Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Tucumcari boys wrestling team, showing little rust after the Christmas break, won four of five dual meets during the Pinto Duals event Saturday at Moriarty.
The Rattlers defeated Sandia 48-24, downed Gallup 51-24, defeated Albuquerque 54-18 and conquered Shiprock 54-17.
Tucumcari’s only loss on the weekend was a 42-36 decision against host Moriarty.
Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said if two of his wrestlers — Nate Romero and Billy Otero — hadn’t been injured or sick, his squad might have pulled out a victory against Moriarty, as well.
Despite that setback, Clark said he was happy with his team.
“It was a great start to the postseason,” he said, “especially after the break. They went out and took care of business.”
Clark praised the performances of 114-pound wrestler Fernando Ureste, 172-pounder Xzander Garcia and 189-pounder Antonio Gonzales. Gonzales went 4-0 on the weekend, and Garcia and Ureste each went 4-1.
Clark said he also promoted eighth-grader Creed Owen to the varsity 160-pound weight class, and he went 4-1 on the weekend.
On Friday, five girls from Tucumcari competed in the 22-team Lady Pinto Invitational at Moriarty.
Sarah Vallejo became the highest-placing athlete for the Lady Rattlers, winning three of four matches and finishing in a tie for fourth in the 114-pound weight class. (The tournament didn’t hold third-place matches because it was running behind schedule, Clark said.)
Amaya Infante went 2-2 during her matches on Friday.
The Tucumcari girls finished 19th with 27 points. Atrisco Heritage Academy won the meet with 127 points, and Highland was runner-up with 101.
Tucumcari was scheduled Tuesday to take on host Roswell and Ruidoso on Tuesday, then go to the Sammy Vivian Invitational on Saturday in Socorro.