The Española Valley wrestling program continued its domination of District 2AAAA Feb. 14 in Bernalillo with its fourth consecutive district title and a school-record seven individual district champions.
The Sundevils finished with 208 points, easily outdistancing second-place Los Alamos, who finished with 119 points.
Española won half of the 14 weight classes and sent another five wrestlers to the district championship round. Senior Dylan Dominguez started the Sundevils’ string of individual district titles by winning the 112-pound class.
Dominguez pinned Los Alamos’ Paul Martinez in the championship bout. Dominguez won the 2006 Class A-AAA state championship at 103 pounds while competing for Peñasco. He transferred to Española this year to face tougher competition. He found what he wanted at Española and not just in competition.
“What’s made me tougher is practicing with the team and getting more mat time,” Dominguez said.
He will be the top-seeded wrestler in the Class AAAA 112-pound weight-class at the state wrestling championships set for Friday and Saturday at the Santa Ana Star Center.
“I don’t want to think about it like that,” Dominguez said. “I’m not trying to anticipate it too much and just be in the moment when I’m there.”
The next Sundevil to win a district title was 119-pounder junior Adam Montoya, who pinned Bernalillo’s Steven Lucero. Sophomore Dino Gipson, who won the 2007 119-pound District 2AAAA title as an eighth-grader, repeated as 125-pound champion. He pinned Capital’s Angel Lopez.
“I had no fear, no doubt, no nothing at all,” Gipson said. “I plan to push it this last week.”
Senior Lucas Montoya had an easy route to the championship. There were no competitors in his weight class, so he won the 135-pound title by default. It wasn’t that easy for Lucas’ younger brother, junior Mariano Montoya, in the 145-pound class. He faced Bernalillo’s Marcus Martinez in the finals.
Mariano Montoya tried his best to pin Martinez, but Martinez put up a determined battle and refused to be pinned. Montoya won on points, outscoring Martinez 11-1 in the final.
“I missed a whole week of practice because I was sick,” Mariano Montoya said.
Mariano Montoya will likely be seeded third at 145-pounds.
Española’s Isaiah Serrano also had an easy route to the 152-pound title. There was no one in his weight class and he also won by default.
The final wrestler to win a district title for Española was 171-pound senior Mike “Castro” Vigil. Vigil pinned Taos’ Dakota Swinehart in the title match.
In addition, Española’s Thomas Salazar (103 pounds), Isaiah Martinez (130 pounds), Cory Atencio (140 pounds), Jacob Rivera (160 pounds) and heavyweight Ryan Gurulé finished second at their respective weights. Gurulé lost a close match in double overtime to Bernalillo’s Shane Donahue.
Logan Sapcut took third for Española at 189 pounds. The top three wrestlers at the District 2AAAA meet in their respective weight classes qualify for the state meet, giving the Sundevils 13 state qualifiers.
The Sundevils are seeking their first team trophy at the state meet, where they have yet to finish among the top three teams.
“It always feels good to win (District 2AAAA), but I’d feel a lot better if we can bring home a trophy from state,” Española coach Henry MacErnie said. “With 13 of 14 qualifying, we have a good shot at doing it.”