Belen High School (Belen, New Mexico)

Belen High School is a high school (grades 9 - 12) in Belen, Valencia County, New Mexico. It was opened as the first public high school in Valencia County.

Sports

Belen High school's sports teams are both successful on and off the field. The Eagles field teams in football, volleyball, soccer, and cross country in the fall. In the winter basketball and wrestling are offered. Spring sports include baseball/softball, golf, tennis and track and field. And year round there is the cheerleading team. BHS has won many awards and championships in a variety of sports and other activities.

The Belen Eagle wrestling team won six straight Class 4A team championships, 2003-2008.

In November 2007, a Lady Eagle girls cross country team comprising only underclassmen won the Class 4A state team title, the first team championship for BHS in that sport.

In the spring of 2008, the Belen softball team won only its second district title in 13 seasons, going 13-2 in District 5-4A games. The baseball team also had a great year, placing second in 5-4A and reaching the Class 4A state quarterfinals. Both the baseball and softball teams also won two state tournament games.

The boys medley relay team placed first at the 2008 Class 4A track and field championships.

In the fall of 2008, the Belen football team had breakthrough year under first-year coach John Lerma. The Eagles went 10-2, won the District 6-4A championship, beat rival Los Lunas for the first time since 1997, and its only losses were to state finalist Aztec.

In the spring of 2009, Belen's boys and girls basketball teams both reached District 6-4A championship games and played state tournament games at the historic Pit ( University Arena ). The baseball team won its first district title since 1995, and the girls golf team placed two players among the top five individuals and was fifth as a team at the state championships.

In the fall of 2009, the Eagle boys and girls cross country teams both won District 6-4A team titles, with the boys placing fourth at state and the girls winning the third-place state trophy in Class 4A. The boys soccer team won 15 matches and went 1-1 in the state tournament, losing 3-2 to eventual champion Farmington in the state quarterfinals. Eagle football went 12-1, losing 28-21 to Goddard in the first high school state championship game ever played within Valencia County in that sport.

The school has had some success in academic competitions at both the state and national levels (see United States Academic Decathlon). They placed 3rd at the New Mexico regional competition and took home medals in math, economics, essay, interview, music, and language/literature and took home the gold medal in Super Quiz. The Academic Decathlon team will compete at the state competition in hopes of going to nationals for the first time in six years.

External links

• http://news-bulletin.com/sports/75806-11-14-07.html
• http://www.news-bulletin.com/sports/78090-02-27-08.html
• Belen High School home page
• News article about schools in the Belen area