Former Wingate coach inducted into N.M. hall of fame
ALBUQUERQUE, Jan. 26, 2012
Former Wingate High School track and field coach Dewey Bohling, who was with the Bears from 1970 to '77, was inducted into New Mexico High School Track and Field Coaches Hall of Fame last Saturday, Jan. 28.
Bohling was among the honorees at the New Mexico Track and Cross Country Coaches Association luncheon in Albuquerque.
Bohling also coached Wingate High football.
"Bohling likes to thank all his former runners, players and students of Ft. Wingate," said former student and player Ashen Dayea. "Dewey Bohling played professional football with the New York Titans in 1959, who later became the New York Jets, and later traded to the Detroit Lions 1961."
Bohlign and his wife Nasbah (Navajo) live in Albuquerque, according to Dayea, and he is still active at 74 years of age.
James Nells, a 1977 graduate of Wingate, said, "Coach Bohling was a father figure to me while I was there at Wingate. My sophomore year I decide that I wanted to be a coach and work with our Native kids at a boarding school just like coach Bohling. He was my inspiration.
"My freshman year I ran the state two mile in track (Hobbs) placing second, finishing in 10:17," Nells said. "It was then that coach Bohling said to me that he was going to coach me until I graduate and that we would break the 2-mile state record.
"At that time the record was 9:49, I believe. My senior year I came in second place in both the mile (4:24) and 2 mile (9:36). We broke the state record but I got out-kicked by Dave Barnaby (St. Pius).
"As a junior I was state champion in the 2-mile and ran 9:54, runner-up in the mile (4:27). My best cross country time for 3 miles was a second place finish at Roswell with a time of 14:32 behind Chuck Aragon (Los Lunas), who later on placed fourth in the Olympic Trials in the 1,500-meter run.
"I went on to college, made All-American, graduated and I am proud to say that coach Dewey Bohling was my inspiration, role model and father figure."
Ellsbury signs for $8 million
BOSTON - The Red Sox came to terms with Jacoby Ellsbury on a one-year deal worth $8.05 million on Jan. 17, avoiding one potential arbitration headache.
Ellsbury received a well-deserved raise from the $2.4 million he made last season.
The center fielder finished second in the American League MVP voting, hitting .321 with a .928 on-base plus slugging, 32 home runs, and 39 stolen bases.
"Happy to get a deal worked out! Excited to get to Spring Training and help the Red Sox get back on top!!'' Ellsbury wrote on Twitter.
The Red Sox did not discuss a multiyear deal with Ellsbury, who will become a free agent after the 2013 season. His agent, Scott Boras, dismissed that idea when asked about it in December, saying such discussions would not be held until close to the time Ellsbury becomes a free agent.
Memorial service scheduled for Haskell's late basketball coach
Phil Homeratha, a longtime coach and educator at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kan., died in late December at age 68 after losing a battle with cancer.
Homeratha, a member of the Otoe-Missouri Tribe, stepped down as athletic director and women's basketball coach on Feb. 20, 2011, after serving the university for 40 years.
Just a couple of days prior, Homeratha was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. He was buried in his hometown of Red Rock, Okla.
Homeratha led his teams to the national tournament in three different decades - the Haskell men's basketball team went in 1987, and the women's team qualified in 1999 and 2010, according to the Lawrence Journal-World.
In his 40 years of service at Haskell, no one impacted the athletic department quite like the smiling, influential figure many knew as "Ironman," according to the Journal-World, because of his constant workout regimen.
He not only served as athletic director, but also at one point or another coached every sport the school offered except women's volleyball and taught every class in health and physical education. He chaired and served on numerous academic committees, as well.
He was awarded as Outstanding Haskell Alumnus in the spring of 2011. He was a member of the National Indian Education Association, the National Education Association, National Junior College Athletic Association, Coach's Association for Intercollegiate Athletics, Haskell Alumni Association, and Tarkio Alumni Association where he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990.
A memorial service is scheduled on the Haskell campus on Feb. 4.