Rattler wrestlers go 2-2 to open season

The Rattlers wrestling team went 2-2 during the season-opening weekend at the Los Lunas Duals in an event that featured schools with enrollment much bigger than Tucumcari’s.

Tucumcari dominated Grants 71-9 and downed the Los Lunas junior varsity 66-15. The Rattlers lost 54-30 to the perennially powerful host team and fell 48-36 to Las Cruces.

Xzander Garcia led the Rattlers by going 4-0 on Saturday while wrestling at 182 or 170 pounds, depending on the matchup. Reyes Garcia, wrestling at 195 of 220 pounds, also went 4-0. Adrian Villegas, wrestling at 195 or 220, went 3-1.

Tucumcari coach Eddie Encinias, hoarse from yelling during matches Saturday, said Monday morning he was pleased with his team’s performance.

“I think we fared fairly well,” he said. “I liked the way the guys looked; they wrestled hard and their conditioning looked pretty good. It’s a good start to the season.

“What I liked about it is how bad we beat Grants,” he added, “because they’re a (Class) 4A school. We’re the smallest school there. So I feel like we’re going to be really competitive in 3A.”

Encinias said several wrestlers, including Dezmon Pacheco (132 pounds) and Charles Prieto (138 pounds), lost close matches because they were in a less-than-ideal weight class. He anticipates they and other Rattler wrestlers will compete better at a lighter weight as the season progresses.

Encinias also praised several of his younger wrestlers, including Josh Pacheco (152), Fernando Ureste (106), Nick Romero (113), Billy Otero (126) and Ayden Otero (160) for their efforts Saturday.

Tucumcari also took three girl wrestlers to the meet. Sarah Vallejo at 120 pounds finished 3-1 on Saturday. Amaya Infante (138 pounds) finished 2-2, and MiKayla Klinger (160) went 2-1.

“For their first meet, they did great, man,” Encinias said. “They’re aggressive, and they all looked pretty good.”

Tucumcari’s next meet is at the 12-team St. Michael’s open tournament Saturday in Santa Fe. The Rattlers will face district opponents from West Las Vegas and Robertson during the meet.