Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Tucumcari's Fernando Ureste (left), Josh Pacheco (center) and Antonio Gonzales each earned medals Saturday at the Region 2 championships at Belen and advanced to the state meet.
Three Tucumcari High School boy wrestlers earned medals at the at the Region 2 championships Saturday at Belen, all advancing to this weekend's state meet at Rio Rancho.
Antonio Gonzales (27-5), a senior in the 172-pound weight class, advanced to the finals at the 19-team meet, losing only to Highland's Amiri Mumba by a 8-0 major decision.
Josh Pacheco (34-9), a junior, finished third in the 145-pound division. He lost an 8-4 decision in the semifinals to Academy's Zac Fernandez but prevailed in a 5-2 decision against Silver's Christian Maynes in the third-place match.
Fernando Ureste (34-4) finished fourth in the 133-pound class. The sophomore lost in the semifinals by pin to Socorro's Angel Perez, then fell in the third-place match a 6-5 decision to Belen's Ansel Salaz after advancing through the consolation round.
Tucumcari coach Tim Clark said Gonzales has lost to Mumba three times this season, and he anticipated the senior likely would clash with Mumba again at the state meet.
"We've gotta figure out what we need to do to get over that hurdle," Clark said.
Clark said Mumba mostly has dominated his opponents in the first and second periods, which makes him wonder about his endurance.
"If we can get him to the third period, we have a better chance," he said.
Regarding Ureste, Clark said he lost his balance during the semifinal match, leading to his loss. But the coach expressed confidence the sophomore will bounce back.
"He'll regroup and he'll be all right," Clark said. "He has that internal drive. He'll be ready this week."
Clark said Pacheco has lost three times this season to Academy's Fernandez but liked how he battled against him and other foes.
JT Turpin (17-16) and Benny Garcia (12-17) each finished eighth in their respective 107-pound and 189-pound weight classes at the regional meet, earning team points for the Rattlers.
Turpin received a wild-card berth for the state meet, but Garcia did not.
Also competing for Tucumcari were Zion Martinez (114 pounds), Zorich Phillips (127), Julius Salas (139), Maliki Alderete (152) and Isaiah Ureste (215).
Belen easily won the team title with 267 points. St. Pius X was runner-up with 151 points, and Silver finished third with 129 1/2 points. Tucumcari finished 13th in the team standings with 68 1/2 points.
The wrestling state championships will be Friday and Saturday at the Rio Rancho Events Center. Sarah Vallejo and MiKayla Klinger of Tucumcari's girls program also will compete there; they qualified during the previous weekend's girls regional tournament.