SILVER CITY, N.M. – Lee Barnes, Angela Corliss and Matt Enriquez will be inducted into the Western New Mexico University Athletic Hall of Fame on October 10th.
Lee Barnes, a 1959 graduate of WNMU, helped power several good football teams in the 1950’s playing as one of the top centers in the nation. In addition, he also played outside linebacker and during his senior season, he was named team captain and helped lead the team to a 7-2 season. The year before he was named MVP and also to the All-Conference team. He just missed being named MVP again as a senior, losing out by one vote to current Hall of Fame inductee Juan Vasquez. He was the main play caller on defense for three seasons.
Following his time at WNMU, he went on to coach football at Lake Havasu High School, where the school later dedicated the football stadium to Lee in 2007. He had no losing seasons during his career where he went 62-20. He also spent time as a coach at Wilcox High School, where his teams played for two state championships.
Current WNMU Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach Matt Enriquez, a 2006 WNMU graduate, piled up record-breaking numbers during his four-year career at WNMU finishing with 1,591 points, 510 field goals, 197 three-pointers, 350 rebounds, 223 assists and 32 steals. Scored a season-high in points of 466 twice as a sophomore and senior and averaged double-digits in every season.
He played in 105 games, starting 82 and since 1999-2000 he is amongst the all-time school leaders in most points in a game (40), field goals made in a game (14), field goal percentage in a game with at least eight made (.833, 10-12) tied for fourth, tied for sixth in three-point percentage made in a game with at least six (.667, 6-9), third for free throws made in a game (12), tied for fifth for most steals in a game with five which occurred three times.
Enriquez recently completed his ninth season and 13th year overall with the basketball program.
Current WNMU Head Softball Coach Angela Corliss, a 2005 WNMU graduate, had a stellar career in the circle as a Mustang. As a freshman, she dominated opposing hitters, earning a 1.1 earned run average (ERA) with 197 strikeouts in just 172 innings pitched.
As a sophomore she posted a 23-5 record with a .95 ERA and an amazing 264 strikeouts in 209 innings. For this, she earned PacWest Pitcher of the Year honors.
Her junior year yielded her best numbers yet as she was named the PacWest Pitcher of the Year for the second consecutive time, striking out 318 batters in 226 innings while having an ERA of .84.
Amazingly her numbers went down again her senior year. A .50 ERA in 302 innings pitched and a .142 opponent batting average, Corliss earned received PacWest Pitcher of the Year for the third time and MVP of the West Regional Tournament held in Arcadia, California.
She recently completed her fourth year guiding the Lady Mustangs. Corliss and WNMU made it back to the RMAC Tournament this year, collecting a pair of wins and finishing fourth at the tournament. The Lady Mustangs tallied 23 wins this season.
