Cleveland, Belen, Cobre lead after Day 1
After the first day of the Class 6A state wrestling tournament, four of the top five teams hail from the same district.
District 1-6A city rivals Cleveland — the defending champion — and Rio Rancho lead the pack at the Santa Ana Star Center, with Piedra Vista third and Volcano Vista holding down fifth place as the tournament moves into its second and final day.
The Storm has 108 points, with Rio Rancho 19 points behind. Piedra Vista (83) has a slim, half-point lead on Carlsbad, with Volcano Vista at 77 points.
Individually, a majority of the top seeds advanced into this morning’s semifinals with multiple victories on Friday.
Eight of the 14 weight divisions have gone strictly according to seed, with the top four seeds still alive. In four of the remaining six brackets, a No. 5 seed advanced.
That left two notable exceptions: Paul Garcia of Albuquerque High, the No. 6 seed at 132 pounds, and unseeded Elijah Goodwin of Rio Rancho.
Goodwin, a heavyweight, had two pins Friday as he advanced into the semis. He’ll face the top seed, Cleveland’s Daimon Altamirano; the two met in the recent metro final where Altamirano won by pin.
Goodwin received one of three wildcard berths into the heavyweight bracket; he finished outside the top three at last weekend’s 1-6A championships.
Several metro-area wrestlers remain on track for a third straight 6A championship — Volcano Vista’s Richard Govea at 170, Cleveland’s Mikey Mascareñas at 120 and Rio Rancho’s Ryan Rochford at 152. The Storm’s Noah Mirabal (126) is also chasing a third, albeit not in consecutive years.
The semifinals are scheduled for 9 a.m. until 10:45 this morning, in all three classifications.
The finals are set for 4 p.m. today at the Star Center. CLASS 5A: Defending champion Belen scored 96½ points on Day 1. Capital (82½), Aztec (71½), Roswell (70) and Valencia (67) complete the top five.
Nearly all the top two seeds are going strong in their individual brackets; the only one among them that was eliminated was Albuquerque Academy’s Clay Crosby, the No. 1 seed at 126 pounds, who was pinned in his first match.
Jose Tapia of Capital, in search of his fifth individual state title — he is trying to become the seventh athlete to reach that status — recorded two pins on Friday at 138 pounds. Diego Pavia of St. Pius is the No. 2 seed in that bracket.
Metro-area No. 1 seeds to advance included Belen heavyweight Estevan Chavez, Gerald Sanchez from Los Lunas at 220, Rowdy Robinson of Belen at 182, Chris Robinson of Belen at 145 and Frankie Baca of Del Norte at 106.
CLASS 4A: Every weight class except one has put its top two seeds into the semis.
Ruidoso’s unseeded heavyweight, Michael Marin, upset the No. 2 seed, Isaiah Valverde of Tucumcari in the first round.
In the team standings, it’s Cobre leading with 68 points. Silver is only one point back in second, with Robertson (50) in third.