Wrestlers from around the state came to the Española Valley last week for the Sundevil Quad meet, as Española showed off wrestling to the area.
“It exposes our program to the city,” said Española coach Aaron Salinas. “Basketball is the dominant sport here. I’m hoping we can get more kids out that are interested in wrestling so we can build this team up again.”
The Sundevils hosted Moriarty, Santa Fe High School and Albuquerque Academy on April 24, and won their dual against Moriarty as a district match.
“It meant everything,” senior Devin Atencio said of being at home. “In front of the home crowd, to show them the improvement we’ve had since last year. A lot of guys have been putting in the work to better their skills.”
The Española program has 14 district titles, but none in over a decade. Salinas hopes to get back to that level, and next month they will have a chance to fight Los Alamos for the district title.
“We want to get back to that, where kids are interested and put their heart into this program,” Salinas said.
Salinas said it was tough getting into the season with just a few weeks of practice. Several wrestlers came straight from football season, and had to cut a lot of weight. Another struggle comes from getting the team in the right mindset for the shortened season.
“It’s not wrestling season, it’s spring,” Salinas said. “Wrestling season is during the winter. It’s cold, you come to practice, by the time you get out of practice it’s nighttime, you go home, you get some good sleep, you eat something. Now, it’s still daylight. A lot of these kids just go out and hang out with their friends. They’re not taking it as seriously as they should.”
He also said a lot of students got jobs during the pandemic, and now have to balance that with wrestling practice.
Atencio said it was also very difficult adjusting to wearing masks while wrestling.
“We need to protect ourselves from COVID and the outbreak of the pandemic,” he said. “But it’s a lot harder. I could go nonstop, I could wrestle at 100 percent without a mask, and I could make it even if we do go into overtime, I could still have energy.
“The masks, it doesn’t really matter how good, how conditioned you are,” he continued. “The masks just rip on your endurance. And by the second round, giving it your all in the first, you’re drained. You’re tired, you can’t breathe. When you’re breathing in hard it’s sucking in to your mouth and getting caught.”
Atencio, who placed second in the state in the 106-pound class last year, won two matches on the day, knocking down a wrestler from Academy in just 14 seconds; the wrestler from Moriarty lasted a full 35 seconds, and won via forfeit against Santa Fe.
Atencio said he was happy to have the mat time, as he has faced a lot of forfeits at his weight class.
Freshman Cruz Sandoval also won two matches on the day at 126 pounds, though he lost to Santa Fe. Sophomore Kyle Coffeen, the 145-pound wrestler, pinned a wrestler from Academy. And senior Simon Montoya at 138 pounds won his match against Moriarty.
“We have a lot of freshman and a lot of first-year wrestlers,” Salinas said. “They have a lot of heart. They’re working hard and they’re trying to get there. Hopefully we can get them qualified for state.”
“I’ve seen half these guys that last year looked like first-year wrestlers,” Atencio said. “They’ve been putting in the work in the offseason, and throughout the whole year, actually.”
The Sundevils hope to host another dual outside at the football field on May 12.