Alamo-Navajo’s Tarah Apachito earns basketball scholarship

CHINLE

Tarah Apachito was born in Socorro, but is from the Alamo-Navajo reservation. The superb basketball player made history when she became the first in her school to graduate with a basketball scholarship.

“It still feels unreal to be the first person from my school to do this,” she said. “It’s a big step but I wanted to do it so I can encourage people to let them know that there is a bigger life outside the reservation.

“And everyone can do it to get out of there if they wanted to,” she said. “It takes hard work and dedication every single day and to never give up even when you’re at your lowest.”

Apachito grew up enjoying basketball. She started playing at 5. Both her father and grandfather are coaches and had helped trained her through the years.

She said that when she plays the sport, she releases of a lot of stress and expresses other emotions that can’t be shown anywhere else but on the court.

She also played club basketball as well, being part of the New Mexico Clippers, New Mexico Select and other high division teams that allowed her to play against equally skilled players.

She went to Socorro High School for three years before transferring to Alamo-Navajo Community School to finish her senior year.

One of the greats

When Alamo-Navajo coach Randy Hunt heard she would be playing for them, he was excited. Apachito had become well known in the area, even though he only had her for a year he saw greatness in her.

“We are so grateful and thankful she helped us win a district title here at Alamo,” Hunt said. “Our main opponent was Magdalena. She helped us beat them twice. She averaged right around 18 points a game. She could get you 30 points if I let her.”

Apachito was looking forward to her final year and playing basketball, but everything was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

She would be isolated from her friends and teammates for almost a year when Alamo-Navajo announced they were going to have a delayed season in March.

Delayed season

It was tough going with their 12 games packed into a month. The team was on the road constantly and was exhausted.

Still, it was worth it as Apachito and her team went on to win district championship and made it to the state playoffs.

It was bittersweet for Apachito, she is thankful that she got to play this year, but wished she had a longer season to be with her friends.

“I loved my team, I wished we had another year with them,” Apachito said. “We did pretty good and got district championship for Alamo and it’s been a while since they had one so that was one of our main goals is to make the community proud and give them hope for everything we went through as a community.”

The Alamo Navajo reservation was hit hard by COVID-19. The community suffered losses from the virus and Hunt felt like the team playing and performance this year had help comfort them, giving the community something to be proud of as sports has deep meaning for them.

Athletic Director Barbra Gordon commends Apachito for all she had done, for being an excellent team captain and for being a positive role model for everyone.

“We’re very proud of her,” Gordon said. “I think she’s someone kids look up to because now they feel if Tera can do it, we can too. So, she’s pretty motivational to the younger players it was awesome.”

Alamo on the map

Apachito had received many offers to play for different schools.

She was tempted to go to Northern New Mexico College, but she chose to attend Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas. She said she enjoyed New Mexico, but she wanted a chance to go off the Nation and to see the world.

Apachito said she is having a great time there and is already forming a strong bond with the coaches and her new teammates.

She is proud to be there representing her tribe, feeling that Natives are underrepresented and hopes to bring more awareness that Native Americans are still here and still matter.

Apachito is studying business and management and has art for her minor. Her dream is to combine the two and open a tattoo store.

She gives thanks to the Creator for blessing her and putting her on the earth, to her family and also to her coaches who helped her get to this point.

Hunt had been coaching for more than 40 years and had time to train Apachito for only a year before she left for college. But despite that, he said out of the thousands of athletes he knew, she is definitely one of the top five he has had the pleasure of knowing.

“I wish her the best. I know she can do this,” he said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart Tarah, she has put Alamo on the map.”

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