Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Tucumcari wrestling team went 3-2 against much-larger schools Saturday during the season-opening Las Lunas Duals.
In the victory ledger, Tucumcari defeated Bernalillo 60-17, topped West Mesa 48-30 and squeaked by Valencia 40-39. The Rattlers fell to La Cueva 52-22 and Kirtland 46-30.
The event featured mostly Class 4A and 5A schools; Tucumcari competes at 3A.
Rod Dunlap, wrestling at 145 pounds, had the best weekend for the Rattlers, going 5-0.
Joe Martinez, at 160 pounds, went 4-1 for Tucumcari, and Colt Garcia (182 pounds) and Caleb White (152 pounds) each logged 3-2 records on Saturday.
“The guys — our three seniors and three juniors — that I expected to do well did well, which is a good thing,” Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias said. “My expectations are still high.”
During the nail-biter match against Valencia, Encinias said a victory by freshman Ayden Lusk put the Rattlers over the top for the victory.
When asked what areas of improvement his team needed after what he saw over the weekend, Encinias said: “Everything.”
“We need to clean up the details,” he said, elaborating. “The guys always look at the big picture, but the guys still need to do the little things right. It’s the little things we have to improve on.”
Encinias also said several wrestlers also need to get down to their proper weight classes for the team to be more effective. He said crash diets won’t accomplish that, but proper eating — more protein, namely — will.
Tucumcari hosts Moriarty and West Las Vegas during a home duals meet at the Snake Pit starting at 4 p.m. Thursday.