Cruz Sandoval always has a calm demeanor.
While most other competitors had huge celebrations after winning or burst into tears and ran off after a loss.
The senior Sundevil wrestler, though, after losing the state championship, had the same reaction as he did after winning his semifinal. He calmly shook the hands of his opponent and opposing coaches, then walked off.
“Everybody tells me, if he had a mean bone in his body, he’d wreck everybody,” said his father and head Española wrestling coach, Gilbert Sandoval. “But that’s just not him.”
Sandoval lost in the state wrestling championship match for the third-straight year in Rio Rancho on Feb. 24. Other wrestlers from Española and Pojoaque took the podium and competed through the weekend.
Sandoval, in the 139-pound weight class, encountered more resistance in the semifinal than in the first two rounds, which were easy wins. He took a lead after a first-period takedown, but he had to fight through the third period after giving up a takedown, winning 6-2.
“I wanted first, of course,” Sandoval said. “But at least I was in the finals again. Giving it my all. You don’t always get what you want.”
In the final, he faced St. Pius X’s Valentine Popadiuc, who has an unorthodox style. Popadiuc is aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and won every match with points. He is quick enough to score points on takedowns. Then, he lets up an escape when he is uncomfortable with his position, often multiple times per round.
That was what happened against Sandoval, as Popadiuc scored five takedowns. Sandoval said his own height can make it tougher against someone quicker, and he was unable to score outside of escapes.
After winning his third-place match, Noah Maez (160 pounds) was overcome with emotion.
Between the joy of finishing third, the disappointment of coming up short of a championship, the sadness of his career coming to an end, and the panic of needing to score in the final seconds of the match, all Maez could do was break down in tears.
“Everything, I’m feeling everything right now,” Maez said after the match. “It’s sad that I’ll never get to experience this feeling again. But now that I’m experiencing this feeling, it’s all worth it.”
In eighth grade, Maez broke his knee, which he said limited him as a wrestler early in high school.
“This means a lot, because I never thought I would be like that again,” he said.
Maez, who has been friends and wrestling partners with Sandoval since their youth, won his first match 16-1. Then he scored an upset over Bloomfield’s senior with a pin in the third period, after he was behind in points.
In the semifinal, he squared off with Los Alamos’ Jackson Blair, who finished second. It was Maez and Blair’s sixth meeting of the year. Blair won the first five in close points matches. This one was no different.
Neither wrestler scored in the first period. In the second, Blair scored on an escape, then had a takedown to go up 3-0. In the final period, Maez started to gain position too late in the period, and he lost 3-0.
“That kid’s strong, he has a good work ethic,” Maez said of Blair. “And he probably makes better choices than me.”
During a break between matches, Maez was hurt by the loss. He credited his coaches and father, Ruben Maez, for calming and supporting him.
And then, he “wrestled out of anger.” With more aggressiveness, he won his consolation semifinal with a pin in the second period.
Then, for third place, he rematched with Bloomfield, and won 4-3.
“He went out on a winning note,” Gilbert Sandoval said.
Maez nearly got a pin in the second period, and went up 3-2. But in the third period, he got called for stalling, tying the match. That left him with about 30 seconds left to try to score from the bottom.
“I gotta get out, or I’m done for,” Maez said. “Thanks god, with the help of god, my mom, it helped me a lot. I was panicking. And that’s kind of how I got out. That panicked movement.”
That escape came with seven seconds left.
Bloomfield’s coaches were arguing a point at the conclusion of the match.
“But I knew I won it,” Maez said.
Senior Juanito Mondragon came one match short of placing in the 107-pound class. He won his first match with a pin, then lost in the second period to the top seed.
In the consolation bracket, he advanced past the second round with an early pin. But for his next match, he fell behind in points, then got pinned in the third period.
“To make it this far is a great accomplishment,” Gilbert Sandoval said. “He gave it a great effort, and for that I’m very, very proud to be his coach.”
Despite his senior son graduating this year, Sandoval said that he plans to stay with the program and help it grow in the future after being so inspired by the current group.
Pojoaque Freshman Reaches Podium
The Elks were led by freshman Ben Duran, who finished in fourth place for the second-straight year.
Duran was the No. 4 seed in 133, and delivered with pins in his first two matches to reach the semifinals.
His semifinal opponent, Elias Johnson of Bloomfield, was 38-2 on the season and won the championship. Duran battled hard to stay upright. Duran scored a takedown in the third period, but Johnson quickly regained control and finished with a 12-2 win.
Duran won his first consolation match in a 10-0 decision. His third-place match devolved into chaos.
Duran tied the match at 4-4 with an escape in the third period. He fell behind from a takedown, then scored a reversal to again even the match. After his reversal, Duran was awarded a point as his opponent needed to stall the match to tie his shoes.
With the lead, though, Duran with six seconds left, but he locked his hands, giving up a penalty point and sending the match to overtime.
At the end of the second overtime, Duran gave up two points on a reversal.
Duran appeared to have his own reversal, and was awarded two points. But the two officials conferred, and removed the points, ruling that they happened after time expired.
Duran’s opponent slammed his headgear to the ground at the end of the round, but was not penalized for that, contrary to what many observers thought should have happened.
“I feel like I kinda got cheated at the end,” Duran said.
Instead, he settled for fourth place.
“It feels good,” Duran said. “I’m going to come back next year strong. And hopefully I’ll win it next year.”
Alan Padilla (172) lost both of his matches with a second-period fall and a 17-6 loss. Though in the first round, against No. 4, he scored a takedown in the first period and a nearfall in the second before falling.
Freshman Roman Gonzales (189) lost his first match, won one consolation match with a second period, then lost 6-3 to the fourth-place finisher, coming just short of a placement.
Local Girls Make State
On the girls side, after entering with high expectations, Pojoaque Valley’s Natalie Romero fell just short of a placement as the 132-class No. 8 seed.
She cruised through her first match, winning in 53 seconds. But the second round matched her against the top seed and eventual champion from Cleveland. Romero let up nine points in the first period, but stayed off her back the whole match, losing 16-1. Romero, in fact, was the only challenger to Cleveland’s champion that did not take a fall in the first period.
Romero won with a second-period pin in her first consolation match. But then, facing a Santa Fe opponent she had beaten a week earlier, a bad move cost Romero, and she fell in the second period.
“She works really hard,” said Pojoaque assistant coach Javier Tapia, a four-time state champion. “Every day she comes in the wrestling room. She’s always there, she’s always 100%.”
Alexis Archuleta (126) lost her first match to the top seed and eventual champion. In her first consolation match, she stole an impressive win. From down 7-0 in the third period, Archuleta scored a flip and turned it into a pin to advance. But she got no further, losing her next match in the first minute.
In the 152 class, Alaiyah Vigil lost her two matches.
Española Valley’s Kianna Moreland was paired up with the top overall seed and eventual champion in the 185-pound class, and fell in the second period, then lost her consolation match.
Moreland was the first female wrestler in school history to compete at state.
“Really, really tough girl,” Gilbert Sandoval said. “Really proud of her that she made it this far as a sophomore.”