Athletics

NMJC Golf Coach Named to Hall of Fame

6/10/2009 - Hobbs, NM. Carrying on the family tradition of accomplishment and excellence, New Mexico Junior College Golf Coach James Ross Black was recently inducted into the NJCAA Golf Hall of Fame.  He and his brother Ronnie Black, who turned pro in 1981, are the only brothers ever selected to the prestigious Hall of Fame.

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1st Annual T-Bird 5k Fun Run / 2 Mile Walk

6/1/2009 9:18:22 AM - Hobbs, NM.1st Annual T-Bird 5k Fun Run / 2 mile Walk

• WHEN: Saturday, June 27th 2009
• WHERE: New Mexico Junior College Track
• START: 8:00 AM
• AWARDS: Top 3 Male and Female / Age Group Awards
• QUESTIONS or to REGISTER: Contact Jeff Becker- 575.492.2743

NMJC Names New Basketball Head Coach

5/29/2009 - Hobbs, NM. At a press conference on Tuesday, May 26, Chris Tifft was introduced as the new Head Men's Basketball Coach at New Mexico Junior College. Tifft replaces Jimmy Voight, who recently resigned to accept the associate coaching position at University of Louisiana-Monroe. Tifft was approved by the NMJC Board on May 19.

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Lady T-Birds Finish 9th Place at NJCAA Outdoor Championships

5/24/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The NMJC Lady T-birds traveled to Hutchinson, Kansas for the 2009 NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The team had some ups and downs, but finished with a strong 9th Place Team finish and brought home seven All-American Awards and five new school records. "This outdoor meet was one of the toughest in years.....it is always good to come out of nationals with a top ten finish" commented Assistant Coach Jeff Becker.

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Former NMJC T-Bird Honored Nationally

5/23/2009 - Hobbs, NM. Former New Mexico Junior College T-Bird and current University of New Mexico outfielder Brian Cavazos-Galvez was recently honored nationally for his outstanding performance.

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NMJC Lady T-Birds Compete in Final Tune Up For Nationals

5/8/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The Lady T-Birds competed at Texas Tech University for the final tune up meet before the NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 21st, 22nd and 23rd.

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Despite Bad Weather Lady T-Birds Do Well at UNM

5/4/2009 - Hobbs, NM. Despite the wind and rain the NMJC Lady T-Birds ran well at the Don Kirby Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico. The team came away with two new national qualifying marks, two improved national qualifying marks and three new school records.

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Student Athletes Honored

Calley Pritchett, Recipient of the 2009 Dutch Klein Award

5/2/2009 8:03:12 PM - Hobbs, NM. On Thursday, April 30, New Mexico Junior College's student athletes were honored in the Ben Alexander Student Learning Center at the 42nd Annual Athletic Awards Banquet for their outstanding individual achievements in athletic training, baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country/track, golf, and rodeo.

Kayla Schmitz, NMJC Athletic Trainer, presented Athletic Training Awards to Travis Thompson-Campbell and Amanda Lopez.
Head Baseball Coach Cory Hall made several presentations to student athletes: Armando Gutierrez - Highest Average Award and the Most Home Runs Award; Ben Gonzales - Best Defensive Player Award; Chad Shands - Best Pitcher Award; and Mike Mutcheson - Most Valuable Player Award and the Jack Poyner Award.


In Men's Basketball, Head Coach Jimmy Voight presented awards to the following players: Chris Mast - Best Offensive Player; Richie Lewis - Free Throw Award; Justyn Franks - Best Defensive Player; Fabio Ribiero - Academic Achievement Award; Johnny Higgins - Weight Lifting Achievement Award; and Dana Kendrid - 6th Man Award.

In Women's Basketball, the following players received awards from Head Coach Drew Sanders: Natalia Santos - Leading Scorer Award; Natalia Santos - Free Throw Percentage Award; Natalia Santos - All Conference Award; Natalia Santos - All Region Award; Dominique Haywood - Leading Rebounder Award; Dominique Haywood - All Conference Award; Malorie Marshall - Assists Leader Award; Janisha Young - Steals Leader Awards; and Dominique Rivera - Field Goal Percentage Leader Award.

Nelda Helms, Professor of Physical Education and sponsor for the ThunderSpirits cheerleading program, presented ThunderSpirit Awards to all eight cheerleaders: Kindra Ackridge, Jacqueline Crader, Celsey Eldridge, Courtney Griffin, Tiffany Michelle Lopez, Alexis Orosco, Anna Palma, and Skylar Vissar.



Keith Blackwill, Head Coach for Women's Cross Country / Track team, and Jeff Becker, Assistant Coach, made the following presentations: Caroline Masai - Cross Country Runner of the Year Award; Caroline Jepleting - Freshman Track & Field Athlete of the Year Award; Shantel Thompson - Sophomore Track & Field Athlete of the Year Award; and Calley Pritchett - Most Improved Athlete Award.
 Jeff Becker was also recognized for being named the 2009 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year.

Golf Coach James Black presented four awards, including Zack Fuller - Most Valuable Golfer Award; Zack Fuller - Lowest Stroke Average Award; Parker Sprague - Most Improved Golfer Award; and Jens Johannson - Highest Grade Point Average Award.

Rodeo Head Coach Philip Berry made the following presentations: Tatum Patten - High Point Girl Award; K.C. Peterson - High Point Man Award; William Stovin - Highest Grade Point Average-Freshman Award; Kallie Lamb - Highest Grade Point Average-Sophomore Award; and Caleb Anderson - Sportsmanship Award.

The 2009 Special Recognition Awards for support to NMJC's athletic programs were presented to Randy Johns and Pat Knapp.
The 2009 Dutch Klein Award was also presented to Callie Pritchett of Levelland, Texas. According to Don Worth, NMJC Athletic Director, it is "the single most prestigious award given to a student athlete at New Mexico Junior College. The recipient not only must exhibit athletic ability," he said, "but also the qualities of leadership, scholarship, citizenship, cooperation, and athletic achievement." Pritchett, who is an honor student, a Campus Ambassador, and a member of FCA, was a 3-time national qualifier in the hammer, weight, and shotput.

Track Team Competes in Oklahoma

4/27/2009 - Hobbs, NM. Individual Results

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NMJC Basketball Player Signs with University of Louisiana-Monroe

4/22/2009 11:33:35 AM - Hobbs, NM. Imagine going to school in a foreign country where everyone speaks a different language from your own. Now imagine having to learn a different way to play your favorite sport at that school. And then imagine excelling at the school and in the sport. Meet basketball co-captain Fabio Ribero: that is exactly what he has done at New Mexico Junior College.

Ribero, a native of Caetanopolis, Brazil, started at NMJC in 2007 and will be graduating with his Associate in Arts degree this May. The next step in his journey will take him to an NCAA school, University of Louisiana-Monroe since on Wednesday, April 15, 2009, Ribero officially signed the papers to become a ULM Warhawk.

According to NMJC Men's Head Basketball Coach Jimmy Voight multiple schools were interested in recruiting Ribero, but the young man had narrowed his choices to ULM and St. Francis University in Loretto, PA. After visiting both schools, Ribero chose ULM.

“I visited them and was impressed by what good people they were. I think I made the right decision for both my academic and athletic career. I plan on majoring in business and had the opportunity to meet with ULM's business professors and had a great time." said Ribero.

Coach Voight is very proud of his player and thinks he will excel at ULM. "They [ULM] are getting an outstanding young man, for one, and an outstanding student, second. Besides these two things, he is, of course, an excellent player."

Voight and Ribero recalled how Ribero first came to NMJC. "I didn't know anything about the school at first," said Ribero, " but a friend of mine who played for Coach Voight at Eastern Oklahoma State College told me great things about him. I also spoke to Coach Walter Roese, who was also a friend of Coach. When I got to NMJC, I had a great impression, not only of the coach, but also the academics and the professors."

That's how it all started. Two years later, Ribero is co-captain of a team that surpassed the 21-win mark for the first time in 13 years. "He has been an integral part of building this program. He's a good rebounder and defender. He may not score the actual points, but he does the behind-the-scenes work to get the team there," said Voight. "Plus, he works hard both on the court and in the classroom. He has spent a lot of time on keeping his grades up."

While Fabio Ribero may be far from his native Brazil, family, first language, schools, and way of playing sports, he has proven during his time here he has what it takes to succeed. And that, without a doubt, is the ultimate education. NMJC congratulates Fabio on a job well done and hopes the rest of the journey is just as successful.

Lady T-Birds Perform Well in Arkansas

4/20/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The NMJC Lady T-Birds traveled to Fayetteville, Arkansas to compete in the John McDonnell Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas. The Lady T-Birds had a great day coming away with four national qualifying marks and two new school records.

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Despite Strong Winds Lady T-Birds Perform Well At Texas Tech

4/11/2009 - Hobbs, NM. After two meet delays to allow the strong winds to go down the Texas Tech Open finally got going. The NMJC Lady T-Birds had a great showing led by national qualifying marks in the middle and long distance areas.

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Jepleting Brings Home Two 2nd Place Finishes From Texas Relays

4/6/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The NMJC Lady T-Birds continued their outdoor season at the very prestigious Texas Relays hosted by the University of Texas at Austin. This big meet brings in top athletes from colleges and universities from all across the United States.

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Lady T-Birds Open Outdoor Season

3/30/2009 - Hobbs, NM. After a great indoor track and field season the NMJC Lady T-birds opened the outdoor portion of their season with the UTEP Springtime Invitational.

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NMJC Lady T-Birds Mark Their Place in History

Caroline Jepleting

3/11/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The New Mexico Junior College Lady T-Bird Track & Cross Country team recently proved they are more than capable of holding their own on a national stage. Earning an impressive fourth-place national win overall at the NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at Texas Tech University last weekend in Lubbock, Texas, the Lady T-Birds marked their place in college history by earning 14 All-American performances, including six national championships during the two-day meet.

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Lady T-Birds Finish 4th Place at NJCAA Indoor Championships

3/8/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The NMJC Lady T-birds did not have far to travel for this year's NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. The meet this year was held in Lubbock, Texas and hosted by Texas Tech University. The lady T-Birds took advantage of the familiar site (having competed there three times this year) and brought home a 4th place team finish. This finish ties the best ever finish for a Lady T-Bird team. The 2007 Lady T-Birds also finished 4th as a team.

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NMJC Rodeo Students Receive Scholarship

(l to r): Tatum Patten and Kallie Lamb

3/8/2009 - Hobbs, NM. For over 25 years, The Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame has striven not only to preserve the rich history of rodeo in Lea County, but also to ensure that the tradition continues by providing scholarships each semester to deserving students. Requirements for the scholarship include being a full-time New Mexico Junior College student with a GPA of 2.5 or better, with preference going to students from Lea County and the NMJC Rodeo Team.

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Lady T-Birds Have Success in Final Tune Up For Indoor Nationals

2/22/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The NMJC Lady T-birds traveled to South Plains Community College for their last tune up before indoor nationals.

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Track Team Makes Change to Indoor Schedule

2/18/2009 2:02:24 PM - Hobbs, NM.The NMJC Track and Field team will be heading to the South Plains Invitational on Friday, February 20th. The team was originally scheduled to go to the University of Oklahoma on Saturday, February 21st. "We made the switch in our schedule because we thought that the meet at South Plains would better help our team for the national meet in two weeks." said Head Track Coach Keith Blackwill. The meet at South Plains will now serve as the last tune up for the team before the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on March 6th and 7th. So far the team has had a great 2009 Indoor season qualifying nine athletes in twenty different events.

Jepleting Wins College Mile at Tyson Invitational

2/15/2009 - Hobbs, NM. Two NMJC track and field athletes competed at the very prestigious Tyson Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas.

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Lady T-Birds Bring Home Victories and More National Qualifying Marks

2/9/2009 - Hobbs, NM. The third trip to Texas Tech University saw the continuation of a great season for the Lady T-Birds.

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Lady T-Birds Have Good Showing at UNM

2/2/2009 - Hobbs, NM. In the third Indoor meet of the season the NMJC Lady T-Birds stayed in state traveling to Albuquerque for the UNM Invitational.

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Lady T-Birds Add Events for the NJCAA Indoor Championships

1/27/2009 - Hobbs, NM. In the second Indoor meet of the season the NMJC Lady T-Birds added four more events to their list of national qualifying marks. The Lady T-Birds Qualified in four new events and had an improved mark on an event that was qualified last meet.

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Lady T-Birds Qualify Nine events for the Indoor Championships

1/21/2009 - Hobbs, NM. In the first Indoor meet of the season the NMJC Lady T-Birds had eight individual qualifying marks and one relay mark that met the standard to qualify for the NJCAA Indoor Championships. Shantel Thompson, Petrona Layne and Caroline Jepleting led the way each qualifying in two individual events. The next action for the Lady T-Birds will be January 24th when they return to Texas Tech for the second meet of the season.

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NMJC Mourns Loss of Acclaimed Baseball Player

1/8/2009 11:03:26 AM - Hobbs, NM.If the amount one is missed can be shown through the number of one's friends, then Daniel Jeff Lucero will be greatly, greatly missed. Numerous friends and family attended the funeral held for the young baseball player at Holy Family Catholic Church in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Many other friends at New Mexico Junior College will continue to mourn him as they return to classes and practice.

Lucero grew up playing baseball in Albuquerque. At Valley High School, he was twice selected as All-Metro first-team, as well as being chosen first-team All-State his senior year. Chad Kuhn, Lucero's coach at Valley High School, said that the young man had great potential in high school, both academic and athletic.

NMJC was pleased to welcome Lucero to the Thunderbird Baseball Team in fall 2008. Coach Josh Simpson said he had the highest expectations for Lucero, who had become a favorite among his teammates.

"Jeff was a kid everybody liked on the team; he got along with everyone," said Simpson. "Letting the team know about his death was one of the hardest things I've had to do."

Lucero passed away Monday, December 15, 2008, at University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque from injuries sustained in a weekend car accident. According to his grandfather, Ralph Lucero, the young man was thrown from his vehicle when he lost control on an icy road. Lucero was returning home from visiting friends in Colorado.

The coaches, faculty, staff, and students of NMJC are greatly saddened by the loss of this talented and affable young man. We were privileged to have him.

Lady T-Bird Cross Country @ Angelo State Classic

Individual Results (5K) 47 Total Runners

10/16/2008 - Hobbs, NM. Winner- Jeniffer Cherono West Texas A&M 19:04

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South Plains College Cross Country Meet Cancelled

10/11/2008 9:58:45 AM - Hobbs, NM.The Cross Country Meet scheduled for today (Saturday, October 11th) at South Plains College was cancelled. We will make this meet up by going to the Angelo State Classic in San Angelo, TX on Tuesday, October 14th @ 5:00 p.m. CST.

October 2008 - New Rodeo Arena Nearing Completion

10/8/2008 5:10:38 PM - Hobbs, NM. Fall semester is in full swing at New Mexico Junior College, which means students and student-athletes have returned. One group in particular, the men's and women's rodeo team, has returned to an entirely new practice area, with a brand new arena and stalls to work in. Throughout the summer of 2008, the sands shifted, along with panels, chutes and gates, under the guidance of head rodeo coach Philip Berry and assistant rodeo coach Richard Morris.

Some of this was made possible through help provided by work crews from the GEO Group, Inc./Lea County Correctional Facility, who assisted in the welding of the gates and panels and in the relocation of the stalls.

"I feel fortunate to have them," said Morris. "They've been good to work with - they are willing to work, follow instructions, and clean up as they go."

Morris and Berry put in a request for a work detail to come and help finish the new arena and work being done to the stable. Groups of six to nine inmates, under guarded supervision, came several times over the summer.

Currently, the coaches, along with help from Ismael Zuniga of NMJC maintenance, are putting the finishing touches on pens and
equipment. Since August, the rodeo team has enthusiastically put the new area to use.

"This is a huge step up," said rodeo team sophomore Tatum Patten. "Both arenas are a better size, the stock pens are bigger and more accessible, and everything is easier to use. The box pens can now be setup different ways; before they were stationary, now all of it is adjustable."

Plus, she adds with a smile, "It has the potential to host a rodeo one day."

To read more about the initial work done to the arenas, click here.

For more information, please contact Berry at (575) 399-0640, pberry@nmjc.edu, or Morris at (575) 492-2748, rmorris@nmjc.edu.

Cross Country Lady T-Birds at Texas Tech Invitational

Coach's Comments

9/24/2008 - Hobbs, NM. This was an off meet for us. We did not run to our potential. We will need to continue to work hard if we want to get where we need to be by the end of the season. We will now take a few weeks off from meets and train hard.

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NMJC to Host Three Cross Country Meets

8/3/2008 4:36:17 PM - Hobbs, NM.New Mexico Junior College will be hosting three cross country meets this fall. The first meet will be held on Saturday, September 13th and honor NMJC's first women's cross country coach, Coach Bob Jackson. Jackson is currently the cross country coach at Hobbs High School. Meet Two will be the following weekend on Saturday, September 20th. The last meet of the fall will be the NJCAA Region V/ WJCAC meet held on Saturday, October 25th and feature all the teams in the region and conference. All three of the meets will start at 9:00 a.m. MST and will be held at Harry McAdams Park. For information on any of these meets please contact Jeff Becker at 575.492.2743 or jbecker@nmjc.edu.

Thompson and Graham Named All-Americans

8/3/2008 3:51:26 PM - Hobbs, NM.Two NMJC Track and Field student-athletes have been named as NJCAA Coaches Association Academic All-Americans. Shantel Thompson and Angella Graham (both of Jamaica) were recognized by the association for their strong academic work during the past semester. In order to achieve this award a student-athlete must achieve a 3.4 GPA or better and participate at the Region and/or National Track and Field Championships. Shantel finished the semester with a 3.82 GPA and was a four-time Athletic All-American (2nd Place - Indoor High Jump, 3rd Place - Indoor Long Jump, 4th Place - Outdoor Long Jump and 4th Place - Outdoor Triple Jump). Angella finished with a 3.41 GPA and was also a four-time Athletic All-American (4th Place as a member of the Indoor 4 x 400M Relay Team, 4th Place - Indoor Triple Jump, 3rd Place - Indoor High Jump, 4th Place - Outdoor Heptathlon).