It’s been five years since a banner was hung on the walls of Lobos Gymnasium, courtesy of the Patagonia High School’s boys basketball team advancing to the 2021 Class 1A state semifinals.
There will be no new banners this year, but the 2025-26 school year redefined the term “banner season” for the Lobos athletic program.
Patagonia fielded five varsity teams in 2025-26 – volleyball, boys and girls basketball, baseball and boys tennis – and all five were represented in the Class 1A state championships.
“Every program had state qualifiers, which has not happened in my time (nine years) at Patagonia,” said athletic director and boys basketball coach Nate Porter. “Granted, there were more programs 15 or 20 years ago, but looking back, I could not find where it ever happened.
“It’s quite an accomplishment, and something these kids should cherish and something the school should be proud of. A lot of schools our size are just dropping sports completely, but we have an administration that continues to support it in Mr. (Kenny) Hayes. It gives kids confidence and success, and they can take that into other parts of their life.” Hayes is superintendent of Patagonia Public Schools.
Considering that total enrollment is about 80 students, simply being able to field five teams is a victory in and of itself.
“A lot of it is attributed to the coaches,” Porter said. “We have really phenomenal coaches that work really hard with the kids, and I think we had a group of student-athletes this year that really bought into what the coaches were trying to do.”
Porter recognized a meaningful camaraderie among the athletes. Baseball players Kannon Shore, Noah Gallardo and Miguel Albarran all commented on how team members “had each other’s backs.”
“That’s something I really think has assisted in the development of these programs,” Porter said. “You could tell how much the kids really got along and cared about each other.”
Each of the programs had its share of obstacles to overcome.
The volleyball team lost two starters midway through the season but went 16-5, was ranked seventh in Class 1A and hosted a state tournament game for the first time in recent memory.
Boys basketball overcame an 0-5 start in games factored into the state rankings to finish 15-15 and qualify for state for the first time since 2021.
Girls basketball qualified for state despite a roster of only eight players – and as few as six at various times during the season due to injuries.
Baseball, with a roster of 11, finished 9-10 and ranked 13th – this after three total wins over the previous three seasons.
Boys tennis compiled a 7-4 record, its most wins in eight years, while competing as the smallest school in Division III.
And that pride he referred to? It extends beyond the boundaries of the school campus.
“We’re one of the smallest schools in the state, and for us to take the athletes we have and for them to be successful – the baseball team was playing against a school four times their size – it creates school pride,” Porter said. “And we know, the data shows, that students that are involved in athletics perform better in the classroom.”
“I think we saw that this year,” Porter said. “We had more nonfamily fans coming to all our games. I saw fans coming to the games that didn’t have kids here, and that’s pretty cool.”
With 2025-26 in the books and the senior class moving on, a new set of challenges awaits. Porter and the Lobos’ other coaches understand that with open enrollment, some young athletes in the area will opt to attend bigger schools for more challenging competition.
“Next year we’ll take what we get and do the best we can with them, just like every year,” Porter said. “I think we have a pretty good thing here.”
2025-26 Lobos athletics year in review
Volleyball
Coach: Brenda Somoza
Record: 16-5. 1A state ranking: 7th
State tournament: First-round loss to Fort Thomas
1A South Region Coach of the Year: Brenda Somoza
All-Region First Team: Sophomore Monique Snell, junior Amaya Somoza, senior Brianna Majalca, senior Emma Lewton.
All-Region Second Team: Sophomore Nicole Cabrera. Honorable mention: Senior Ximena Gonzalez.
Boys Basketball
Coach: Nate Porter
Record: 15-15
1A state ranking: 22nd
State tournament: First-round loss to Anthem Prep
1A Conference Honorable
Mention: Junior Kannon Shore
1A South All-Region First Team: Shore. Honorable mentions: Senior Noah Gallardo, senior Gus Varela.
Girls Basketball
Coach: Michele Shadrick
Record: 10-15
1A state ranking: 23rd
State tournament: First-round loss to Mogollon
1A Conference Honorable Mention: Senior Emma Lewton
1A South All-Region First Team: Lewton
All-Region Second Team: Senior Brianna Majalca. Honorable mention: Senior Valeria Castellanos.
Baseball
Coach: Ryan Shore
Record: 9-10 record
1A state ranking: 13th.
State tournament: First-round loss to Williams
1A South Region Player of the Year: Junior Kannon Shore
All-Region First Team: Junior Patrick Rohde, freshman Troy Hawkins.
All-Region Second Team: Senior Miguel Albarran, senior Noah Gallardo, junior Josh Woods.
Boys Tennis
Coach: David Clovesko-Wharton
Record: 7-4
Division III state ranking: 25th
State tournament qualifiers: Seniors Jaxon Yslava and Lenin Albarran.
Division III, Section III Co-Coach of the Year: David Clovesko-Wharton