The Española Valley wrestling team finished 4-4 in team competition at the Southwestern Shootout in Rio Rancho last weekend despite facing perhaps the toughest competition they will see all season.
“It’s way tougher than state,” Española coach Henry MacErnie said. “You have some of the top teams from New Mexico and five other states.”
Teams from Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Arizona, as well as 10 teams from New Mexico, were part of the 24-team field. The tournament was strictly a team duals competition, with no individual championships. The field was divided into four pools, each containing six teams. The teams faced each other in head-to-head competition.
Española’s pool included Rio Rancho, the defending Class AAAAA New Mexico state champion; Grapevine High School, of Texas; Eaglecrest High School and Mesa Ridge High School, of Colorado; and Liberal High School, of Kansas.
The Sundevils defeated Grapevine 43-36, but lost to Mesa Ridge 38-32, Eaglecrest 42-33 and Rio Rancho 58-18. They finished the first day by losing 69-6 against Liberal.
“We faced Liberal right after Rio Rancho and I think they were worn out and a little discouraged,” MacErnie said. “We should have done better.”
Española was missing its top competitors in three weight classes. Thomas Salazar failed to make weight at 103 pounds. Adam Montoya at 119 pounds was recovering from a groin pull, and Dino Gipson at 125 pounds was recovering from a knee injury. MacErnie expects Montoya and Gipson to return soon, possibly in time for the Jaguar Invitational in Santa Fe, which begins Friday at Capital High School.
On the second day of the tournament Dec. 6, the teams were grouped into pools according to their finish on the first day of competition.
The Sundevils, a Class AAAA team, were matched against Class AAAAA New Mexico high schools Manzano from Albuquerque and Gallup High School, as well as Franklin High School from Texas.
Española fared much better the second day of competition. The Sundevils defeated Franklin 42-29, Manzano 46-32 and Gallup 45-33 to finish on top of Pool E. Rio Rancho was the overall winner, finishing first in Pool A, which included the first-place finishers from each pool in the first day of competition.
Although there were no individual champions crowned, several Sundevils fared well in their individual matches. Junior Mariano Montoya was 7-1 at 145 pounds, while Dylan Dominguez (112 pounds), Lucas Montoya (135 pounds), Isaiah Serrano (152 pounds) and heavyweight Ryan “Big Show” Gurulé were 6-2 against their competition.
“It’s a tough tournament against the best in the Southwest,” Mariano Montoya said. “The kid from Rio Rancho beat me up a little, but that helps build you up mentally and physically.”
Española should benefit from the tough competition.
“This is a good tournament and you can see where you’re at and where you need to go,” assistant coach Aaron Salinas said. “When we wrestle teams from New Mexico they’re not going to be as tough as these teams.”