Local wrestler takes tourney

More than 100 wrestlers took to the mats Saturday during the Tucumcari Middle School wrestling tournament at the Snake Pit.

"Despite having a few schools not able to make it, this tournament was a huge success," said Tim Clark, middle school head coach.

The tournament featured talent from schools including Pecos, Memorial Middle School, Taos and Hereford Middle School, Hereford Texas.

"Our wrestlers had a great time competing here in Tucumcari," said Matthew Luna, Memorial head coach.

Luna said the wrestlers benefited from competing against Texas schools and other very talented squads. He said the level of competition rises each year, making Tucumcari's tournament one not to miss.

"We had several wrestlers compete for third and fourth place and (ended up with) one champion," said Dennis Garcia, TMS coach.

Garcia said one of the fourth-place finishers, Nathaniel Montano, had only practiced for four days before his match. He said his opponent, Daniel Trujillo of Memorial Middle School, comes from a long family line of state champions.

"All of our kids did great," Garcia said. "They showed a lot of heart out there on the mats."

The champion for the TMS Ratters wrestling team was Charles Prieto, who bested Memorial Middle school's Ezra Brito in the final moments of their 120-pound championship match.

"It was all instinct, I had no idea how much time was left, I just reacted," said Prieto after the match.

Prieto trailed 9-8 with only seven seconds on the clock in the third and final round. The match had been halted due to an illegal head lock used by Brito. The match would start with Prieto on the bottom needing a miracle to tie or win the match.

Garcia and Clark urged Prieto to try to stand and escape when the match restarted. Prieto was able to stand, escape Brito's hold, flipping him over his should for the reversal and two points to take the 10-9 victory.

"I knew I had to find a way to win," Prieto said.