By C.W. Martin

The Village of Questa and Questa High School will host the inaugural "Questa Wildcat Winter Jam” and “Questa Ladycat Winter Jam” Basketball Tournaments this Weekend, December 14th through December 16th

Questa's Nathaniel Rael shoots a three against McCurdy during a game at Questa's "Mini-Pit" gymnasium.Photo byC.W. Martin, nfhsnetwork.com

When:

December 14th through December 16th, 2023

Locations:

Questa High School, "Mini-Pit" Gymnasium, 57 Sage Brush Rd, Questa New Mexico, 87556

Alta Vista Gymnasium, Alta Vista Elementary, NM-522, Questa, NM, 87556

Please Take Note: Game 5 of both the Boys Game 5 and Girls tournaments will be played in the Alta Vista Elemamentary gymansium, in Questa.

Questa's famed "MiniPit" gymnasium will be the primary host of this week's inaugural tournaments.Photo bySantana Ortiz

Questa Boys "Wildcat Winter Jam"

There is new life in the Questa Boys basketball program these days with new coach Mike Rael getting off to a 1-0 start this season before playing Springer on Monday. To go along with that, the Questa Wildcats will host the inaugural “Questa Wildcat Winter Jam” high school basketball tournament on Thursday, December 14th through Saturday, December 16th, with guests Centennial (San Luis, CO), Legacy Academy (Albuquerque), Maxwell and Wagon Mound making the trip to the beautiful Village of Questa in northern Taos County. The Questa Wildcats Junior Varsity team will also play as an independent team. I can’t think of a better gym to host a tournament than Questa’s “Mini-Pit.” This is a great place to watch a game of basketball, or a dozen, this weekend. It should be a fun weekend for everyone.

Boys Tournament Bracket:

Photo byQuesta High School

Questa Girls "Ladycat Winter Jam"

The Questa Ladycats will also host the inaugural "Questa Ladycat Winter Jam" tournament, with guests Centennial (San Luis, CO), Legacy Academy (Albuquerque), Maxwell and Rehoboth Christian coming to town. The Questa Ladycats Junior Varsity team will also play as an independent team. The Ladycats come into their home tournament with a 3-1 record this season after wins over Santa Rosa and Tularosa over the weekend at a tournament.

Girls Tournament Bracket:

Photo byQuesta High School

Boys Tournament Schedule:

Game 1 - December 14th, 12:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

Wagon Mound Trojans (Wagon Mound) at Questa Wildcats (Junior Varsity)

Photo byWagon Mound High School

Photo byQuesta High School

Wagon Mound comes into the tournament with a 0-3 record after playing in the Cowbell Tournament, losing on Saturday night, 66-29 to Springer. The Trojans play in Class A District 5, and finished with a 3-19 record in the 2022-2023 season.

Questa’s Junior Varsity team opens their season with this game versus Wagon Mound.

Game 2 - December 14th, 3:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

Maxwell Bears (Maxwell) at Legacy Academy Silverbacks (Albuquerque)

Photo byMaxwell High School

Photo byLegacy Academy

The Maxwell Bears come into this season after finishing 23-5 and second in Class A District 5 last year which included a first-round appearance in the state championship tourney. The Bears come into the Questa tournament with a 2-1 record after an appearance at the Cowbell Tournament, that included a loss to Raton, a big win over Springer and win over Clayton.

The Legacy Academy Silverbacks are another Class A team playing in this year's Questa tournament. They won the District 7 title last season with a 22-6 record and made an first-round appearance in the state championship tournament also. The Silverbacks were 2-3 this season before playing the Menaul Panthers on Monday, December 11th.

Game 3 - December 14th, 6:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

Centennial Rams (San Luis, Colorado) at Questa Wildcats (Varsity)

Photo byCentennial High School

Centennial is a team that finished last season with a 14-7 record and third in the Colorado 1A Southern Peaks League. The Rams come into the Questa tourney with a 1-0 record this season after a win over Trinidad last Saturday.

Game 4 - December 15th, 2:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 5 - December 15th, 2:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

Alta Vist Elementary School, Alta Vista Gymnasium

NM-522, Questa, NM 87556

To Be Determined

Game 6 - December 15th, 5:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 7 - December 16th, 12:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 8 - December 16th, 3:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 9 - December 16th, 6:30pm - Questa, New Mexico

Boys Championship Game

To Be Determined

Girls Tournament Schedule:

Game 1 - December 14th, 11:00am - Questa, New Mexico

Maxwell Lady Bears (Maxwell) at Questa Ladycats (Junior Varsity)

The Maxwell Lady Bears team comes into the tourney with a 1-2 record on the season, after an appearance at the Cowbell Tournament. They finished 6th in Class A District 5, with a 7-20 record last season.

The Questa Ladycats Junior Varsity team is has yet to play a game this season.

Game 2 - December 14th, 2:00pm - Questa, New Mexico

Rehoboth Christian Linx (Rehoboth) at Legacy Academy Silverbacks (Albuquerque)

Photo byRehoboth Christian School

The Rehoboth Christian Linx Girls are a Class 2A District 1 team that comes to Questa with a 2-0 record after wins over Wingate and Ramah to begin to begin the season. They finished the 2022-2023 season with an 11-15 record and third in their district.

Legacy Academy's Girls team began the season with a 1-3 record before facing Menaul on Monday, December 11th. They finished third in Class A District 7 last season with a 9-13 record.

Game 3 - December 14th, 5:00pm - Questa, New Mexico

Questa Ladycats (Varsity) at Centennial Rams (San Luis, CO)

The Centennial Rams Girls team are yet to play a game in the 2022-2023 season but finished last season 10-12 overall record and third in the Girls 1A Southern Peaks League. Centennial made a trip to the 2023 CHSAA Girls Basketball District Tournaments last season with a win over Antonio before a second-round loss to Sierra Grande.

Game 4 - December 15th, 1:00pm - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 5 - December 15th, 1:00pm - Questa, New Mexico

Alta Vista Elementary, Alta Vista Gymnasium

NM-522, Questa, NM 87556

To Be Determined

Game 6 - December 15th, 4:00pm - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 7 - December 16th, 11:00am - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 8 - December 16th, 2:00pm - Questa, New Mexico

To Be Determined

Game 9 - December 16th, 5:00pm - Questa, New Mexico

Girls Championship Game

To Be Determined

The Questa Winter Jam Tournaments sound like a lot of fun. If you're a fan of basketball and are in the area, or not in the area, make the trip down to check out these teams.

As always, any notifications of any mistakes or needed corrections are very welcomed at cwmartinsports@gmail.com.

For more coverage of 2A District 5 and other Class 2A teams, as well as teams from around the area throughout the season, including recaps and game highlights, please visit, cwmartinsports.blogspot.com and youtube.com/@CWMartinSports.