with one another.

the biggest concern i have is parents who push their chil-

dren too hard. sometimes, parents want their children to

succeed so much that they put a lot of unnecessary pressure

on them. it's good to expect your child to work hard and do

their best, but as parents we need to remember that they

are still children. they have a whole life of stress and pres-

sure to look forward to. let your child be a child. on the

other hand, i've met some pretty driven child athletes. in my

opinion, the child needs to set the pace and not the parent.

let the child decide what she wants to be involved in and

don't punish her for failure. i also believe that joining a

team is a commitment that needs to be honored and parents

should reinforce that. they shouldn't let kids quit a sport on

a whim. at my house, the rule is that if my child signs up for

a sport they have to finish the season. they can choose not

to play that sport in the future, but i believe that they need to

fulfill the commitment they have made to our family, them-

selves and the team. one benefit to this philosophy is that

they recognize that their decisions are powerful and have

consequences.

coach about letting the child observe practice or a game.

take them for as long as they are willing to watch. at some

point, they may decide that the excitement of the sport is

worth the bravery required to participate. letting the coach

know that the child has concerns also helps because we can

be extra aware of their needs and work to accommodate

them.

in the sport of wrestling, as in any sport, injuries happen.

However, the rules of wrestling identify moves that may be

potentially hazardous and require that a match be stopped if

one is used. these rules help significantly with the preven-

tion of injury. as coaches, we do what we can to promote

safety. Many of our stretches and drills are designed to

strengthen our athletes or help them wrestle strategically,

the youth program has age requirements and to participate

this year the athlete must have been born between 2001

and 2010. Beyond that, the athlete just needs heart and a

willingness to work hard. there are little physical

requirements and wrestlers come in all shapes, sizes and

abilities. We’ve had several disabled athletes participate in

the youth wrestling program that is something that makes

wrestling unique.

First and foremost, parents need to make activity a priority

in their children’s lives. too many kids today are tethered to

some electronic device that is their only form of entertain-

ment. Kids who have never been active are usually not ex-

cited at the idea of something new and physical. i think it’s

important to let our children know that even if they don’t

win, we still love them. sports can be a really big deal

around here and that pressure may be a lot to a child. some-

times kids are too timid to outright join a team. if a shy child

shows interest in a sport or team, parents should talk to the

26 Four Corners sports MARCH 2015

MelissaMEECHAN


which also helps to prevent injuries. All coaches are re-

quired to have an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) coach's

card that requires a background check.

What are the costs for youth wrestlers?6The annual registration fee is $50. Each child is regis-

tered with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and receives

a team t-shirt. That fee is all that is required for a child

to participate. If the athlete wants to compete, each tour-

nament has a small entry fee. Tournaments are optional,

but are rewarding to the kids. Wrestling gear is optional

and includes a singlet, headgear and wrestling shoes. I

recommend that students purchase shoes and headgear

at a minimum. Wrestling shoes are designed for use on

the mats and are designed to provide traction when

wrestling. Headgear protects the athlete's ears from an

injury known as "cauliflower ear." This injury isn't seen

much in youth wrestling but can occur and can have last-

ing effects. A singlet is the uniform that wrestlers wear.

They are not as important as shoes and headgear, but do

make moving easier for the athlete. Team photos are

taken each year a can be an additional cost if the parent

chooses to purchase them.

How often are matches/tournaments held?7There are seven tournaments that are scheduled for our

youth wrestling season. They are held every Saturday

and are typically held at the home team's high school

gym. This year, our tournaments range from Blanding,

Utah and Cortez, Colo. to Bloomfield and Aztec. For three

years now, Rocky Mountain Nationals has held a tourna-

ment in Farmington at McGee Park. This tournament, the

Aztec Warrior, is held in April after the youth wrestling

season and many of our athletes participate.

How can parents help the coaches?8There are many things that parents can do to help us do

our job better. Obviously, ensuring that their child is on

time and ready when they come to practice or tourna-

ments is important. Beyond that, parents can assist us

by letting their children know that we there to help them.

Parents need to reinforce the role of the coach and make

sure their child understands the coach-athlete relation-

ship. Children listen to their parents and hold what they

say in high esteem. If parents say positive things about

their child's coaches, the child will value them. This helps

everyone. The biggest way a parent can help is by volun-

teering. We always need coaches and parents who can

help out with the various needs of the program.

fundraising to running our tournaments. On the whole,

the community's biggest contribution happens when our

larger tournaments are held and over 900 children and

their families need accommodations, dining and places

to pick up essentials. One really amazing form of support

comes from local employers that financially match the

pay of our coaches hour for hour. This type of programs

reward the employer, the employee and benefits our

clubs with donations for much needed equipment.

Does the community/school district support youth

wrestling?

9

The high schools are our biggest allies. Most teams prac-

tice and hold their tournaments at the high schools.

Sometimes teams operate with the assistance of their

local Boys and Girls Club or other independent organiza-

tions. In our program, our parents provide a great deal of

support. They help with everything from registration and

What is the benefit of coaching?10Coaching benefits me immensely. It gives me the opportu-

nity to meet hundreds of great children each year. I get

the chance to know many of these children and some of

them have become part of my extended family. More

than that, I have the opportunity to impact many of their

lives at an athletic and personal level. A great part of the

experience is watching an athlete use a move that you

just taught him. There is something incredibly satisfying

in knowing that you had a part in that child's success on

the mat. More importantly, our program works to instill

values in the children that go beyond athletics and

sportsmanship. We talk a lot about character during

practice. It's great that I can be a part of that. Coaching is

truly one of those activities where I learn as much from

the kids as they do from me.

this past month i turned 50, a half-century

old.

Now i am not one to celebrate my birthday.

For me, it’s like New Year’s Day, not a day of

celebration but a reminder of what i didn’t

get accomplished in the previous year. A true

glass-is-half-empty holiday.

What i did decide on my 50th birthday was

the rationalization that i’m old. Not the “You

kids, get off my lawn!” old but more like the

“turn that music down. What is that crap

you’re listening to” old. the radio station is

now tuned to the inevitable classic Rock,

kooL 104.5 (side note kooL: there are more

musicians than Fleetwood Mac, Elton John,

Billy Joel and the Eagles).

of course there are certain signs verifying

the calendar is now fighting against you. For

example, i find myself saying things like, “i

remember when that used to be (fill in the

blank)” or telling my kids how easy they had

it walking on the sidewalks to Mesa Verde

because when i worked there it was all dirt

and only a single lane traffic. My parents

have gotten continually smarter over the

years. their eternal blathering about what

once was and how much better it was is now

my weekly soundtrack.

Now, of course, not everything gets worse

with age. Experience and the wisdom comes

with it is invaluable even if it falls on deaf

ears just as it did on mine 35 years ago. the

thought and sometimes verbal expression of

“i told you so!” is usually accurate – and re-

ally rewarding to say.

in my roughly 45 years as a sports fan i’ve

been able to witness wonderful events,

mostly on tV of course, when you live in the

isolated worlds of casper, Wyoming and

Farmington, New Mexico. But, sports truly

shows your age.

Former players of mine – Luke Neibling

and Jay collins – will constantly argue when

we’re together about who was greater when

it comes to teams and individuals. While they

trumpet the accomplishments of kobe and

LeBron, i have to remind them about Michael,

Magic, Larry and the Doctor. then, of course,

Luke’s father John will chime in and remind

us that Wilt was better than all of them.

Everyone thinks their era produced the

greatest. Everyone believes the best teams

and the best games happened on their

watch. History seems to take a back seat to

the eye test of your own generation.

My eye test is obviously generational.

Michael is better than LeBron. Montana is

better than Manning. ozzie Smith is the

greatest defensive shortstop ever. No boxing

matches were as great as Hagler-Hearns,

Leonard-Hearns or Leonard-Hagler. the Mira-

cle on ice during the 1980 olympics was the

greatest game ever. consider all my genera-

tion has seen on tV. Before Direct tV brought

you every NFL game, i still saw the immacu-

late Reception and the catch.

i’m so old i saw my kansas city chiefs play

in a Super Bowl. Before cable sports showed

over 100 basketball games a week i saw

Magic vs. Larry in the 1979 NcAA finals start-

ing the viewing bonanza that is the NcAA Bas-

ketball tournament, Jordan hit the game

winner as a freshman against Georgetown,

and the North carolina State cinderella Story

in our very own pit. i mean the Wisepies

Arena aka the pit. Which again shows my

age. i remember stadiums not even having

sponsors. imagine that.

As a high school and youth coach i’ve had

the privilege of watching great games and

the heartbreak and joy the game can bring.

i’ve had the task of taking the long walk up

the pit’s ramp after a loss consoling broken-

hearted teenagers. i’ve high-fived people i

28 Four Corners SpoRtS MARCH 2015

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RickHOERNEREditorial columnist

A HALF CENTURY DOWN

50BIG

will never ever see again after the Cardinals beat the Eagles and

headed to Super Bowl XLIII It was after that game, on a hung-over drive

home (not for the driver!), that the late Kevin Holman and I came up

with our bucket list of sporting events we wanted to attend – a pipe

dream that will now never happen, not even making a single one, be-

cause there is always time.

But time is cruel. My goal is to attend one of these a year as soon as

I get my kids out of college and, I hope, out of my basement. With Kevin

living in Chicago as a kid, he had already made a couple that I hadn’t.

So here are the dozen sporting events we dreamed of making.

1. Michigan vs. ohio State Football – I would love to see a sporting

event that comes from a historical battle like the toledo War that gave

ohio the port of toledo and Michigan the upper peninsula. this is still

tHE GAME in college football, and with ohio State the defending National

Champs and Jim Harbaugh taking over the Wolverines, this may be-

come a Hayes-Schembechler rivalry again.

2. A Notre Dame Football Weekend – the Irish were Kevin’s team, so

we were looking to take in the whole experience from the pep rally and

Mass to the game with a view of touchdown Jesus.

3. the NCAA Final Four Basketball – the best multiple game sporting

event. Would love to see all three games and soak it up. As basketball

coaches, this is Mecca. I would even sit in the nose bleed seats and

watch it on the big screen with 40,000 others.

4. A Game at Yankee Stadium – take a tour of the ballpark and the

monuments in centerfield then hang around the Bronx, get there early

for batting practice and catch a game—preferably against the red Sox.

5. the Summer olympics – Ultimate sports nirvana, I hope in a for-

eign country so I have decent excuse to travel abroad. perhaps the

most expensive event to get to. Better start using my Visa.

6. the Masters – While a trip to St. Andrews may be more exciting, I

would love to go to Augusta, take in the scenery, enjoy the weather and

give dirty looks to every knucklehead that yells, “You the man!”

7. Game 7 of Any World Series – Baseball is best experienced live.

the view of three players one gets on tV does not do it justice. Even

those who find baseball boring will tense up at every pitch of elimina-

tion games. there is nothing like the anticipation of every pitch being

the last

8. North Carolina at Duke Basketball in Cameron Indoor Stadium -

there is no place on tV that looks like more fun than the student sec-

tion at Duke. Most UNC-Duke games are classic.

9. Green Bay packers Game at Lambeau Field – the goal was to see

the Bears in horrible weather with the tundra frozen – I’m talking to

you, Josh rankin! While I’m not a huge packer fan, being in the stands

with the “owners” sounds like a great time.

10. A Manchester United Soccer Game – Intellectual curiosity of how

crazy fans can get and another reason to head overseas. Hit the pubs,

head to the game, celebrate with the winners.

11. the Super Bowl – obvious choice. the NFC title game was the

most fun I’ve ever had at a sporting event. Would like to head there for

the whole week and enjoy all the festivities of the new Great American

pastime.

12. Any Game 7 of the NBA Championship Series – In a perfect world

Kevin and I would have been sitting in phoenix watching the Bulls and

Suns. Nothing like a win at all costs game.

It’s hell to get old. Athletically, the brain works at half the age of the

body which is why golf becomes so popular. Suddenly you find yourself

taking in the old man tradition of checking the obituaries.

You realize that statistically half your friends are divorced; just like

the national average. You attend the funeral of friends and parents.

You watch with a teary eye how the heroes of your youth disappear

and realize how many things you’ve missed. Moments that will never

return. It is a perfect balance of regret and celebration.

What is missed is trumped by watching former players and students

excel, watching your kids turn into empathetic, quality adults and be

thankful for the time you did have together.

Kevin and I argued and debated this list seven years ago, this past

Martin Luther King Day, and my 50th birthday marks the one year an-

niversary of his death that happened way too soon.

Would we have made it to these dozen events ? Doubtful, but even

one would have been great – just as the conversation was.



THE FANTASY YEARIN REVIEW

Admittedly it was a tough Fantasy season

for the Geek. Out of the 10 leagues in which

i annually play, i only won a single one. As it

always seems to be in fantasy football, in-

juries played a big role in my midseason

demise. in one league i lost Brandon Mar-

shall, Julius Thomas and Rashaad Jennings

after leading my league. in another, my

starting running backs when the playoffs

began were Danard Robinson and Darren

Sproles; not exactly invoking fear in my

playoff opponent. Just as it is with the

Chicago Cubs, there’s always next year. So

here is a look back at the season that was.

All-STAR TeAMAaron Rodgers, QB Green Bay Packers -

The league’s MVP was his usual spectacular

self with 4381 passing yards with 38 TDs

plus 269 yards rushing with 2 TDs

le’Veon Bell, RB Pittsburgh Steelers -

Showed how valuable he was when he

didn’t play in the playoffs and Pittsburgh

fell. 1,361 rushing yards with 8 TDs and 854

receiving yards on 83 catches and 3 more

TDs

DeMarco Murray, RB Dallas Cowboys -

The resurgence of the Cowboys rode on

Murray’s back who led the league in car-

ries with 392. 1,845 rushing yards with 13

TDs and 416 more receiving yards on 57

catches. Where will he be next season ?

Antonio Brown, WR Pittsburgh Steelers -

A great value pick who led the league with

129 receptions for 1698 yds and 13 TDs.

extra value if your league gives return

yards. even threw for a TD

Demaryius Thomas, WR Denver Broncos -

No. 1 option in a high octane offense

Thomas had 111 catches for 1619 yds and

11 TDs. Will be just as valuable as long as

Peyton’s around

Rob Gronkowski, Te New england Patriots

- Gronk was a risky pick in ’14 with injuries

as a major concern, but he returned to lead

Tes with 82 catches for 1,124 yds and 12

TDs

Buffalo Bills DST - 54 Sacks led the

league and gave up only 273 points. Add in

19 ints and 11 fumble recoveries and the

Bills were a shocking No. 1

All-WASTeD PiCK TeAMColin Kaepernick, QB San Francisco 49ers

- Kaepernick was on everyone’s radar as a

top QB, but only managed just over 4,000

total yards and was a turnover machine av-

eraging one a game

Adrian Petersen, RB Minnesota Vikings -

Petersen missed all but one game this year

due to his off-the-field issues. Most Auto-

Pick drafts had him at No. 1 or No. 2

Trent Richardson, RB indianapolis Colts -

No matter how late or early you took the

former first round draft pick, it was a

waste. Richardson couldn’t hold off Ahmad

Bradshaw or Boom Herron

Cordarelle Patterson, WR Minnesota

Vikings - Patterson was projected to be a

top 10 receiver and No. 42 overall by Yahoo,

but finished at 242 overall with only 500

total yards and 2 TDs

Brandon Marshall, WR Chicago Bears -

Yes, Marshall was hurt a lot this year, but

most likely if you owned Marshall you

wasted a high draft pick on him and he

tended to disappear. Only 721 yds on 61

catches. Never trust Jay Cutler

Jimmy Graham, Te New Orleans Saints -

it’s hard to look at Graham’s 85 catches for

889 yds and 10TDs as a waste, but he totally

disappeared in four games and wasn’t

worth the 2nd or 3rd round pick owners

used on him

Cincinnati Bengals DST - The Bengals

were a top squad last year but this year al-

lowed over 20 points a game and had an in-

credibly low 20 sacks on the season

THE FANTASY GEEK

RiCKHOERNER

Colin Kaepernick


All-Injured TeAmrobert Griffin III, QB Washington - Perhaps it wasn’t mike

Shanahan after all. Often injured and benched for Kirk Cousins.

Finished with only 1,694 Passing Yards, 4 Tds to go against 6

InTs, and only 1 rushing Td

rashaad jennings, rB new York Giants - After a fantastic

start, jennings’ injury made him irrelevant for over a month and

he never really recovered. 639 yds rushing and 4 Tds

Giovanni Bernard, rB Cincinnati Bengals - many experts had

Bernard as their sleeper pick of the year, but injuries, then the

play of jeremy Hill, limited Bernard to under 1,000 total yards

and only 5 Tds

Victor Cruz, Wr new York Giants - Headed to Ir before the

emergence of Odell Beckham jr. and played only six games. After

two solid years, was lost on the Ir with 337 yds and a Td

Brandin Cooks, Wr new Orleans Saints - Cooks was a bit of a

gamble, but looked to be gaining favor with drew Brees when in-

jury hit. Still finished with over 600 total yards and 4 Tds in only

9 games

dennis Pitta, Te Baltimore ravens - In Week no. 1 Pitta looked

like a steal with 10 catches, but then hit the Ir after week three

Arizona Cardinals dST - The Cards lost Pro Bowl linebacker

darryl Washington before the season even started. Then they

lost darnell dockett, Tyron mathieu and john Abraham. Still fin-

ished as a top 10 defensive unit and that was even playing be-

hind the league’s worst offense the last fourth of the year

All-WAIVer WIreWhile not spectacular, best replacement of a poor starter

with over 3,000 yards passing and 18 Tds. Saved some multi-QB

league teams

justin Forsett, rB Baltimore ravens - After the ray rice inci-

dent, fantasy owners looked to Bernard Pierce to fill the void,

but it was Forsett that became a Top 10 Fantasy back with 1,266

rushing yds and 8 Tds

Cj Anderson, rB denver Broncos - While Fantasy owners

drooled over montee Ball picking up where Knowshon moreno

left off, Anderson was the man down the stretch with over 1,170

total yards from scrimmage and 10 touchdowns

Odell Beckham jr., Wr new York Giants - maybe someone in

your league took a flier on Beckham, but after missing the first

four weeks he was likely available, and still finished in the Top

10 with 91 catches for 1,305 yds and 12 Tds

mike evans, Wr Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Another rookie that

made a big impact on a bad team. evans finished with 68

catches for 1,051 yds and 12 Tds. maybe it was evans and not

manziel at A&m

Travis Kelce, Te Kansas City Chiefs - The Chiefs rookie Te was

the only outside receiver to score a Td for KC and finished with

67 catches for 862 yds and 5 Tds

Philadelphia eagles dST - not many took a shot on the offen-

sive explosive eagles, but the eagles dST scored 11 Tds and put

up 49 sacks

So there it is, the Fantasy Season in a nutshell. If you had the All-

Star team, you were definitely a winner. If you were grabbing those

on the All-Waiver Team, you made a great run and perhaps a title.

However, if you were cursed with the disappointments on the All-In-

jured or All-Wasted teams, there was always alcohol.

32 Four Corners SpoRTS MARCH 2015

As a transplant to the Four Corners Re-

gion from ohio, I have never really been ex-

posed to the great winter activity of skiing.

Now that my kids are getting older, my wife

and I decided that it would be a tragedy to

not have them learn how to ski. So a few

weekends ago, we embarked on a journey to

Durango mountain Resort for some ski les-

sons for both the kids and me. And while my

children picked up the basics much faster

than I did, what I did learn will cross over

into my golf swing (when it gets warmer).

What did I learn on the slopes, you ask?

1. Relax the shoulders

Skiing is controlled almost entirely

through the lower body. The transfer of

How skiing reinforces

golf swing fundamentals

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weight in the legs controls the turning motion

while your core and hips offer power, speed

and balance. That being said, those things tend

to happen at a greater recurrence rate when

the upper body, and more importantly the

shoulders, are relaxed.

In the golf swing, much of the success with

power, balance, speed and repetition occurs in

the upper leg, hip, butt and core regions. Un-

fortunately, many golfers tend to tense up in

the upper body and shoulder region when they

swing in an attempt to control the golf club.

This is counter-productive to consistency and

success. So the next time you are on the

course or the driving range, think of how re-

laxed your shoulders are on the slopes and

mimic that with your next golf swings.

2. Look where you want to go

My ski instructor, Dave, harped on our group

to quit looking at our feet when we were at-

tempting to make our way down the mountain.

Instead, he would encourage us to look where

we wanted to go next. In doing this, he was set-

ting intermittent targets for us to help with our

turning and control. Any time our group was

caught looking at our feet (or worse, the beau-

tiful scenery) things would spiral out of control

– and in a hurry.

Correlating that to your golf swing is easy

and has been discussed in multiple articles

and lessons. Pick a target, focus on the target

and swing the club to the target. I know that it

is a slightly different concept ion that we are

focused on the golf ball when we swing, but

the point is that hitting the golf ball isn’t our

objective in golf, just like staying upright on

our skis isn’t the objective. The objective is to

get the ball from point A to point B then to

point C and in the hole in the least number of

strokes possible. Setting intermediary targets

and visualizing yourself hitting those targets is

how you will go from bad to good or good to

great in your golf game.

3. Don’t bite off more than you can chew

It is totally unrealistic for a beginner skier

like me to expect to have success on the dou-

ble black diamonds with moguls. For one, I en-

joying having full use of my legs with working

ligaments, and two, the intimidation factor of

that encounter would take the enjoyment com-

pletely out of the activity. Our ski instructor en-

couraged us to take baby steps with our

progression. It went from the “bunny hill” to

the green slopes, then when we were experi-

enced enough and confident enough on the

green slopes we could forge ahead to the

blues, so on and so forth.

Much like skiing, golf can be totally intimidat-

ing, especially if you take yourself out of your ele-

ment and ability level. Going from the par three

course to the championship tees at a regulation

course is going to ruin your confidence and your

growing love for the game. Take it slow and play

appropriate tees to make the game enjoyable. Is

there a rule that says that since you are a man,

you have to at least play from the blue tees? No,

no there is not. We encourage differing ability

levels to start from places all over a golf hole. It

could be from the forward tees or from 200

yards out in the middle of the fairway. Therefore,

I would encourage you to gauge your ability level

and play from an appropriate location for maxi-

mum enjoyment.

After all, golf is supposed to be fun – isn’t it?

Just as you wouldn’t find enjoyment in skiing

moguls your first time skiing, you aren’t going

to find enjoyment playing the “back” tees the

first time you play golf.


Finally, NN can truthfully say she has

“plans” that night that include men. Real

men. Some of ‘em hunky men, some of ‘em

not so much but, bless their hearts (NN

knows that if you say “bless their hearts” be-

fore you say something not nice about some-

body, you get a Get Out Of Jail Free Pass. Just

so’s ya know.) their mothers think they’re cute

and that’s what counts, and some of em – ‘K

just one of ‘em – aren’t men, but a woman.

(You go, Danica Patrick, even though NN’s not a

real fan because that ride was s’posed to be

hers until that Brian France guy – who thinks

he, like, owns NASCAR and can make his own

rules – demanded to see NN’s “credentials,” an

un-photoshopped photo of her, and her for

reals height. Ole BF decided the “credentials”

NN obtained through a recognized and revered

online racing school were not “legit,” in spite

of the fact that NN has her diploma with her

name written in pencil and that she paid

$99.99 for, ‘scuse her, and that another of his

“rules” states the driver must be able to reach

the gas and brake pedal without the “unautho-

rized use of pillows, phone books or small

trampolines,” and questioned NN’s age when

her photo was un-photoshopped and there

were concerns about her triple chin getting in

the way of the steering wheel, which could

cause “unauthorized damage to NASCAR equip-

ment.” Whatever.)

NN usually makes herownself a nice dinner

with nice wine and candles on Valentine’s Day,

which she shares with Oliver, the Cat Who

Won’t EVER Stop Talking, and Mojito, the Devil

Kitten, who has acquired a taste for nice wine,

but prefers it with cheese and a little prime

rib. NN actually cooks occasionally and for VD,

she makes a nice Frito Pie with Hormel Chili

and whatever cheese the DK doesn’t eat and an

entire bag of Fritos. She’s talented in the

kitchen – NN can work a can opener and a

wine opener better than Danica Patrick can

drive a race car. For reals. Anyway, on this VD,

NN will put her Frito Pie in her good plastic

dishes instead of her everyday plastic dishes,

will allow her Sweet Cherry Pie wine a few sec-

onds to breathe before she pours it into her

sippy cup and will, this year, make sure the

candles aren’t on NN’s TV tray, where they get

in the way of her “arm and finger movements”

when she begins cursing and cussing the driv-

ers who are NOT on her Valentine card list and

who NN doesn’t consider hunky and, in some

cases, bless their hearts, those drivers who

should be made to keep their helmets on all

the time. Just sayin’. . . .

And before you say something hateful, NN

is fully aware that the Sprint Unlimited

isn’t a points race and that this race,

along with the two shoot-outs that will fol-

low, are more to get the fans excited about

the new season before the first for real

race, the Daytona 500, which is held February

22. NASCAR fans LOVE their NASCAR and when

they’ve gone two whole entire months without

racing, they get ugly. They pretend they’re law

enforcement officers and they put little party

hats on their trucks and bad-butt cars and

they act like they’re on “call” and drive like

bats outta hell. NASCAR fans know there are

laws about “impersonating police officers” so

their party hats aren’t like the for reals ones

on police vehicles, but helmets with Christmas

lights on ‘em and they have horns that say

“Drivers, Start Your Engines,” so other people

on the road should know they’re suffering

from NNFTM (No NASCAR For Two Months) and

they should get the heck outta the way. Unfor-

tunately, police chiefs and sheriffs don’t see it

that way. Whatever.

This season promises to be an exciting

one. Jeff Gordon is retiring after this season,

so this will be his farewell tour and every sin-

gle reporter will ask him “How does it feel to

be behind the wheel of this car on this track

for the last or next-to-last time?” And Jeff will

respond politely and nicely, when he really

wants to tell ‘em he’s been wearing Depends

for every race for more than 20 years, which

can be uncomfortable, especially when your

driver’s suit is tight and your Depends give you

a wedgie and there’s nothing you can do about

it. Not only that, but it took Jeff most of those

years before he actually took a swing at some-

body, which made bigger news than under-in-

flated footballs, and people are STILL talking

about the first year he won a championship

and he cried on stage, in front of macho

NASCAR drivers. Nobody had a tissue to give

him, so he wiped his eyes and his nose with his

tuxedo sleeve, at which the company that

rented his tux to him made him buy it. What-

ever.

NN wasn’t a Jeff Gordon (or a Jimmie

Johnson) fan until Dale Earnhardt Jr. became

part of the Hendrick team. Junior is the sports

most popular driver for the gazillionth year in

NASCAR Nellie has a date this year on Valentine’s Day

Dale Earnhardt Jr.


a row, and NN loves Junior. NN

has a Junior shrine in her ca-

sita and all who enter there

must curtsy in front of the

Fathead image of Junior NN

has on the wall and promise

to always vote for Junior in

the sports most popular

driver contest or they will be

cursed with figure skating

music in their cars for the

rest of their lives. NN decided

if JG and JJ were good

enough for Junior, they were

prob’ly good enough for her.

NN now shops at Lowes and

she would buy DuPont paint if

she could afford it. Whatever.

Anyway, NN now roots for JG and JJ and she

actually likes both of ‘em, but not nearly as

much as she likes Junior. Junior is the bomb

and Junior will win the championship this year.

For reals. NN has spoken.

Please, Junior, LISTEN!

Rumor has it that JG is

going to the “broadcast booth”

when he retires. That will

prob’ly be a good gig for JG.

He’ll have regular potty breaks

and won’t have to Depend it

anymore, and he won’t have to

rumble with the likes of Clint

Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Matt

Kenseth, Tony Stewart or –

last season – Brad Keselowski.

Gordon was always the goody

two shoes kinda guy, but NN

LOVED it when he and Bad Boy

Brad traded punches. NN was

proud of JG for throwing a punch, which – in

all honesty – was made a little easier by Kevin

Harvick, who shoved BBB into JG’s fist. Made

those post-race interviews lots more exciting.

NN can hardly wait for the season to

begin. 2015 will be a good year. Junior will win

his championship, Tony Stewart will be back

to the bad boy we love, Jimmie Johnson and

Chad Knaus will kiss and make up, Danica

Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse will remain

boyfriend/girlfriend, Chase Elliott and Kyle Lar-

son will kick butt, Ward Burton will return to

NASCAR and make the chase, NN’s Sweet

Baboo Elliott Sadler will win the Nationwide Is

On Your Side Championship and, when he

does, he’ll tell the world he made a mistake by

not taking NN’s calls and will remove the re-

straining order against her, the Las Vegas po-

lice will lift the order that prevents NN from

ever, EVER attending another NASCAR race in

Sin City (NN did not know the motorhomes of

drivers were off limits and breaking and en-

tering is against the law – whatever), and NN

will become the Voice of NASCAR and there

won’t be anything Brian France can do about

it. For reals.

NASCAR continued from 34

Jeff Gordan

she said with a laugh of her fellow coach’s

comment.

“Melissa is very social and friendly, so

after they get to know her, interaction be-

tween her and the rest of our coaches isn’t

really any different than between the male

coaches,” Small said. “As far as coaches from

other teams, I think sometimes they assume

that since she is a woman coach, she doesn’t

know what she is doing, but if they are

around her much, they soon see that isn’t the

case. I think when she first got into coaching

there were a few times that other coaches

tried to slip stuff by her, but she always stood

her ground.”

As a coach, Meechan attends six practices

each week, and when there are tournaments

it means a nine-hour-day on a Saturday.

“Every year, I say it’s my last year,” she said.

“But I want to help the kids and I do love it.”

With a husband, Jason, who is also a coach

and understanding of her busy schedule,

Meechan said her school work, her part-time

job and her community activities – in addition

to her coaching responsibilities – creates an

imbalance in her life. “I always suffer from a

lack of sleep,” she said with a smile.

Jason admits his wife’s busy schedule “dri-

ves me nuts because she’s not home enough,”

he said with a laugh. “But she’s very happy

and she does a lot for the community and I’m

proud of her for that.”

Jason also said the male coaches don’t

treat his wife any differently than they do

each other. “She’s earned their respect,” he

said. “They realize she’s not there just to be

pretty. She gets on the mat to coach and

teach these kids.”

Cody Small has the utmost respect for

Meechan. “Melissa enjoys and has a passion

for the sport of wrestling and she is a valu-

able part of our team,” he said. “She has

coached youth and middle school wrestling

with me and I enjoy having her as a partner

when coaching. She helps me to keep a level

head when things get heated and picks up

things that I sometimes miss.”

“My son is 11 years old and has won a few

national tournaments. He wrestles at a very

high level and I completely trust Melissa

being in his corner coaching when I can’t be

there,” Small added.

With Jason and Melissa Meechan both

coaching wrestling, Jared still wrestling and

daughter Cricket an FHS cheerleader (al-

though not for youth wrestling), one suspects

wrestling will be part of the Meechan way of

life for a long time. And listening to Meechan

talk about her wrestlers and her fellow

coaches, one doubts that she’ll quit coaching

the kids she loves any time soon.

Youth Wrestling continued from 15

“I’m not intimidated

by a lot of people.”

— Melissa Meechan

Four Corners Sports Magazine March 2015

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Transcript of Four Corners Sports Magazine March 2015