A dozen Rio Rancho athletes will be honored the evening of June 7 at the Hilton Garden Inn, where the fourth annual Rio Rancho Sports Advisory Council’s Athlete of the Year banquet will be held.

There’s a good chance another Rio Rancho High School athlete will be honored, as Chris Williams (2005), Vicente Varela (2006) and Matt Ortega (2007) have been in recent years.

Of the dozen nominees, with the monthly athletes recognized at city council meetings, 11 of them attended RRHS, including Williams, who was honored as the September 2007 athlete of the month for his gridiron exploits at New Mexico State University. University of New Mexico baseball coach Ray Birmingham will be the guest speaker at the banquet.

One of the nominees, RRHS senior hurler Anthony Haase, signed a letter of intent to play for Birmingham next season, although that could change, depending on if and where he is drafted in this week’s major league draft.

For the purposes of the SAC’s award, the year begins in June and ends the following May (See the list of Athlete of the Month honorees below). The annual banquet is the culmination of the annual Celebrity Bowling Classic.

To be considered for Athlete of the Month, nominees must either hail from Rio Rancho or have performed their feat of recognition in Rio Rancho. Nominations are submitted by parents or friends, RRHS coaches, and, often, SAC members.

Formal presentations of the plaques to the athletes are made and in the future, monthly award-winners will have their photo and appear in The Observer.

Also, since last summer, the SAC’s showcase at Santa Ana Star Center has been.enhanced with area athletes’ memorabilia, such as Stephanie Lopez’s tennis racket, Elliott Pope’s hockey stick, and Brio Rode’s No. 10 Rams basketball jersey — with more to come.

Check-in for the SAC’s annual Celebrity Bowling Tournament at Tenpins & More will begin Saturday at 9 a.m., with the bowling beginning at 9:30. The entry fee is $25. Proceeds benefit Special Olympics and the Chamber of Commerce’s Friends of Tourism.

Here is the list of nominees:

MONTH ATHLETE SPORT

May 2007 Anthony Haase* Baseball

June Joey Garcia* Baseball

July Louis Trujillo* Wrestling.

Aug. Cole Pierce Bull riding

Sept. Chris Williams* Football

Oct. Julia Rasmussen* Soccer

Nov. Ashley Rhoades* Volleyball

Dec. Marcus Williams* B’ball

Jan. 2008 Elliott Pope* Hockey

Feb. Max Ortega* Wrestling

March Konrad Reeder Hockey

April Thomas Trujillo* Track

May Alex Wehner* Baseball

(* denotes a current or former Rio Rancho High School athlete)