Nevada

Pair of Southern Nevada fathers thrilled to watch their sons play at JUCO World Series

Published

2 years ago

May 26, 2024

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Pair of Southern Nevada fathers thrilled to watch their sons play at JUCO World Series

There is nothing more a parent wants more than for their child to live and achieve their dreams.

Two sets of fathers and sons are sharing that dream at the Alpine Bank Junior College World Series.

Mike Cruz, who played for the College of Southern Nevada in the 2003 JUCO World Series, and Coyotes coach Nick Garritano are watching their sons play in the 2024 national championship tournament.

“It gives me goosebumps,” Cruz said of getting to watch his son play in the JUCO World Series. “It’s awesome. It was all his decision to come here. It’s exciting, it was for me. I’m so glad him and his team get to experience it.”

Garritano has not played in the JUCO World Series but is coaching the Coyotes in it for a second time, but this time his son, Nick Garritano Jr. is playing.

“It’s a feeling I cannot describe in words,” Garritano said. “To be able to share the field with him in this stadium is a dream come true to be honest. There will be memories we will share for the rest of our lives. I feel truly blessed.”

Cruz, who helped the Coyotes win the 2003 national title, made the trip from Reno, Nevada, to watch his son, Mike Cruz Jr.

The Coyotes (51-10) defeated Northwest Florida State College 7-6 on Saturday in the World Series.

Cruz Sr. started at third base for the Community College of Southern Nevada in its first JUCO appearance in only the program’s fifth year of existence. The Coyotes lost their first game to Seminole College (Fla.), but came back through the losers’ bracket, winning five consecutive games to win the national title. They were the first team to lose their first game of the tournament and come back to win the national title. Cruz received the Jay Tolman Outstanding Defensive Player award.

“Oh, man, what an experience,” Cruz said. “We lost our first game to Seminole Florida. The first pitch of the game was a triple off the fence. We were all, ‘Whoa!’ After that game, our moral was high. We still knew we were going to do it. No one doubted it.”

Cruz went on to play at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and is now a heavy equipment operator for a construction company in Reno.

“Grand Junction is the top by far,” Cruz said regarding his baseball experience. “Later in the week, the stands will be packed. Signing autographs for kids is amazing. You don’t sign autographs in high school or at CSN or UNLV.”

Those memories came rushing back while sitting in the stands watching his son warm up for Saturday’s game.

“I get to live it again,” Cruz said. “Being here brings everything back like it was yesterday. It was an incredible experience. These kids will never forget it.”

Cruz’s girlfriend at the time, Alise Porto, was at the tournament pregnant with Mikey.

Cruz Jr., who goes by Mikey, was at the ballfield with his parents as Cruz went on to play at the next level, wearing his dad’s batting gloves and played baseball as long as he can remember, but he didn’t come to Southern Nevada because of his dad.

“It is definitely cool, but I didn’t get an opportunity to play here because of my dad,” Mikey said. “I didn’t decide to come here because of my dad. I felt it was the best fit for me. I do want to achieve the same goal as my dad when he was here.”

Cruz Sr. has supported his son — from choosing to play baseball on his own and where he would play college baseball. Cruz Jr., a sophomore, is committed to play at UNLV next year.

“He’s been one of my number one supporters and my mom’s been one of my number one supporters throughout my whole baseball career,” Mikey said. “He just says the same thing as the coaches say, cherish every moment and make the best of it because you never know when it will be over. I’m grateful it’s not over yet.”

Nick Garritano Jr., who goes by Nicky, grew up playing baseball and always wanted to play for his dad.

“These last two years have been awesome,” Nicky said. “I’ve grown up around the field, knowing I want to play for him. Sometimes it’s hard, but at the end of the day it is a blessing.”

Nick Garritano took over the program in the fall of 2010, only six months after the Coyotes played in the 2010 JUCO World Series. Garritano, though, was the second coach hired after Tim Chambers retired in November 2010.

The coach that took over for Chambers broke recruiting rules and was put on probation for two years. That coach was let go and Garritano came in to clean up the mess. Southern Nevada lost 10 scholarships in that probation.

Six and a half years later, Garritano had the Coyotes back in the World Series and Nicky, was there for it. He was 13-years-old when they qualified in 2017.

“I remember Grand Junction being really cool and the stadium was super cool,” Nicky said. “It was a fun tournament to watch. It really was cool to see so many people in the stands. It is a lot more than what we’re used to playing in front of back home. It was a really good atmosphere too.

“I finally get to play. This is a good group. If we play our brand of baseball, we will be alright. We have good chemistry. We’ve been through just about every situation imaginable on the field.”

For Coach Garritano, coaching his son in the JUCO World Series is the highlight of his 28 years in baseball.

“He’s been a part of the program since he was a little boy,” Garritano said of his son. “He and I both have really tried to make this about the team. From day one I told him you are going to earn the respect of your teammates. He won’t be given everything. He’s treated no different than the other players.

“To know this is coming down to the last six or seven days, it’s the coolest experience I’ve ever had. It’s hard, it’s not easy, because every parent, every dad sitting in the stands today wants their kids to do as good as they can. When they struggle, they feel it too. I’m a dad too. I’ve got to be careful not to be too exuberant, but at the same time, as a coach/dad on the field, it’s a little bit of a juggling act, but I think we’ve done a good job of handling that.”

Whether the Coyotes can duplicate the success of the 2003 team or not, the father-son duos will leave Grand Junction with a memorable experience they will get to share for years to come.

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Nevada

Best Nevada high schools for athletes? One study has revealed a top 25

Published

12 hours ago

May 15, 2026

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Best Nevada high schools for athletes? One study has revealed a top 25

Nevada has a rich history of producing athletic legends.

Total number of sports: 24

1. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)

Total number of sports: 14

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Nevada

Nevada designates more than 119,000 voters inactive

Published

24 hours ago

May 14, 2026

Press Room

Nevada designates more than 119,000 voters inactive

CARSON CITY, Nev. (KOLO) – The State of Nevada says it has designated more than 119,000 voters as inactive ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar says that in the spring of this year, counties updated 14,164 voter records, designated 119,533 voters as inactive and canceled the voter registrations of 7,583 people.

This is in addition to 2025 voter roll maintenance efforts that registered more than 138,000 voters inactive and canceled nearly 177,000 voter registrations.

“State and local election officials are working hard to prepare voters for the upcoming June Primary, and keeping Nevada’s voter rolls up to date is a critical part of that process. County election officials have dedicated significant resources to make sure Nevada’s voter registration records are accurate, so that all eligible Nevadans – and only eligible Nevadans – can cast a ballot,” said Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar. “Mail ballots are being sent to active, registered voters across the state now. Voters can support their local officials’ work by checking and updating their registration information on VOTE.NV.gov.”

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Nevada

Arbor View beats rival Centennial for 5A boys volleyball state title

Published

2 days ago

May 14, 2026

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Arbor View beats rival Centennial for 5A boys volleyball state title

The Arbor View boys volleyball team has embodied the mindset that it would take the efforts of all 16 players to win the school its first boys volleyball title.

It proved to be the case on Wednesday night against rival Centennial in the Class 5A state championship match, and the Aggies’ efforts all season showed up in the biggest game of the season.

No. 3-seeded Arbor View claimed its first boys volleyball title with a 25-20, 25-27, 25-19, 25-19 victory over top-seeded Centennial at Sunrise Mountain.

“It feels amazing. The boys have worked hard, I don’t even know if I could put it into words,” Arbor View coach Nicole Adarme said. “Our big goal was to stay calm and collected the entire time. I just wanted to reflect that for them.”

Arbor View (28-13-1) let its emotions out after the final point on an Owen Wenger kill. The Aggies huddled and jumped for joy, helped carry injured teammate Gunnar Robinson off the bench, and eventually moved the celebration into the stands with a sea of red from the Arbor View student section.

“It feels absolutely great,” junior middle blocker/outside hitter Risden Miller said. “We trust each other so much. We’re best friends in and out of volleyball, and that really helps us on the court with just competing as a team.”

Even though the two team’s previous meeting on April 14 was a three-set win in league play by Centennial (32-6), Adarme said she knew the fourth meeting of the season for the two northwest rivals wasn’t going to be a sweep on either side.

Arbor View won a back-and-forth first set on a kill from Miller. Then it looked like the Aggies were going to win a close second set, but Centennial got a point for Arbor View being out of rotation, and the Bulldogs won four of the last five points to even the match score to one set apiece.

“That’s the traditional thing (when we play) Centennial (to play long matches), so for us, we just treated it like another set,” Adarme said. “We knew they were going to fight, so how do we respond to that? Our constant conversation was responding to the negative and moving forward in a positive direction.”

Arbor View scored six straight points in the third set to take a 20-15 lead, and the Aggies never let up to get to the fourth set with a chance to win the title. The Aggies took advantage of several Centennial errors to take the lead in the third set on their way to the title.

“We took three deep breaths and reset and recollected ourselves as a team,” Miller said of closing out the final two sets. “That’s just completely huge for rebounding from a lost set.

“For me, personally, just looking at all my best friends on the court, that truly calms me down and I know it calms them down as well.”

Miller recorded 18 kills and Wenger was key at the net with eight kills and eight blocks. The Aggies also got contributions from Graham Blanchard, Kenyon Wickliffe and Robinson before he went down with a lower left leg injury in the fourth set.

Lincoln Larson led Centennial with 19 kills. It’s the first boys volleyball state title for Arbor View and first appearance in the title game after the program reached the state semifinals four previous times.

“We can’t (win) with six, we have to do it with all 16,” Adarme said. “We’ve been training all of them to be ready for big moments and it was an amazing moment for Cooper (Ball, coming in for an injured Robinson) to be able to come in for us.

“We just had to know we couldn’t be outside of ourselves. Where we fell short in the past was trying to be more instead of focusing on what our role is and what our job is.”

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.

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