Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Tucumcari senior Xzander Garcia (left) squares up against Adryan Triana of Pojoaque Valley during a consolation-round match Saturday at the state wrestling championships at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
RIO RANCHO - In an illustration of how much tougher the two-day state wrestling tournament has become for Tucumcari, a defending state champion literally was the last man standing for the Rattlers on Saturday, and he didn't even earn a medal.
Xzander Garcia, who won a Class 3A state championship in the 172-pound division a year ago, was eliminated in the consolation round Saturday when Adryan Triana (37-5) of Pojoaque Valley pinned him 47 seconds into the match.
On Friday, Garcia won his first match by pinning Albuquerque Academy's Zach Waghorn but lost in the quarterfinal to Aztec's Logan Barboa.
Garcia stayed alive in the consolation round by pinning David Viramontes of Moriarty on Friday before his season-ending loss Saturday against Triana.
Garcia, a senior, ended his final season with a 29-13 record. His former coach, Eddie Encinias, who retired last year after a 20-year New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame career at Tucumcari, was seen comforting him after his loss Saturday.
Garcia brightened when recalling this past season and his high-school career.
"It's unfortunate this happened. I wanted a better outcome for this," he said. "But I'm still grateful for the team I came up with this year. And I still have that championship from last year."
He said he would likely be involved with the Rattler wrestling program as a volunteer coach. His father, Dennis, is an assistant coach with the program.
"I hope they get in there this summer and keep pushing, keep working," he said of his teammates. "I want to see each and every one of those guys at the top. If there's anything I can do to help them, I sure as hell will."
Garcia was the only athlete from Tucumcari's boys and girls wrestling programs to survive Friday's cut. Everyone else from THS was eliminated from competition that day.
Tucumcari head coach Tim Clark acknowledged it was a disappointing weekend for his team, especially after the Rattlers captured their first district title in more than 30 years and qualified a total of 10 individuals from the boys and girls programs.
He said several of his athletes were hampered by nagging injuries - a sore knee here, a sprained rib here and a shoulder sprain there.
"We came into this tournament beat up. They battled; that's all I can say," he said.
A bigger factor in Tucumcari failing to advance to the medal rounds was the New Mexico Activities Association's realignment of the sport.
Previously, Tucumcari was lumped into schools in the Class 3A enrollment classification. This season, the Rattlers were with Class 4A schools at the tournament.
"With this new classification, we're up against the powerhouses," Clark said. "This is a new battlefield. We did it at district, and now we're going to have to do it at the state level. Our kids are just going to have to get better and tougher.
"I'm hopeful. They did a good job, and they're a young team except for Xzander," he added.
Garcia also acknowledged the realignment made his and his teammates' state-tournament task more difficult.
"It's a little harder for us smaller schools to compete with all of these big APS schools," he said.
"It's a big change."
Clark said many Albuquerque-area wrestlers compete in junior wrestling programs during the off-season.
"They're wrestling year-round, while our kids are multi-sport athletes," he said. "I really don't get my kids until after football season is over. And when wrestling season is over, they're on to baseball or track.
"I'll send them to camps this summer and assign them some workouts. But when August comes around, it goes into hiatus while they're in another sport."
Results from the other boy wrestlers at the state tournament:
- Fernando Ureste went 1-2 in the 114-pound division and finished 32-9 overall;
- Dezmon Pacheco went 1-2 in the 127-pound division and finished 21-15 overall;
- Josiah Sanchez went 0-2 in the 139-pound division and finished 20-14 overall;
- Joshua Pacheco went 1-2 in the 145-pound division and finished 30-13 overall;
- Ayden Otero went 0-2 in the 152-pound division and finished 15-18 overall;
- Creed Owen went 0-2 in the 160-pound division and finished 11-10 overall;
- Antonio Gonzales went 0-2 in the 189-pound division and finished 27-14 overall.
Tucumcari finished 26th in the 36-team tournament with 16 points. Belen won the team title with 176 1/2 points, nipping runner-up Bloomfield by a half-point. Aztec was third with 168 1/2 points.
In the first-ever NMAA girls championships, Tucumcari qualified two athletes.
MiKayla Klinger, competing in the 152-pound division, won her opening-round match over Rio Rancho's Kasyia Bush, but lost in the quarterfinal to Svea Robinson of Piedra Vista.
Volcano Vista's Lauren Manuelito eliminated her in the consolation round. Klinger finished with a 12-11 record.
Sarah Vallejo, competing at 114 pounds, lost her first-round match to Esmerelda Meraz-Ortiz of Goddard, then rebounded in the consolation round with a win over Centennial's Rylie Spires.
Sonja Duran-Baca of Highland eliminated Vallejo in the next match. Vallejo finished 20-7 overall.
The Tucumcari girls team finished 39th of 49 teams with seven points. Volcano Vista won the team title with 147 points, with Miyamura finishing runner-up with 115 1/2 points.
