When most people think about Gadsden High School negative thoughts usually come to mind. Sports wise, it is not the school that is known for having things like an undefeated football team. When being compared to schools like Mayfield or Montwood, Gadsden is usually considered to be an easy victory in any sport or competition. When other teams see the “GHS” marked on athletes’ jerseys, the intimidation they may have felt before is completely drained from their minds.

Although the football team only won one game last year against Las Cruces High School (because of a forfeit) and the girls’ soccer team went 0-10 in district, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t talented athletes at this school. There have been quite a few shining stars that have caught the attention of universities like NMSU and UTEP. One athlete was so talented that he even made it to the NFL.

In 2005 Frank Borden was offered a full-ride basketball scholarship to Yuvapai Junior College. He was also offered many Division I track and field scholarships coming out of high school but chose to play basketball instead. His older sister, Alice Borden, was also offered a full-ride volleyball scholarship from NMSU a few years earlier. Other athletes from Gadsden who have received full-ride scholarships include Ana Valtierra (former UTEP basketball player), Angie Ortega and Vanessa Vallez (who are now softball players for NMSU), Erica Mesa (soccer player for the College of the Southwest), and Sideeq Shabazz (former NMSU Aggie and also former Oakland Raider). In the past years there have also been athletes who weren’t offered a full-ride scholarship, but are worth mentioning. Tyson Woods, a former long jumper here at Gadsden, is currently a long jumper for the UNM Lobos. Former GHS track and cross country runner Patrick Hernandez, a new addition to the NMSU Cross Country team, recently ran a five mile race placing 32 out of 84, with a time of 27 minutes and 59 seconds at a meet that was held in Albuquerque.

Gadsden is a large school that, judging by its reputation in sports, doesn’t seem to be offered as many sports scholarships compared to big name schools like Mayfield. Is it possible that college scouts don’t even bother to look at Gadsden’s athletes when they are competing because of the school’s reputation? Athletic Trainer Mr. Joe Mora doesn’t really agree. “We do have quite a few scholarships offered to our athletes. Our numbers may not be comparable to schools like Mayfield, but we can compete with schools like Onate. This is just a region of the United States that we’re not going to get a lot of athletes out of.”