CHS Grapplers at Rio Rancho Invitational

kmarksteiner0

Dec 4, 2024

By Don Eskins

Carlsbad High’s Cavegirl wrestling team has been chomping at the bit to get their show on the road this season. On Saturday, November 30, at the Goddard Invitational in Roswell, CHS head coach Mark Pratt unleashed them.

At Goddard, the Cavegirls wrestled their way to a runner-up finish. Overall, they amassed 106 points, just one-half point behind tournament champion Goddard, who logged 106.5. Also participating were Artesia, Hobbs, Clovis, Roswell High, and Ruidoso.

“For their first meet of the year, our girls wrestled incredibly well. After losing four very talented girls off last year’s team, we had a lot of unanswered questions about this year’s squad,” said Pratt. “But having registered 18 pins en route to their second-place finish, our girls answered a lot of those questions and more.

“Our season has just begun, and we still have a long way to go before regionals and state,” he said. “But if our girls continue to work as hard as they have, we’re going to get much better.”

Of the six girls taking the mat for Carlsbad, all placed.

Cavegirl Emily Fuentes, 114, went 3-0 to grab first place and the gold medal that came with it at the meet. Collecting silver medals for second-place finishes were 120, Breanna Trujillo, 2-1, and 235, Faith Abeyta, 3-1. Latching onto bronze medals for third-place finishes were 126, Ellianna Campos, 2-2, and 132-138, Mya Cornejo, 3-1. Jackie Powell, who went 2-2 to place fourth at 165, also received a bronze medal.

In JV competition, Arianna Campos had a big meet. At 185, she accumulated a record of 3-0 to place first.

The Cavemen JVs also competed at the Goddard Invitational. They collected 82 points to finish fifth in a seven-team field.

Three CHS JVs picked up gold medals for collecting individual tournament titles. They were 127, Andrew Fuentes, 3-0, 172, Eddie Lopez, 4-0, and 189, Dylan Marquez, 4-0.

The Cavemen JV lineup was comprised of eight eighth graders, two sophomores, and one junior.

The Cavegirls and Cavemen will compete at the Rio Rancho Invitational in Rio Rancho on Friday and Saturday, December 6-7. The meet will be a big one as teams from Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico will be competing.

Cavemen Grapplers Open 2024-25

The 2024-25 wrestling season officially opened for the Cavemen on Wednesday, December 4, at the Goddard Tri-Meet in Roswell. Due to deadlines, the results of that meet will be posted in the December 13 edition of the Carlsbad Local.

This weekend, Friday and Saturday, December 6-7, the CHS boys, along with the girls, will compete at the Rio Rancho Invitational in Rio Rancho.

“We’re looking forward to competing at Rio Rancho. It’s always one of the toughest meets in the state. Although we’ll be wrestling against Colorado and Arizona opponents—along with some of the best here in New Mexico—it will give our kids a barometer of just where they are at this time of the season,” said coach Pratt. “However, more than anything, we just want our kids to battle hard and have fun.

“Two years ago, our program had pretty much bottomed out after losing so many seniors the year before,” he said. “Last year was a little better for us, and we expect to see our kids improve even more this year. At Rio Rancho, we should learn a lot about all of us.”

Cavemen 2024-25 Lineup: 114- Aiden Rodriguez, 121- Axel Rodriguez, 127- Sabas Hernandez, 133- Guess Box, 139- Jay Norris, 145- Justin Owens, 152- Francisco Calderon, 160- Ethan Powell, 172- Xavier Huff, 189- Open, 215- Jaxon Powell, and 285- Aivin Chaves.

Cavegirls @ Goddard Results

114- Emily Fuentes 3-0, 1st

120 - Breanna Trujillo 2-1, 2nd

126- Ellianna Campos 2-2, 3rd

132-138- Mya Cornejo 3-1, 3rd

165- Jacklin Powell 2-2, 4th

235- Faith Abeyta 3-1, 2nd

Team- 2nd/7 Teams- 106 pts.

Cavegirl JVs

114- Symphony Carlson 1-2, DNP

165- Adrianna Carrasco 1-2, DNP

185- Arianna Campos 3-0, 1st