Cibola Fishing Report – February 17–24

Diego Lopez, EditorCIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. - With late February arriving and winter starting to ease up, local fishing is shifting back toward access and opportunity.

Cibola County hunters invited to share photos, harvest stories with the Citizen

The Cibola Citizen is inviting hunters across Cibola County to submit photos and short write-ups from the 2025–2026 hunting season for possible publication.

Brian Smith Secures His Second Quad Victory

GRANTS, N.M. Brian Smith, a 50-yearold athlete from Gunnison, Colorado, has secured his second victory in the challenging Mount Taylor Winter Quadrathlon, eight years after his first win in 2018.

Pirate Boys Basketball Ending Tough District Season

GRANTS, N.M. District 5 4A boy’s basketball is not just another district, it is currently the most challenging district in 4A with 3 teams in the top 10 and 2 in the top 16 including the Pirates who currently are landing on the 16th spot.According to the maxpreps.

Lady Pirate Basketball Wraps-Up District Play

With one game left the GHS Lady Pirate basketball team is wrapping up their season after a good win against district rival St. Pius last week on February 10 by a score of 54-43.“Defensively we were smarter with our fouls this time around,” said GHS head coach Jesi Rael.

Lady Hawks 20-4, 8-0

GRANTS, N.M. - The Lady Hawks are ending their district play with a storybook season, with an impressive 20-4 and 8-0 record to date they will wrap up on Tuesday, February 17 as they host Ramah (10-14, 5-3).

Then There Were 12

Franklin Romero, Sports CorrespondentTwelve wrestlers from the Grants High School boys and girls wrestling teams are headed off to the state tournament this upcoming weekend. Six qualified for the girls team and 6 for the boys team after the regional meet last weekend.

Cibola Fishing Report – February 11–16

February is starting to bring a little momentum back to local fishing – not necessarily through big catch reports, but through something just as important for Cibola County anglers: access.

Martinez and Hawks 18-4, 6-0; Ranked 4th” by

Flu, no problem! In a recent game on February 3 against Ramah, Lady Hawks head coach Jolynn Martinez coached the game over “facetime” (a video app where a person can talk and see others over a smartphone) as she could not attend due to an illness. “It was a game we couldn’t handle,” said Martinez.

Growing Is the Purpose: Keeping Education First in High School Sports

By Dr. Karissa Niehoff, Chief Executive Officer of the NFHS, and Dusty Young, Executive Director of the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA)NEW MEXOCO High school sports is experiencing record participation. It is also experiencing unprecedented pressure.