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The Menaul School cross country team gets things started for Panther athletics this weekend as part of the shortened 2020-21 sports season with Menaul cross country competing at Bosque School on Saturday morning.

Menaul Athletics‘ rollout continues next week with two matches for the Menaul volleyball team and the beginning of the Panther football team’s schedule.

Prep sports postponed in the Fall and Winter of 2020 by the New Mexico Activities Association. Now, with the NMAA’s approval, all three athletic seasons have been condensed into shortened seasons and will begin this week with Fall sports. Shortened seasons for Winter and Springs sports will follow. You can read more about the NMAA’s sports plan for the 2020-21 season here.

Under the current COVID-19 guidelines from the State of New Mexico, spectators are not allowed at sporting events for the time being. That could change as the state updates its COVID-19 regulations through the next few weeks, said Menaul athletic director Gary Boatman this past week.

“It’s been great to get going again. The coaches and kids have been doing good. They’re excited. The last few weeks, the kids have been focused and working.”

“They are not just going through the motions,” Mr. Boatman continued, “Now we have schedules, so it’s exciting because we get to go and try out what we’ve been working on. We get to go out and compete. “

Cross Country starts Saturday

The Menaul cross country squad will be running at the Bosque School on Saturday in the first meet of the season. The meet begins at 10 a.m. Including the Bosque School Meet No. 1, Panther distance runners have two other regular-season meets scheduled for this shortened season – Saturday, March 6 at Cuba High School and Saturday, March 13 at the St. Pius X Cross Country Trails at St. Pius X.

The District 2-2A meet is scheduled for Friday or Saturday, March 19 or 20, with the date, time, and site to be determined.

The State Cross Country meet is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, March 26 and 27, at Rio Rancho High School. More information on these events is forthcoming.

Volleyball takes to the court Tuesday

The Menaul varsity and junior varsity volleyball squads have a pair of games next weekend to begin their shortened seasons. The Panthers begin the season Tuesday evening hosting District 2-2A opponents Legacy Academy. Menaul then plays at Evangel Christian Academy in another 2-2A match on Thursday night. Both matches begin with junior varsity at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity match at 6 p.m.

Menaul is slated to play a nine-game schedule in March with district matches home-and-away against Evangel, Estancia, and Legacy Academy and non-district matches against Cottonwood Classical Prep, Mesa Vista, and Monte del Sol.

The full Panther volleyball schedule with times and dates is here.

The NMAA has postponed district tournaments for volleyball this season. The State Volleyball Tournament is scheduled to run from Monday, March 29-Saturday, April 3, at the Rio Rancho Event Center (formerly the Santa Ana Star Center) in Rio Rancho. The event is subject to change.

Streaming Panther sports

Also, Mr. Boatman said this week the Panthers’ home matches would be streamed online, most likely on the Menaul Athletics Facebook page. Away games may also be available to stream. For up-to-date information on streams, please check the Facebook page.

“We’re working on that right now,” Mr. Boatman said. “We have some new equipment coming in to be better set for streaming. When we go on the road, we’re hoping to have some options. We’ll either share the home team’s streams with the community, or we’ll do it ourselves. As long as we have Internet access, we should be able to do it.”

Football begins next weekend

The Menaul football team is scheduled to start its four-game season next Friday, March 5, on the road at Fort Sumner High School. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. As with all other sports, no spectators are allowed at the game as of now. 

Things could change as the state’s COVID-19 guidelines are updated. Please check the Menaul Athletics Facebook page for updates in the days before the game. As with volleyball, Mr. Boatman says the school hopes to stream all football games, if possible.

Because the NMAA is not sponsoring playoffs in any class this season, the Panthers will not have any district games this season. Although, Menaul will host District 1 foes Magdelena in their final scheduled game on Friday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at Tomlinson Field. 

The full Menaul football schedule with dates and times is here.

NMAA videos for Menaul Athletics parents

The NMAA has released pre-season videos for cross country, football, and volleyball for parents to watch before the competitions begin. Parents can find them here:

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