Pacheco takes second at Rattler Invite

Despite a bum shoulder, Tucumcari wrestling senior Josh Pacheco notched his 100th career victory and a second-place finish at the rugged Rattler Invitational on Saturday.

Tucumcari junior Fernando Ureste finished third, and sophomore Sarah Sanchez placed fourth in the girls competition.

Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said Pacheco, wrestling in the 152-pound weight class, aggravated a left-shoulder injury during preliminary rounds Saturday, though he emerged victorious in both those matches. He also earned his 100th career win early in the day.

"He's not going to quit. Can't be more proud than that," Clark said. "I wish it would have been first place, but ..."

In the semifinal, he faced highly touted Ryelan King of Happy, Texas. Despite two injury timeouts due to his shoulder, Pacheco surged to a 10-0 lead over King, then pinned him 4 minutes, 46 seconds into the match.

In the championship, Pacheco fell behind 7-0 to Amarillo Tascosa's Andrew Portillo and lost a 9-4 decision. It was Pacheco's first loss of the season, dropping him to 8-1.

Pacheco wasn't the only THS wrestler who showed grit.

Fernando Ureste, wrestling at 139 pounds, lost in the quarterfinal to Ayden Cordova of Los Lunas by a 12-5 decision.

Ureste prevailed in three bouts in the consolation bracket, then faced Cordova again in the third-place match.

Ureste fell behind 16-8 but rallied to pin Cordova 5:09 into the match for the victory. Ureste improved to 9-2.

"Fernando didn't back down," Clark said. "He was down, he continued to battle, and he pulled it out at the end."

Other THS wrestlers who competed were:

- Julian Brown at 107 pounds, who went 2-2;

- Robert Gomez at 121, who went 1-2;

- Brandon Gonzales at 127, who went 2-2;

- Bryson Klinger at 133, who went 1-2;

- Patrick Szaloy a 139, who went 0-2;

- Alex Bueno De La O at 139, who went 1-2 (including a loss to teammate Ureste);

- Josiah Sanchez at 145, who went 3-2;

- Julias Salas at 145, who went 0-2;

- Zoriah Phillips at 145, who went 2-2;

- Justin Goen at 160, who went 2-2;

- Diego Martinez at 160, who went 0-2;

- Maliki Alderete at 172, who went 0-2;

- Benny Garcia at 172, who went 0-2;

- Isaiah Ureste at 215, who went 2-2.

Clark said he was pleased with his teams' performances amid stacked brackets.

"They moved forward against some very, very tough competition," he said. "They gave their all against a bunch of Texas schools, plus Los Lunas and Valencia ... Class 5A schools.

"Our younger wrestlers still are making rookie mistakes," Clark added. "We're still early in the season. Hopefully, we can address where those mistakes are happening and fix them before we get to regionals and state."

Los Lunas won the boys team title with 171 points. West Las Vegas finished runner-up with 152 1/2 points, and Amarillo Tascosa was third with 143 1/2.

Tucumcari finished ninth with 83 points.

Like Fernando Ureste, Sanchez had to battle through a consolation round to finish fourth.

Wrestling at 120 pounds, Sanchez lost by pin in the semifinal to Yasmine Martinez of Frenship ISD in Texas. She bounced back with a pin over Wingate's Sophia Spotted Tail, then lost the third-place match by pin to Emmy Armstrong of Dumas (Texas).

Other Lady Rattlers who competed:

- Jocelyn Lopez at 100, who finished 3-2;

- Lana Gomez at 114, who finished 1-2;

- Danielle Garcia at 120, who finished 3-2;

- Savannah Urquizu at 132, who finished 2-2.

Clark said Urquizu was one victory from advancing to the finals, but she became woozy during that match and lost by injury default.

"I think she just didn't eat very much today ... a low blood sugar type situation," Clark said. "She'll recover, and we'll continue to move forward."

Dumas won the girls team title with 187 points. Palo Duro of Texas finished second with 129, and Frenship ISD was third was 116.

Tucumcari finished ninth with 23 points.

This year's version of the Rattler Invitational was the largest in recent memory, with over 20 teams and almost 300 wrestlers (including about 100 girls) from New Mexico and much of the Texas Panhandle. Parents and grapplers packed all of Rattler Gymnasium's bleachers.

Because of the sheer number of competitors, the tournament featured nonstop wrestling for over 12 hours, with action wrapping up around 10:30 p.m.

"It was a long, tough day, and I was proud of the kids," Clark said.

Amarillo duals

Tucumcari competed in dual matches Thursday at Amarillo against Tascosa, Bushland and Amarillo High.

The Rattlers lost all three matches against the higher-enrollment squads, but THS standouts Pacheco and Fernando Ureste won all three of their bouts.

After Christmas break, Tucumcari resumes action at the Matador Classic at Estacado High School in Lubbock, Texas, on Jan. 4.