Prep state wrestling championships: Volcano Vista pin down boys, girls trophies; Belen boys take 1A-4A
Feb. 18—RIO RANCHO — By 8 p.m. Saturday, the high school state wrestling championships had officially concluded.
But it was 6:30 p.m. Saturday when Ahren Griego, the head coach at Volcano Vista, clamped in a big bear hug with one of his assistants at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
It was at that moment, long before the end of the individual finals, that the Hawks realized they had won their first Class 5A state championship.
Led by state champions, junior Anthony Lopez (39-1 this season at 114 pounds), unbeaten senior Noah Jones (32-0 at 127) and Lorenzo Gallegos (133; he was 40-1 as a freshman), the Hawks took down a talented 5A field this weekend, scoring 187 points. La Cueva (177.5) and Atrisco Heritage (153) completed the top three, marking an extremely rare 1-2-3 sweep for Albuquerque Public Schools, believed to be the first such team sweep this century for APS.
"I want to say this in a sarcastic but non-sarcastic way: I want to thank (new APS athletic director) Adrian Ortega for leveling the playing field for us," Hawks coach Ahren Griego said. "Once the rules changed (like allowing eighth-graders to participate), we were able to compete with our competitors outside the metro."
La Cueva had an excellent night, and the Bears produced three champions of their own in undefeated Mario Tafoya (who closed the season 36-0 at 152 pounds) — who pinned Cleveland's Joe Coon in overtime — plus Mason Posa at 189 (he was 31-1 this season) and Jack Byers at 160.
Other top wrestlers from the metro area capped strong seasons with first-place finishes, such as West Mesa heavyweight Tyler Finley (39-1), Cleveland's stellar 107-pound Roman Luttrell, Rio Rancho's Marcus Williams (121) and Miguel Andrade of Los Lunas at 215 pounds, who closed 38-0 in his senior season.
CLASS 1A-4A: The most important wrestler Saturday night proved to be someone who didn't wrestler either for the eventual state champion, Belen, or the runner-up, Bloomfield.
That distinction went to Socorro's David Gutierrez, Jr. His victory in the heavyweight match against Bloomfield's Robert Williams cemented a team victory for Belen, which scored 176.5 points. That was one-half point more than the Bobcats, who needed Williams to win his match.
The Eagles had a dogpile on the mat moments after Gutierrez's victory.
"All of our kids knew (the importance of the Gutierrez match," Belen coach Nick Sanchez said. "We let Socorro know (we wanted them) to do us a favor."
For Belen, it was the school's first wrestling championship since 2017.
Junior Niko Trujillo of Cobre was the 152-pound champ, his fourth state title. His father Sam was also a four-time state champion.
Another junior, Bryson Valdez of Aztec (121), also became a four-time state champion, and finished the season 46-0.
Belen had a state champ in Ely Gutierrez, who captured the title at 160 pounds after Shiprock's Hayden Goodluck suffered a serious left arm injury and had to default. Adan Benavidez of Bloomfield capped a perfect 50-0 season with his triumph at 133 pounds.
GIRLS: Volcano Vista completed a team sweep — and capped the biggest day in the program's history — by rolling to the state title, with 147 points. Miyamura, which had won the first three official girls team state championships in this sport, scored 115.5 points, with Goddard (110.5) third.
The Hawks didn't have any individual state champs, but had three finalists in Chelsea Rivera (165 pounds), Elena Moya (185) and heavyweight Jordyn Yazzie.
"The girls had to overcome a lot to get where they were," Griego said.
From the metro area, Ashley Smith of Cleveland (114), Jaden Meadows of Sandia (unbeaten at 152) and Bre Samora of Manzano (165) won state titles. So did senior Marisa Rimbert of Atrisco Heritage, who posted what was probably the biggest upset in the finals, pinning previously undefeated Kayla Jose of West Mesa in 51 seconds at 132 pounds. Rimbert later said she believed Jose had beaten her at least five times this season prior to Saturday night.
"Everything just felt right," Rimbert said. "I went into the match thinking, 'I'm gonna be a state champion.' "
Meadows finished her freshman season at 26-0, and won every match by pin, she said.
New Mexico National Guard State Wrestling Championships, Rio Rancho Events Center Center, Saturday
BOYS
Class 5A
Team: Volcano Vista 187, La Cueva 177.5, Atrisco Heritage 153, Los Lunas 152, Cleveland 148, Farmington 143, Rio Rancho 129, Piedra Vista 82.5, Hobbs 80, Las Cruces 57, West Mesa 52, Gadsden 41, Carlsbad 39.5, Manzano 38.5, Centennial 34, Santa Fe 34, Roswell 30, Capital 29, Rio Grande 27, Cibola 16, Albuquerque High 15, Eldorado 14, Alamogordo 9, Mayfield 4, Sandia 4, Clovis 2.
Individual: 107—Roman Luttrell, Cleveland, p. Brayden Harvey, Farmington, 3:37. 114—Anthony Lopez, Volcano Vista, dec. Marcus Najera, Carlsbad, 5-0. 121—Marcus Williams, Rio Rancho, dec. Sergio Gutierrez, Rio Grande, 8-3. 127—Noah Jones, Volcano Vista, dec. Kaleb Medina, Rio Rancho, 5-1. 133—Lorenzo Gallegos, Volcano Vista, maj. dec. Zander Bahri, Piedra Vista, 11-0. 139—Keenan Bejar, Piedra Vista, p. Joseph Garcia, La Cueva, 6:47. 145—Tye Barker, Centennial, dec. Tatum Garcia, Atrisco Heritage, 5-3. 152—Mario Tafoya, La Cueva, p. Joe Coon, Cleveland, 6:56. 160—Jack Byers, La Cueva, dec. Conner Cole, Volcano Vista, 1-0. 172—Ivan Smith, Farmington, p. Tomas Herrera, Gadsden, 6:00. 189—Mason Posa, La Cueva, p. Rene Pages, Hobbs, 1:20. 215—Miguel Andrade, Los Lunas, p. Ryan Pauly, La Cueva, 2:56. HVWT—Tyler Finley, West Mesa, dec. Cody Billie, Farmington, 8 — 2.
Class 1A-4A
Team: Belen 176.5, Bloomfield 176, Aztec 168.5, Silver 131, Deming 130.5, Miyamura 97, Socorro 93, Española Valley 65, Robertson 63, St. Pius 46, Cobre 41.5, Moriarty 36.5, Albuquerque Academy 34, Del Norte 34, Ruidoso 33, Shiprock 33, Pojoaque Valley 32, Goddard 30, Grants 28, Los Alamos 27, Valley 25, Highland 21, Kirtland Central 18, Newcomb 18, Tucumcari 16, Valencia 15, Taos 10, Artesia 7, Chaparral 7, Gallup 7, Santa Teresa 7, Pecos 2, Tierra Encantada 2, St. Michael's 1.
Individual: 107—Gunner Samora, Bloomfield, dec. Joshua Jaramillo, Belen, 9-4. 114—Hunter Samora, Bloomfield, SV-1 over Landon Atencio, Española Valley, 3-1. 121—Bryson Valdez, Aztec, dec. Valentine Popadiuc, St. Pius, 3-0. 127—Elias Johnson, Bloomfield, p. Mycah Gachupin, St. Pius, 1:36. 133—Adan Benavidez, Bloomfield, dec. Jonathan Valdez, Moriarty, 4-2. 139—Tony Thompson, Aztec, dec. Cruz Sandoval, Española Valley, 1-0. 145—Landon Sandoval, Silver, dec. Damien Wood, Belen, 6-5. 152—Niko Trujillo, Cobre, dec. Rocco Farano, Deming, 5-1. 160—Ely Gutierrez, Belen, won by injury default over Hayden Goodluck, Shiprock, 2:49. 172—Gavin Aguirre, Silver, p. Logan Barboa, Aztec, :41. 189—Caden Moreland, Socorro, dec. Bobby Orona, Belen, 2-1. 215—Jaylen Ignacio, Aztec, p. Isaiah Chavez, Ruidoso, 5:32. HVWT—David Gutierrez Jr., Socorro, p. Robert Williams, Bloomfield, 2:00.
GIRLS
Team: Volcano Vista 147, Miyamura 115.5, Goddard 110.5, Farmington 86.5, Sandia 77, Las Cruces 70, Atrisco Heritage 65, Bloomfield 62, Cibola 59.5, Socorro 57, Moriarty 55, Cleveland 52, Manzano 46, Rio Rancho 43, Carlsbad 41.5, Piedra Vista 40, West Mesa 35, St. Pius 34, Los Alamos 31.5, Aztec 31, Gadsden 30, Mayfield 29, Robertson 29, Belen 28.5, Capital 25, Organ Mountain 22, Valley 22, Eldorado 19, Kirtland Central 17, Deming 16, Santa Teresa 16, Albuquerque High 14, Chaparral 13, Cobre 12, Highland 10, Los Lunas 9, Roswell 9, Valencia 9, Del Norte 7, Shiprock 7, Tucumcari 7, Santa Fe 5, Pojoaque Valley 4, Centennial 3, Newcomb 3, Northwest 3, Rio Grande 3, West Las Vegas 3.
Individual: 100—Alyssa Sedillo, Las Cruces, maj. dec. Elena Cordova, Rio Rancho, 11-3. 107—Lorianna Piestewa, Miyamura, p. Andie Saiz, Belen, :48. 114—Ashley Smith, Cleveland, dec. Rosalia Rubio, Carlsbad, 3-2. 120—Taniel Espinosa, Miyamura, dec. Sasha Gonzalez, Socorro, 2-0. 126—Valeria Garcia-Aguirre, Mayfield, p. Autumn Cockrell, Goddard, 5:25. 132—Marisa Rimbert, Atrisco Heritage, p. Kayla Jose, West Mesa, :51. 138—Liana Fernandez, Robertson, p. April Archibeque, Farmington, 4:42. 145—Makayla Muñoz, Aztec, p. Bianca Arundale-Maestas, Sandia, :40. 152—Jaden Meadows, Sandia, p. Svea Robinson, Piedra Vista, :23. 165—Bre Samora, Manzano, p. Chelsea Rivera, Volcano Vista, 1:01. 185—Amia Goins, Bloomfield, p. Elena Moya, Volcano Vista, 2:40. HVWT—Hannah Mariano, Miyamura, p. Jordyn Yazzie, Volcano Vista, 1:07.
