Wrestlers Impressive at Rio Rancho

kmarksteiner0

Dec 12, 2024

By Don Eskins

With teams from Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico, the Rio Rancho Shootout was billed to be one of the toughest meets in the state. And it was.

So, according to CHS head coach Mark Pratt, due to the level of talent at the Rio Rancho meet, it was a tournament his Cavemen and Cavegirls couldn’t afford to miss.

“The level of competition at the Rio Rancho Shootout is always tough,” said Pratt. “However, because the field is so good, it’s a great barometer for us to gauge just where our kids sit at this point of the season among some of the best wrestlers in the area.”

What that barometer told Pratt was while they still have a long way to go, his kids can compete.

The Cavegirls, who wrestled in a regular tournament format, placed second in an eleven-team field. Volcano Vista won the girls’ division, while the Cleveland Storm, last year’s state champion, finished third.

Pacing the Cavegirls was Emily Fuentes. At 126 pounds, she went 6-0 to grab first place. Placing second were Ellianna Campos, 126, and Faith Abeyta, 235. Mya Cornejo at 132 and Arianna Campos at 185 placed third.

“Our girls wrestled extremely well for this time of the year. We saw some really great efforts from all of our kids,” Pratt said. “Andrea Ramirez, a leader on our team and one of our more experienced wrestlers, placed fourth. Normally wrestling at 100 pounds, she had to move up to 107 at Rio Rancho. Even at that, though, she turned in a very respectable 4-2 performance.”

The Cavemen, in a dual-meet format, finished fourth in an eight-team pool and 12th overall. Twenty-four teams competed in the event.

Leading CHS’s effort was Aiden Rodriguez. At 114 pounds, he accumulated a record of 8-1. Sabas Hernandez at 127 and Aevin Chaves at 285, close behind, mounted records of 7-2. Justin Owens at 145 and Eddie Lopez at 172 closed out the tourney at 6-3.

“The boys had some really tough competition. We had Volcano Vista and Chandler, AZ, in our pool. Both of those teams battled for first and second place in our pool,” said Pratt. “We also had El Paso’s Pebble Hills; they were tough, too.

“But our guys battled them all with good results,” said the CHS coach. “As with our girls, our staff was proud of them all.”

Cavemen down Alamo, Goddard

Picking up the reins of a program that had bottomed out due to graduation, Pratt, now his third year at the helm of the CHS wrestling program, has been more than pleased with the efforts and success he’s seen from his charges this season for both the Cavemen and Cavegirls.

“We’ve gotten off to a great start. Our girls opened up the season with a second-place finish at Goddard, and our boys downed both Alamogordo and Goddard in a dual-meet competition on December 4,” said Pratt. “So, we’re definitely moving in the right direction.

“Both teams carried their season-opening success with them to Rio Rancho with good results,” he said. “They’re all excited about the new season.

“We have a new saying now; it’s simply attack, attack and attack. Our kids have been doing just that; they’re very aggressive this year, and they’re going for the points,” said the CHS pilot. “Now, if we keep working as hard as we have, I think both the Cavemen and Cavegirls will have a shot at chalking up a very good season.”

In the Cavemen’s opener, in dual-meet competition, they downed Alamogordo 54-21 and Goddard 49-24. In the two-match sweep, they recorded 16 pins.

On Friday and Saturday, December 13-14, the Cavemen and Cavegirls will compete at the Las Cruces Invitational.

Boys Rio Rancho Shootout

114- Aiden Rodriguez- 8-1

121- Axel Rodriguez- DNG

127- Sabas Hernandez- 7-2

127- Andrew Fuentes- 0-1

133- Guess Box- 2-7

139- Jay Norris- 5-2

145- Justin Owens 6-3

152- Francisco Calderon- 5-4

160- Ethan Powell - 4-1 (inj)