CHS Wrestlers in Rio Rancho for State Tourney

By Don Eskins

Seven of 10 Cavemen wrestlers, Aiden Rodriguez, Mathyas Meier, Sabas Hernandez, Guess Box, Jay Norris, Francisco Calderon, and Ethan Powell, battled their way through the New Mexico Southern Regional Tournament in Las Cruces on Friday and Saturday, February 14-15, to qualify for Friday and Saturday’s, February 21-22, State Tournament in Rio Rancho.

Aiden Rodriguez, at 114 lbs., went 3-1 at the regional meet to place second, CHS’s overall top effort. For his effort he was seeded fourth for this year’s state tourney.

Finishing among the field’s top three were Francisco Calderon, at 152 lbs., and Ethan Powell, at 160. Both posted records of 4-1 and both placed third.

Also qualifying for state were Mathyas Meier, at 121 lbs., fourth; Guess Box, at 133 lbs., fifth; Sabas Hernandez, at 127, fifth; and Jay Norris, at 139, sixth.

In order to qualify for state, wrestlers had to place among the top seven finishers in each class. Each class also received one wild card selection. So, overall, eight wrestlers from each class moved on to the Big Dance in Rio Rancho.

As a team, the young Cavemen placed seventh in a field of 15.

“I felt good about the way our kids wrestled,” said CHS head wrestling coach Mark Pratt. “We finished about where we’ve been finishing most all year, somewhere in the middle of the pack.

“But the nucleus of our team is very young this year, so, besides having an opportunity to wrestle for a state championship, they’ll also be getting some valuable experience, which should help them for the next few years,” he said.Overall, CHS will send 12 grapplers to the state meet. Joining the Cavemen at the state tournament will be five Cavegirls.

Andrea Ramirez, Emily Fuentes, Ellianna Campos, Arianna Campos, and Aaliyah Martin qualified for state at the girls’ southern regional in Belen on February 7-8.

The top seed for the Cavegirls at the meet will be Aaliyah Martin. Martin, a senior, captured the southern regional title at 235 lbs. For the state tourney, she’s been seeded second.

“The top seed in Aaliyah’s class is from Bloomfield. She’s undefeated this year, but she hasn’t wrestled Aaliyah,” said coach Pratt. “We have a lot of confidence in her, and we think she’s primed to have a great state tournament.”

Following are the Cavemen and Cavegirls’ southern regional results. Listed are weights, names, regional records, places, and state tournament seeds.

Regional Results:

Cavemen: 114- Aiden Rodriguez 3-1, 2nd (4TH), 121- Mathyas Meier 3-2, 4TH (12th), 127- Sabas Hernandez 2-3, 6th (14TH), 133- Guess Box 3-2, 5th (13TH), 139- Jay Norris 3-3, 6th (medical forfeit) (10TH), 145- Carter Pulice 1-2, DNP, 152- Francisco Calderon 4-1, 3RD (8TH), 160- Ethan Powell 4-1, 3rd (6TH), 172- Xavier Huff 1-2, DNP, and 215- Jaxon Powell 1-2, DNP.

Cavegirls: 100- Andrea Ramirez 2-3, 8th (10TH), 114- Emily Fuentes 5-1, 3rd (7TH), 126- Ellianna Campos 3-2, 7th (16TH), 185- Arianna Campos 3-3, 6th (14TH), and 235- Aaliyah Martin 4-0, 1st (2ND).