MEET THE 2026 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS!
ALEX STARR
BOSQUE SCHOOL
$10,000
Alex Starr introduced himself to the scholarship committee in the three languages he speaks—English, Spanish and Polish.
He was the captain of the basketball and mountain biking teams at Bosque School and also played on the volleyball and golf teams, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA.
Alex won the Bosque Bobcat award twice, was named MVP for the mountain biking team, was on the all-state academic team for volleyball, and played on the district champion basketball team.
Alex says he most values the camaraderie and friendships he has made through sports.
“My teammates know I will support them in whatever situations on and off the court,” he says. “These are lessons I will take with me for the rest of my life.”
Alex was a member of the Judicial Committee focusing on advocating for a safer community and handling disciplinary matters. He also volunteered at Saranam for families experiencing homelessness, and was a member of the Black Student Union and Spanish Model UN.
Alex will pursue an undergraduate degree in international relations at Tufts University, where he also will play sports at the intramural or club level.
SOPHIA LOPEZ
RIO GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL
$10,000
Sophia Lopez will play college basketball in the fall after a standout academic and athletic career at Rio Grande High School. She was the Ravens’ basketball team captain all four years, district player of the year, first team all-district, team MVP, leading scorer and rebounder, and made the district all-academic team every year.
Sophia also played varsity volleyball and tennis all four years at Rio Grande and says she cannot pick a favorite sport, as she enjoyed them all. Along the way, she earned a cumulative 4.0 GPA.
Sophia was a member of the student senate, worked on the yearbook, participated in monthly food distributions for the needy, as well as toy, clothing and food drives with the student senate. She also was a peer helper on a suicide prevention campaign at Rio Grande, providing resources to create suicide awareness.
“Some of the main things my family taught us that I still carry with me are work hard, be respectful, stay curious, be compassionate and get a good education,” she said. She is spending time this summer with friends and family while working out in preparation for college ball.
Sophia has committed to play basketball at Ottawa University Arizona, where she will pursue a degree in psychology to be able to help others and give back to the community.
CHLOE BROWN
SANDIA HIGH SCHOOL
$5,000
Some might say Chloe Brown was destined to play basketball, and after back-to-back state championships at Sandia High School, it seems to have worked out. She plans to major in chemistry or biology at McPherson College toward a career in anesthesiology, and is also committed to play basketball there.
Chloe comes from a basketball dynasty. Her grandfather Mike "Papa" Brown coached six consecutive state titles and was inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame, her father Danny is head coach of the highly successful Sandia boys team, and her uncle Greg has coached seven state championship teams, including a record five straight at Volcano Vista High School.
"I realize I can't control every outcome of a game, but I can control how hard I work," she says. "I learned our emotional states are contagious. By staying positive and focused, I can help those around me achieve incredible things."
Chloe will graduate with a 4.3 GPA. She also ran track and played soccer and earned all-tournament, first-team, and all-academic honors on the district-champion Matadors, a three-year run that included two state titles. Off the court, she has worked youth basketball camps, volunteered at Pumpkin Patch, and supports her family's fundraising to fight multiple system atrophy, the disease that took her grandfather's life.
ANNA HASTINGS
ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY
$5,000
Anna Hastings is a state champion runner and academic standout. She has committed to run cross country and track at Brown University in the fall.
At the Albuquerque Academy, Anna was team captain of the cross country and track teams. In cross country, she was an individual state champion and a member of two state championship teams. Her teammates selected her for the Team Award two consecutive years. On the Chargers track team, she won state titles in the 3200, 1600 and, this year, the 800 meters.
Anna says her favorite thing about running is the relationships she formed with teammates and getting to support them.
“While each season and race has its ups and downs, being able to share those experiences with my teammates made even the difficult parts worth it,” she says.
Outside of sports, Anna was a director of Effects, a nonprofit aimed at spreading science education to underfunded elementary schools in Albuquerque, wrote for the school newspaper, and was a class officer. She participated in Community Service Honor Society, performing hours of community service work each year, was a math tutor, was a counselor at the Field Institute of Taos, tutored local refugees in Albuquerque on math and reading, and participated in the Feminism Club.
MEET THE 2025 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS!
MAKAYLA LOVATO
HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL
1ST PLACE
Highland High School multi-sport athlete, team captain and 2025 class valedictorian Makayla Lovato is the first-place winner of the second annual Coach Chris Eaton Memorial Scholarship. An all-district soccer selection who also captained Hornets teams in golf, basketball, track, powerlifting, cross-country and marksmanship, Makayla will attend the US Naval Academy and plans to be a pilot in the military. Among other things, she has organized food and clothing drives, volunteered at a home for developmentally disabled young people, and has a list of activities and accomplishments too long to post here. She says she “strives for excellence” in everything she does.
BENJAMIN MORGAN
ALBUQUERQUE ACADEMY
2ND PLACE
Ben Morgan was recently named Academy’s male athlete of the year after a stellar career on both the soccer field and the basketball court. Ben’s Academy soccer team won state his senior year, and the basketball team, of which he was team captain, won district two consecutive years. He also played on the Academy golf team his junior year. He welcomes being trusted with leadership positions. Ben has been accepted to the Ocean Futures program at Arizona State University. Ben believes some of the most valuable and helpful tools in sports are belief and trust in teammates.
CHRISTABEL THIEL-HADJILAMBRINOS
LA CUEVA HIGH SCHOOL
TIE- 3RD PLACE
A member of all-district and all-state track and cross-country teams during her time at La Cueva, Christabel was team captain of both teams her senior year and also earned most valuable runner honors on the cross-country team her senior year. She was a member of the district 4x800 record-holding team. She also participated on the swim and dive team for four years and as a powerlifter for three years. A National Merit Scholar, Christabel will attend Dartmouth College where she plans to focus on a medical or research-related field of study.
OLIVIA MURPHY
SANDIA HIGH SCHOOL
TIE-3RD PLACE
Olivia Murphy has been admitted to the Honors Program at the University of Arizona, beginning a Bachelors degree program in medicine. Her volleyball and track and field activities at Sandia High were cut short by injuries and an ACL surgery that forced her to accept a new role “as a non-athlete,” she says. Her passion is to help and heal others. She was recognized by the College Board as a National Indigenous Scholar, as exemplified by her 4.2 GPA over the course of her high school career.
MEET THE 2024 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER!
Cibola High’s Ava Estes Wins $10,000 CEF Scholarship!
The winner of the 2024 Coach Chris Eaton Memorial Scholarship—the first ever awarded by the Chris Eaton Foundation—is Ava Lulu Estes of Cibola High School in Albuquerque.
Ava was Cibola High School women’s soccer team MVP, team captain, All-Star and All-State selection and one of two Cibola 2024 valedictorians. Ava was selected from a group of outstanding graduating student athletes from high schools all across Albuquerque. With the goal of becoming a neonatal surgeon, Ava will pursue a pre-medical school track at the University of Miami to obtain a bachelor of science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry.
In addition to her academic and athletic credentials, Ava volunteers in the Neonatal and Pediatric Care Units at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center. She also volunteers with Seed2Need, a nonprofit corporation created to reduce hunger by growing produce for local food pantries. Ava also was elected to various positions in student government at Hope Christian School and at Cibola High. She is the daughter of Douglas and Holly Estes of Albuquerque.
Before transferring to Cibola for her final two years of high school (as did Chris Eaton in 2004), Ava won a state soccer championship at Hope Christian in 2022 and was on the state runner-up team in 2021. She was named one of the Top 13 High School Players to Watch in 2023-24 by HQ Sports Magazine, and was nominated to the Academic All-American team, which will be announced in July. Her coach and AP calculus teacher, Heath Weihe, told the CEF that Ava was a great teammate and leader for soccer teammates from the varsity to the JV.
In early 2024, the CEF notified and later reminded administrators and college counselors at all 19 Albuquerque high schools, along with magnet schools, sports training organizations and coaches associations, of this brand new scholarship. Information was posted on social media and the CEF website. By the May 31 deadline, we had received 25 applications from graduating student athletes from high schools across the city. To qualify, applicants must have played a varsity sport at an Albuquerque high school, maintained at least a 3.2 GPA, and will attend a college or vocational school in the fall. As Chris stressed to his baseball players, education and learning are essential, as the odds of making a living playing a sport are small.
The application process was not easy. Applicants were required to submit a written application, including three essays, and a video presentation. Among other things, they focused on the four evaluation criteria—academic record, athletic performance and achievements, community involvement, and teamwork and leadership. Selecting a winner similarly was not easy. The CEF selection committee spent hours reviewing written submissions and videos, and then met in person for the daunting yet rewarding task of learning about these students and trying to narrow down an amazing group of young Albuquerqueans to one. Because there were so many great applicants, and thanks to the generosity of donors, the CEF will award three scholarships in 2025— $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500.
Applicants came from all of the traditional high school sports to newer activities such as cheer, powerlifting and pickleball. One finalist described the disappointing roadblocks to her goal of playing high school baseball, a struggle she faced with courage and strength, before switching to softball. She has accepted an offer to play college softball. Another discussed overcoming physical challenges at birth and an injury in high school to pursue wrestling and powerlifting with the strong support of her family, mentors and faith. Yet another described dealing with severe depression and efforts to obtain help. Most of the applicants have performed volunteer work in a variety of ways to help our community. The talent, drive, determination and accomplishments of this group of student athletes were inspiring and give us optimism for the future of this generation. There is an incredible pool of smart, talented, hard-working, goal-oriented young people across Albuquerque.
Congratulations, Ava! The CEF looks forward to following Ava’s career.