Autumn Vasquez
Many teams headed to New Mexico this past weekend for the 55th Annual Las Cruces Invitational.
Hosted by Las Cruces High School, the tournament hosted 30 boys and girls teams for a total of 522 wrestlers participating. This is the 55th year of the event for the boys, but with the girls being sanctioned by the NMAA in 2020, this year marks the second tournament for them.
Despite being in another state, Las Cruces is still a relatively short drive away from the neighboring city El Paso, about forty-five minutes to an hour, depending on where you are coming from. The Texas teams that attended were from El Paso and included Eastwood, Franklin, El Dorado, Chapin, Hanks, Jefferson, and Austin high schools. That being said, only two of the Texas teams could crack the Top 10 team results for the boys, only proving that the Las Cruces Invitational was a tough competition.
| BOYS TEAM RESULTS | ||
| 1 | Cleveland, NM | 244.0 |
| 2 | Volcano Vista, NM | 219.5 |
| 3 | Atrisco Heritage Academy, NM | 192.0 |
| 4 | Rio Rancho, NM | 160.5 |
| 5 | EP Eastwood, TX | 136.0 |
| 6 | Hobbs, NM | 134.0 |
| 7 | Deming, NM | 124.5 |
| 8 | Las Cruces, NM | 124.0 |
| 9 | Silver, NM | 113.0 |
| 10 | EP Franklin, TX | 99.5 |
On the girl’s end, we had multiple Texas teams come out on top– with four of the five top spots taken. It’s been a longstanding fact that El Paso is a hub for girls’ wrestling and it continues to prove itself. Franklin girls won last week at their own tournament, The Gage, and kept their momentum to win again! Congratulations Cougars!
| GIRLS TEAM SCORES | ||
| 1 | EP Franklin, TX | 134.0 |
| 2 | EP Bel Air, TX | 118.0 |
| 3 | EP Chapin, TX | 116.0 |
| 4 | EP Hanks, TX | 114.0 |
| 5 | Goddard, NM | 109.0 |
INDIVIDUAL BOYS RESULTS:
Placers were few and far between here with the competition so stiff. Andres Solis was the only finalist and champion on the boy’s side of the bracket, wrestling for Eastwood at 189. The top six wrestlers were placed and the top three received a medal this weekend. (Note: Weight classes are different in NM than in TX).
Results are as follows:
107 – No Texas placers
114-
3rd Place Match: Braulio Estrada (EP Franklin) 19-1, So. over Josiah Neri (Rio Rancho) 7-5, Fr. (Fall 2:37)
121 –
3rd Place Match: Ian Abdallah (EP Franklin) 23-1, Jr. over Anastacio Martinez (Atrisco Heritage Academy) 8-2, Jr. (Dec 6-0)
5th Place Match: Jonathon Romero (Volcano Vista) 20-2, Fr. over Miguel Solis (EP Eastwood ) 10-5, So. (For.)
127 –
3rd Place Match: Rudy Bautista (EP Eastwood ) 10-2, So. over Ryan Clement (Atrisco Heritage Academy) 10-2, Jr. (Dec 4-3)
5th Place Match: Aaron Munoz (EP Bel Air) 12-5, Sr. over Zavier Udero (Las Cruces) 7-3, Jr. (Fall 4:29)
133 –
3rd Place Match: Matthew Dixon (Cleveland) 9-3, Sr. over Ethan Franklin (EP Eastwood ) 12-4, Sr. (Fall 4:24)
139 – No Texas Placers
145 –
5th Place Match: Jordan Garcia (Volcano Vista) 16-4, So. over Cesar Sandoval (EP Chapin) 10-4, Sr. (Dec 8-7)
152 – No Texas Placers
160 –
3rd Place Match: Joaquin Tanabe (EP Franklin ) 16-1, Sr. over Ruger Stewart (Cleveland) 8-3, Sr. (SV-1 6-4)
172 –
3rd Place Match: Johnathan Casaus (Atrisco Heritage Academy) 11-1, Sr. over Jon Banda (El Dorado) 15-3, Sr. (Fall 4:17)
189 –
1st Place Match: Andres Solis (EP Eastwood ) 12-0, Sr. over Rene Pages (Hobbs) 8-1, Sr. (Dec 3-1)
215 – No Texas Placers
285 –
5th Place Match: Antonio Morales (EP Bel Air) 8-3, Sr. over Robert DeHerrera (Sandia) 9-3, Fr. (Fall 6:59)
INDIVIDUAL GIRLS RESULTS:
Many more Texas girls placed for their tournament, despite the tournament only placing the top four finishers. Many of the medal matches were either won or were just El Pasoans wrestling each other for the top spot. There were a total of 23 placers and 9 tournament champions.
The results are as follows:
100
1st Place Match: Jubilee Rendon (EP Franklin ) 21-0, Fr. over Alyssa Sedillo (Las Cruces) 19-2, So. (Fall 4:00)
107
1st Place Match: Judith Sandoval (EP Hanks) 21-0, Sr. over Karla Garcia (Chaparral) 19-2, Sr. (Fall 1:15)
3rd Place Match: Cindy Arredondo (EP Franklin ) 17-5, Jr. over Olivia Ontiveros (EP Bel Air) 18-5, Fr. (For.)
114
1st Place Match: Rosalia Rubio (Carlsbad) 7-0, Jr. over Madison Knight (EP Chapin) 3-1, So. (Fall 5:38)
3rd Place Match: Ashley Smith (Cleveland) 8-2, So. over Jazmin Briones (EP Hanks) 22-2, Sr. (Fall 2:30)
120
1st Place Match: Amy Delgado (EP Jefferson ) 4-0, Sr. over Angelica Avitia (EP Bel Air) 20-2, Sr. (Fall 4:51)
126
1st Place Match: Neyra Miranda (Carlsbad) 7-0, Fr. over Melina Prado (EP Franklin ) 21-1, Sr. (SV-1 7-5)
3rd Place Match: Heaven Guevara (Cleveland) 5-1, Fr. over Ashley Delgado (EP Bel Air) 12-2, Jr. (Fall 1:47)
132
1st Place Match: Keilani Guillermo (EP Chapin) 24-1, Sr. over Valeria Garcia Aguirre (Mayfield) 11-2, Sr. (Fall 2:56)
138
3rd Place Match: Mia Aguilera (Mayfield) 9-2, Jr. over Crystal De Avila (EP Bel Air) 9-10, Sr. (For.)
145
1st Place Match: Alejandra Gaytan (EP Bel Air) 7-1, Jr. over Ebony Balderrama (Gadsden) 16-8, . (Fall 2:14)
3rd Place Match: Cece Morron (EP Franklin ) 18-5, Jr. over Moana Loewe (Centennial) 3-4, Jr. (Fall 0:59)
152
1st Place Match: Joy Ortiz (EP Chapin) 15-0, Jr. over Cydney Davis (EP Bel Air) 6-1, Fr. (Dec 13-7)
3rd Place Match: Sophia Fernandez (EP Hanks) 24-2, Sr. over Kylee Sisneros (Goddard) 4-2, So. (M. For.)
165
1st Place Match: Kayla Cereceres (EP Hanks) 16-7, Sr. over Makenzie Kormendy (Goddard) 3-1, So. (Dec 2-0)
3rd Place Match: Cathryn Banda (EP El Dorado) 12-6, Jr. over Grace Warren (Rio Rancho) 3-2, So. (Fall 3:34)
185
1st Place Match: Alessandra Barraza (EP Hanks) 16-1, Sr. over Karlee Patterson (Goddard) 2-1, Fr. (Fall 5:38)
3rd Place Match: Emmy Gonzalez (EP Franklin ) 16-2, So. over Valerie Macias (EP Austin) 4-2, Jr. (Fall 2:47)
235
1st Place Match: Prisila Vela-Garcia (Las Cruces) 18-3, Sr. over Jaquelyn Maynes (EP Chapin) 9-10, Sr. (Fall 2:00)
