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Tigers and Bobcats wrestling squads score big on road to state finals

steven bortstein, farmington daily times
·3 min read

FARMINGTON — The Aztec and Bloomfield High School wrestling teams took enormous strides last weekend towards competing for titles with less than a month before heading to Rio Rancho for the state championships.

Meantime, the Farmington High School swim and dive team also took home several awards last weekend in Santa Fe as they head into the homestretch for the state tournament in Albuquerque.

Here's a look back at last weekend's action on the mat and in the pool.

Wrestling

The Aztec Tigers boys team took home first place in last weekend's 40th renewal of the Tiger Duals, defeating teams from Bloomfield, Moriarty, Kirtland Central and Albuquerque Academy.

Sophomores Bryson Valdez and Talan Olguin took home first place medals, winning the 113-lb. and 120-lb. weight classes respectively.

Sophomore Tony Thompson took home a first place medal in the 152-lb. division, while senior Garrett Kirby won first place in the 170-lb. weight class and sophomore Jaylen Ignacio was unbeaten in taking home the first place medal at the 285-lb. division.

In team competition, the Tigers knocked off Moriarty, Farmington and Albuquerque Academy to advance to the final round.

The Aztec Tigers wrestling team stands with the championship award from the 40th annual Tiger Duals, held Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at Lillywhite Gym at Aztec High School.
The Aztec Tigers wrestling team stands with the championship award from the 40th annual Tiger Duals, held Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022 at Lillywhite Gym at Aztec High School.

Aztec defeated Bloomfield in the championship round by a final of 45-33.

"Our teams grew up a little," said coach Herb Stinson. "Now the stage is set for the next three weeks."

The Bloomfield team took home several first place medals in the competition, including wins by Elias Johnson at the 132-lb. weight class, as well as Matthias DeHerrera (138-lbs.) and Diego Snell-Martinez (160-lbs.), as the Bobcat team defeated Gallup, Kirtland Central and Shiprock to advance to the finals.

More: Aztec High School's Makayla Munoz has sights set on third straight state wrestling title

The Lady Tigers, winners of the Lady Tigers Scramble over a dozen teams including Bloomfield, Carlsbad and Kirtland Central, also took home individual championships with Makayla Munoz, Princess Altisis and Brynn Kirby each making big strides to the state championships.

Bloomfield's girls wrestling team took home second place in the Lady Tigers Scramble over the weekend, with Kylie Nunez winning the 114-lb. division, with Lyla Snell-Martinez (100-lb.), Jacky Viramontes (126-lbs.) and Amia Goins (165-lbs.) each taking home second-place awards.

Bloomfield will be in action this weekend in the Kirby Duals, which will be held at Belen High School.

Next up for the Tigers is a duals meet on Friday at home against Cedaredge (Colorado) High School followed by the Butch Melton Invitational at Ignacio High School.

Swimming & Diving

The Farmington High School boys swim team finished second overall in the Griffen Invitational last weekend at Santa Fe. The girls team took home fourth place in the event, which was dominated by the Los Alamos Hilltoppers.

More: Wrestling and swim teams make big strides to state titles in recent meets

The Scorpions girls team won the 200-meter medley relay, finishing ahead of Hope Christian, winning with a final time of 2:01.15, while Morgan Deale took home first place in the 200-meter individual medley, swimming a final time of 2:23.88, narrowly edging Sara Swinton of St. Pius.

Jenica Finlayson of Farmington defeated Santa Fe's Elia Tyroler in the 100-meter backstroke event, clocking in with a time of 1:06.17 while Los Alamos' Anna Wetteland posted a narrow victory over Farmington's Aili Talcott, winning with a final time of 1:09.03 in the 100-meter breaststroke.

The Scorpions boys 400-meter relay team posted a big win at the event, knocking off Los Alamos with a narrow victory, edging Los Alamos with a winning time of 3:28.68.

Farmington is headed to Santa Fe again this weekend, taking part in the Horseman Invite on Saturday before they'll host the District 2-5A championships at the Farmington Aquatic Center on Saturday, Feb. 5.

Steve Bortstein can be reached via email at SBortstein@Gannett.com, via Twitter @DTSBortstein or on the phone at (505) 635-2680.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Prep wrestling teams come up big as they head towards state finals