NBC 11 Sports: Cook signs LOI to New Mexico with big crowd on hand, Lady Raiders hoops sends message to mid-season AIA rankings
YUMA, Ariz., (KYMA, KECY) - It was an emotional night for Central Spartan standout, Skylar Cook, as he reflected and thanked the impactful people around him as he signed his Letter of Intent to play Division I football at the University of New Mexico.
Cook officially signed to UNM on the opening day of college football the early signing period a few weeks back, but took Thursday night to get family, friends, coaches and teammates involved in the celebration.
Meanwhile, many local teams were back in action on the field and court. Several wins across the board highlighted the night, especially for some in Arizona on the day the mid-season AIA rankings were released.
Most notably paying attention were the Cibola Lady Raiders basketball squad, who was ranked at No. 33 in the state, keeping them one spot short of falling into the "Open Division" rankings.
That may have been some fuel as the Raiders rolled all over Westwood (61-34) at home, beating a team who was ranked 15 spots ahead of them heading into the night.
Although not ranked nearly as high as Cibola, the Gila Ridge Lady Hawks hoops team put together an impressive win over Alhambra (58-41), led by double-digit points from Bella DeCorse, Ella Gettings and Kayla McCarrell.
In boys soccer, San Luis and Kofa each stay hot with big wins. San Luis, the third ranked team in all of 6A, is now 8-0 after a shutout win over Tolleson. Misael Meza and Luis Mario Medina each scored two goals once again in the win. Erick Quirarte coined as the Player of the Game from coach Jesus Rojas after leading another impressive defensive performance and adding an assist.
Both Tiernan Nicewander and Nolan Garcia continue their chase to the the 5A scoring kings, as the Kings in their own right beat Copper Canyon (3-1) Thursday. Nicewander leads 5A with 19 goals which is also good for sixth in the entire state, while Garcia sits behind him with 12 goals - good for fourth in 5A.
OTHER SCORES:
BOYS BASKETBALL:
Glendale - 39 Kofa - 55
Moon Valley - 60 Yuma - 42
GIRLS BASKETBALL:
Brawley - 33 Holtville - 55
Central - 29 Calexico - 36
BOYS SOCCER:
Cibola - 2 Cesar Chavez - 1
GIRLS SOCCER:
Tolleson - 4 San Luis - 0
Kofa - 1 Copper Canyon - 1
Southwest - 4 Mountain Empire - 1
