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2007 Year in Review
Another year has gone by at New Mexico Military Institute and 2007 has been a year for the record books. The Institute has seen many wonderful accomplishments by its athletes over the past twelve months. There have been remarkable individual performances along with record breaking team accomplishments. The past year has been like a roller coaster with its share of highs and lows. This is the second installment of the Bronco and Colt Roundup Year in Review. Here are the top ten stories from the past year.
#10 NMMI Sees the Addition of Four Women’s Athletic Programs
Women’s college volleyball was added in the fall of 2000 as a club team. They began intercollegiate competition the following year. Six years later, the women at NMMI were provided with more opportunities to compete as cross country, golf, tennis and track were added. The women’s cross country team competed in one meet during their inaugural season and the other three programs are set to begin competition in the upcoming months. At the college level, NMMI now features five men’s sports and five women’s sports.
#9 Brandon Bourn Pole Vault State Champ
Brandon Bourn won the Class 3A pole vault state championship by tying his career best vault. He cleared 12’0” to win the title, six inches better than the second place finisher.
#8 Bronco Tennis Returns to National Rankings
A successful fall season led to a #16 ranking in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll for the Bronco tennis team. The recent climb in the national poll marks the return to prominence for one of the Institute’s most successful programs. In addition to the team’s recognition, four Broncos were also listed in the ITA rankings. NMMI’s number one singles player, Chris Toli earned the 21st ranking, Greg Mitchell was 38th, Sammy Ramoni was 45th and Nick Martin was 56th. The doubles team of Toli/Ramoni earned the 14th ranking while Martin and Mitchell earned the 27th ranking.
#7 Colt Football Winless in ‘07
The string of losses continues to grow as the Colt football team failed to win a game for the second consecutive season. The program’s last win came during the 2005 season with a 21-6 win over Portales High School. The streak now stands at 20 games; however, success at NMMI cannot be measured by wins and losses. The twenty-players that began and finished the season are a true testament to what NMMI is all about. Perseverance is often the key to success at NMMI and these young men proved that they have that. Although they did not win a game this past season, these young athletes found a way to get better as the year progressed. We have no doubt that there is light at the end of the tunnel and the Colt football program will be back up and running full speed ahead when next season begins.
#6 Colt Swimming Wins District Title
The Colt swim team won the district championship this year. They edged out Hobbs 132 to 131 to take the title. NMMI was the smallest school in the district competing against Class 5A schools Hobbs, Clovis, Carlsbad and Las Cruces. Nicholas Calderon recorded a state qualifying time in the 100 Breast with a time of 1:16:55. The 400 Free Relay also qualified for the state competition with a time of 4:12:39. James Hanks and Nicholas Calderon also qualified for the state diving competition with scores of 226.10/3 and 312.65/1 respectively.
#5 Cross Country Teams Win District Titles
The District 4-3A cross country title resides at New Mexico Military Institute as the Colts and Lady Colts brought home the title after a dominating performance.
The Lady Colts nearly completed a perfect race as they placed the top four finishers. Meagan Chopito won the race with a time of 22:32. Alyssa Scott followed with a second place finish and a time of 22:51. Cheri Haarmeyer finished in third for the second straight season with a time of 23:11. Freshman, Courtney Holm placed fourth with a time of 23:19. Angela Ross helped secure the team victory with a tenth place finish and a time of 25:41.
For the Colts, Evan Bontrager improved on last season’s performance when he placed ninth. This year he was the Colts top performer with a second place finish with a time of 18:09. Wesley Ganaway came in just behind Bontrager for third place with a time of 18:40.
#4 Hollan Fiu Earns 2nd Team All-American Honors
The postseason honors rolled in for New Mexico Military Institute’s Hollan Fiu. After earning first team honors in the Western States Football League, the linebacker earned second team All-American honors in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Fiu, a sophomore linebacker from Pago Pago, American Samoa, totaled 124 tackles in 2007. That total included 85 solo tackles and 39 assisted tackles. He picked up 10.5 sacks and 16 tackles for a loss.
Standing only 6’ tall and weighing about 200 pounds, Fiu was considered to be small for the linebacker position. Small was hardly the word to describe him as the tenacious linebacker seemed to be in on every play. Fiu’s relentless attack on the opposing ball carrier made him one of the most dominating defensive players in the league this past season. Fiu’s individual performance has brought national recognition to the Institute and Bronco football.
#3 Colt Tennis Second at State Tournament, Murillo Places Third
The Colts entered the A-AAA State Tennis Tournament as the second seeded team. When all things were said and done, the Colts came away with the second place trophy.
With a record of 13-1, the second ranked Colts took on the seventh ranked Bosque School. NMMI took the match 8-1.
In the state semifinals, the Colts handled St. Michael’s by a score of 6-3.
The championship round brought on rival Las Vegas Robertson. The Cardinals had earned the tournament’s number one seed and handed the Colts their second loss of the season, 8-1.
The New Mexico Activities Association’s A-AAA Individual State Tennis Tournament concluded with NMMI’s Carlos Murillo finishing third with a victory over Sandia Prep’s Lorenzo Baca.
After earning the third seed in the tournament and a first round bye, Murillo took care of Robertson’s Kevin Keiner 7-5 and 6-1. In the semi-final round, Murillo took on St. Michael’s Jake Matthews. Mathews had defeated Theo Rex-Horoi from NMMI in the quarterfinals 6-0, 6-0. Rex Horoi had advanced to the second round by defeating Cobre’s Jesse Barrera.
The second seeded Matthews took care of Murillo 6-3, 6-3 to advance to the championship round.
Murillo went on to defeat Baca in the third place match 6-1, 6-2.
#2 Bronco Volleyball Sets School Mark for Wins
At the beginning of the season, the Bronco volleyball roster consisted of thirteen freshmen and only one sophomore. Most of the teams in the conference and around the area didn’t think much of the Broncos who had lost four players from the previous season to four-year universities. The members of the 2007 Bronco volleyball team proved them wrong with a record setting season.
Coach Shelby Forchtner started freshmen at every position and set the school record for wins in a season with 31. The previous record stood at 23 wins and was set in 2005.
The 2007 season was highlighted by an exciting five-game victory over Midland College in front of the home fans in Cahoon Armory. The Broncos were also one of the few teams to take games from the national powerhouse, Frank Phillips College.
The Broncos did not have a player over 5’10” tall and they routinely went up against teams with players standing over 6’0” tall. They played great defense all season long despite their lack of height at the net.
#1 Colt Basketball Remarkable Turnaround
The top story of 2007 came from the Colt basketball team. During Coach Pilar Carrasco’s first season in 2005-06, the Colts failed to win a game, going 0-21. One season later, the Colts made a drastic turnaround resulting in a 19-11 record as they advanced to the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.
Returning nearly the exact same roster from the winless season, the 2006-07 team had a couple of key additions as they rolled through the competition. The Colts played solid, fundamental basketball as they grew as a team. It was easy to see the vast improvements that were being made by these cadet/athletes.
The Colts breezed through the pre-district schedule by compiling a 12-4 record. The Colts were hot going into district play. There they went 5-3 including a one-point, last second victory over Portales. They earned the third seed going into the district tournament. They beat Ruidoso at home by thirty points then traveled to Lovington and knocked off second seeded Lovington 56-51. The district championship was played in Portales where the Rams won on a last second shot.
The Colts earned the tenth seed at the Class 3A state tournament and had to travel to play Wingate High School. Nearly 2,000 fans packed the gym with another 1,500 in an auditorium watching a simulcast of the game. It was an intimidating scene, so loud that the players couldn’t hear the plays from the sidelines. They used hand signals to identify their plays and the Colts upset the seventh seeded team 49-44.
In the quarterfinal round, the Colts found themselves going up against perennial power, St. Michael’s High School in Rio Rancho’s Santa Ana Star Center. The more experienced Horsemen took advantage of a poor shooting night by the Colts and jumped out to a 50-20 lead.
Just as the Colts had never given up in the past, they battled through the adversity and fought their way back only to fall short 56-42. The comeback was a microcosm of what the program had already been through. The program was down, losing every game in one season and climbed out of that hole and found themselves on the state’s biggest stage in the state tournament. The Colts did not win the game nor the championship but they did find a way to never give up a continued to strive to achieve their goals.
Athletic Department
New Mexico Military Institute
101 W. College Blvd.
Roswell, NM 88201
phone: 575-624-8270
fax: 575-624-8287