Today's Sports

Few, if any, of the winners of Los Alamos High School’s top student-athlete award expected they’d need to clear off shelf space for it.

Erin Kirk and Dalton Smith were no exception this year.

The Clendenen Student-Athlete Award, which was known for many years as the Virchow Award, is given to the Los Alamos High School student-athlete that best exemplifies leadership, community service and academic excellence. Candidates, who are nominated by a varsity coach at the school, also cannot use alcohol, tobacco or drugs during their high school careers.

The finalists for the award — this year there were three boys and 11 girls — are interviewed in front of a panel of community members, who are charged with selecting the winners.

Kirk said she was stunned that she was selected out of a field of top quality student-athletes.

“It speaks very highly of us, all the finalists there were,” said Kirk, talking about the LAHS athletic program overall. “To be a finalist was so amazing.”

The award was presented as the climax of the Senior Athlete Award Ceremony Thursday night.
Smith was picked from a small but quality field of student-athletes and he said he felt humbled by his selection.

Saturday is National Free Fishing Day across the country, meaning no licenses will be required to fish in public waters across New Mexico.

The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish announced it will also host several fishing instructional courses for kids around the state. Those courses will be in the following locations:

• Riverwalk Pond (Grants), 8 a.m.
• Eagle Rock Lake (Questa), 9 a.m.
• Roswell Walmart Super Center, 7 a.m.
• Alumni Pond (Las Cruces), 8 a.m.
• Tingley Beach (Albuquerque), 9 a.m.

The competitors at this week’s Atomic City Roadrunners’ Pace Race had several options available to them.
The Pace Race was Tuesday night. The 19 runners and walkers could choose courses from either paved or Satch Cowan and Quemazon trails.
The top predictors came from paved courses. Duane Marr finished with a 24-second error to top this week’s predictions.
Jackie Marr had a 39-second error, followed by Joan Williams (141 seconds) and Zach Medin (151 seconds).
The top finisher on the paved 1-mile course was Jackie Marr with a time of 17:01. Duane Marr had the best finish among men on the paved 1-mile course (17:48).
On the 1-mile trail course, Bob Weeks was the top finisher (18:49), followed by Sue Elkins (18:56).
Medin was the first finisher on the 3-mile paved course (29:31). On the 3-mile trail course, Ted Romero (34:55) and Karen Thorn (54:16) were the top finishers.
The next Pace Race is 6 p.m. Tuesday. The race will be on American Springs Road, about 1-1/2 miles from the Back Gate toward the Valles Caldera.
For more information about the next Pace Race or about the Atomic City Roadrunners, visit the club’s website, atomicrunners.com.

PARIS (AP) — Roger Federer walked onto Court Suzanne Lenglen, smiled when greeted with applause and looked up into the stands, where three youngsters waved a banner that read, “Roger 4 Ever.”
Forever? Probably not, but Federer easily outlasted qualifier Somdev Devvarman in the second round of the French Open, winning 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 Wednesday.
Top-ranked Serena Williams also showed staying power, extending her career-best winning streak to 26 matches by beating wild card Caroline Garcia of France, 6-1, 6-2.
While Williams looks unbeatable of late, Federer has yet to win a tournament this year, the first time he has arrived at Roland Garros without a title since 2000. But he’s rested and healthy, and his vast repertoire of shots was on full display against the overmatched Devvarman, who is ranked 188th and now 0-9 against top-10 players.
“I tried to finish the match quite quickly, because I was afraid it would rain,” Federer said. “So I was very focused, and I’m very happy for that.”
The No. 2-seeded Federer glided across the clay, hitting winners from all over the court — even beyond the alleys — and looking at ease on a surface that once vexed him.