By Don Eskins
The 2024-25 prep wrestling season officially gets underway for the Cavegirls on Saturday, November 30, at the Goddard Invitational in Roswell. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
Taking the mats along with the Cavegirl varsity will also be both the girls’ and boys’ junior varsity squads.
While both the Cavemen and Cavegirls are anxious to take to the mats, CHS head coach Mark Pratt said his 2024-25 grapplers will look quite different than they did last year.
“We didn’t return any wrestlers that can dominate the field, as we did last year,” said Pratt. “However, this year’s kids all have a significant amount of experience. So, overall, we should be fielding two squads that are pretty solid.
“These kids are also hard workers, and they love to compete,” he said. “So, just how our season will play out is still very much ahead of us.”
Cavemen- Cavegirl Prospects
Leading the Cavegirls this year will be returnees senior Andrea Ramirez, 100 to 107 lbs.; junior Emily Fuentes, 114 lbs.; sophomore Elliyana Campos, 126 lbs.; and senior Mya Cornejo, 132 lbs.
Out in front for the Cavemen will be junior Justin Owens, 145 lbs.; senior Ethan Powell, 160 lbs.; and senior Aevin Chavez, heavyweight. Last year, Owens placed sixth at the New Mexico State Tournament.
“These kids have all experienced varsity competition with success,” said coach Pratt. “We’ll be leaning on them a lot this season for points and leadership.
“We also have several other kids returning who wrestled at the varsity level last year, all vying for varsity spots,” said coach Pratt. “After a year’s growth, several of them have gotten bigger, so we’re still searching for weight slots for them.
“On the boys’ side, we have six wrestlers competing for three weight divisions,” he said. “So, we still have a lot of competition going on just to fill out our varsity rosters.”
The Cavemen will open the new season on Wednesday, December 4, at the Goddard High School Tri-Dual Meet in Roswell. Competing alongside Carlsbad and Goddard will be the Alamogordo Tigers. Meet time is set for 10 a.m.
On Friday and Saturday, December 6-7, both the Cavemen and Cavegirl varsities will compete in the Rio Rancho Invitational. One of the biggest meets of the year, the event will host teams from New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado.
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