Sheryl Clemmer, a 1969 graduate of Del Norte High School and Albuquerque Academy employee since 1985, was inducted into the Del Norte Athletics Hall of Fame on October 13.
Sheryl began playing sports with her brothers and neighbors, and she joined the AOC Track Club, where she “competed in almost every event you can think of—from the 100 meters to the 1600 meters, even the heptathlon at one point. One of my proudest moments,” she says, “was running the 800 meters at the Albuquerque Jaycee Indoor Invitational, a meet filled with Olympians. I was just 14 years old and ran a 2:27 alongside the indoor champion, Suzy Zabo Nagy, who took home the win.”
Although there were no organized sports for girls at Del Norte, Sheryl was named Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.
After high school, she played softball for the Jokers, the top team in New Mexico, and received several MVP honors. At New Mexico State, she played volleyball, basketball, and softball and was named NMSU’s Female Athlete of the Year when she was a senior. “One funny story from my college years: While playing in the softball championships in Fort Collins, our track team was competing nearby. Somehow, one of the relay runners got injured, and their coach asked if I could step in to run a leg of the race. I did, and though I don’t recall where we placed, the track coach tried to recruit me afterward. It was all a bit surreal, but a testament to the incredible opportunities sports gave me.”
The passage of Title IX the next year, says Sheryl, was the best thing that ever happened to female athletics.
“Sports didn’t just shape my competitive side; they shaped my career. My passion led me to change my major to education, and I began working summers for parks and recreation, discovering a love for working with kids. That love translated into a lifelong career—50 years of teaching and coaching.”
