Serving the High Plains

Garcia third at championships

RIO RANCHO - Colt Garcia finished third in the Class 3A 182-pound weight class Saturday, the only Tucumcari wrestler to earn a medal of 11 Rattlers who qualified for the weekend's New Mexico state championships.

Garcia's pin on West Las Vegas' Eric Gallegos - his second victory over him during the tournament - during the third-place match kept Tucumcari from returning home Saturday night with no one on the medal stand.

Garcia (28-12) lost in the semifinals to Robertson's Mackenzie Ebell but worked his way back into medal contention with a victory over Wingate's Darren Banally in the consolation round.

Sophomore 120-pounder Charles Prieto (20-13), senior 138-pounder Julian Vargas (25-14) and junior 220-pounder Dyson Clark (18-7) each finished fourth after losing their semifinal and third-place matches.

"Colt looked good. That was normal Colt," Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias said, noting the junior and teammate Dyson Clark "made some mistakes in the semis. If not, it would have been a different story."

Encinias was visibly glum after his last wrestler was eliminated from competition Saturday afternoon and initially was reluctant to talk. He pushed back at any notion being without a state champion was an empty-handed weekend for his program.

"Three fourths and a third, that's not empty-handed," he said.

"I never measure a state tournament with how the kids place," he added. "I measure the state tournament and the whole season by the kids' character. My kids have more character than I've ever known in my life. These guys will succeed highly in life because of the kind of people they are. It's not based on how they do at state."

One disappointment for Tucumcari was 170-pound senior Joe Martinez (24-6), who finished runner-up in his weight division last year. Martinez injured his left elbow during the previous weekend's district meet. He wore a brace during his matches Saturday but clearly was wrestling below peak performance. He lost in the semifinals and subsequent consolation match.

"He basically was wrestling with one arm," Encinias said.

A'Leaya Lucero, a senior who made history the previous weekend by being Tucumcari's first-ever district champion in girls wrestling, lost her opening-round match Friday, won her first-round consolation bout Saturday and was eliminated in the next round - one spot from the third-place match.

Lucero (7-4) finished third last year in her weight class during a state-tournament exhibition for girls wrestling. The New Mexico Activities Association officially sanctioned it as a sport over the summer. But as the numbers in girls wrestling have grown exponentially, Lucero faced a deeper talent pool. The girls also were funneled into one class at the state tournament, as opposed to three enrollment classes in boys wresting.

"She had to face tough competition," Encinias said. "She's a fantastic girl wrestler."

Other Tucumcari wrestlers who competed at state were:

• Isaiah Garcia (16-22), an eighth-grader, at 106 pounds

• Zach Bradfield (19-18), an eighth-grader, at 113 pounds

• Isaiah Lopez (9-21), an eighth-grader, at 132 pounds

• Xzander Garcia (10-26), a freshman, at 145 pounds

• Reyes Garcia (8-17), a sophomore, at 160 pounds

Asked whether he would return to coach Tucumcari wrestling for his 20th season, Encinias replied: "It's a question mark." He was inducted in the New Mexico Wrestling Hall of Fame last fall.

 
 
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