Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Tucumcari sophomore wrestler Fernando Ureste captured the 133-pound championship at the 19-team Sammy Vivian Invitational tournament Saturday at Socorro.
Ureste won all four of his bouts, including a pin on Alan Dominguez of Tierra Encantada in the final.
Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said Ureste’s big moment was an upset win over Sevastian Madrid of Capital in the semifinal.
“Fernando was down throughout, and he ended up turning the kid and pinning him,” Clark said. “I think he was kinda surprised: ‘What? That wasn’t supposed to happen.’”
Ureste improved to 15-2 and won his second tournament title this season.
Tucumcari junior Josh Pacheco (18-5) finished second in the 145-pound class, losing only to Clive Fernando of La Canada, California, by a 9-4 decision in the finals.
“Josh just came up a little bit short in the championship round,” Clark said.
THS senior Antonio Gonzales (14-3) finished third in the 172-pound class for the Rattlers, losing to Amiri Mumba of Highland in the semifinals before bouncing back with a victory over Carlos Gamboa of Las Cruces in the third-place bout.
Justin Goen (160 pounds), William Turpin (114), Isaiah Jimenez (121) and Josh Hyslop (139) also scored team points for the Rattlers.
Las Cruces won the team title with 162 1/2 points, with Miyamura finishing runner-up with 147 1/2 points. Tucumcari finished seventh with 82 points.
“It was a tough, tough, tough tournament,” Clark said. “We ended up with a lot of Albuquerque teams, a lot of Santa Fe teams, a lot of 5A teams. But I was impressed.”
In girls competition, junior MiKayla Klinger (8-4) led the Lady Rattlers with a second-place finish in the 152-pound class. She lost to Centennial’s Paige Jorge in the finals.
THS senior Sarah Vallejo (9-4) finished fourth in the 114-pound class.
Las Cruces won the girls team title in the 19-team meet with 100 points, edging runner-up Highland and its 98 points. Tucumcari finished 11th with 38 points.
The Tucumcari teams will be at the Spencer Cole Memorial Tournament at West Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday.