Tapia commits to wrestle for Boise St.
West Las Vegas hoops star D.J. Bustos will head to Highlands; St. Michael’s Danielle Vigil will play for Adams State
Jose Tapia’s wrestling career culminated with one of his ultimate goals Wednesday afternoon — a college scholarship. The Capital senior celebrated the first day of the spring national college signing day by putting his signature to a letter of intent to compete at Boise State University in Edward A. Ortiz Memorial Gymnasium. Tapia, one of only eight five-time state champions in New Mexico, became the first Capital wrestler to earn a Division I scholarship.
It’s easy to see why, as he went 166-4 in his career but never lost on the mat. As an eighthgrader, he lost two matches to forfeiture and missed his weight of 138 pounds that cost him two matches as a senior. Tapia also showed he was one of the top wrestlers in the nation, becoming a two-time champion in the National High School Coaches Association National Wrestling Championships as a sophomore and junior.
“This is a big weight lifted off of my shoulder,” Tapia said. “Throughout my whole career, I wanted to get an opportunity to wrestle in college. Me getting a scholarship to Boise State, kinda relieved that pressure for me.”
Tapia said the scholarship will cover everything but housing, which means he has to find a way to pay for about $8,000. He said he will apply for a few scholarships, and can also apply for a Pell Grant.
Tapia and his dad, Pojoaque Valley head coach Johnny Tapia, believe his performances in regional and national meets in the offseason augmented his state accomplishments and caught the attention of coaches across the country. Johnny Tapia said as late as Tuesday night, he was fielding calls from coaches trying to convince the Tapias to choose their school, but Jose Tapia said he felt most at ease with the Boise State program, which competes in the
PAC-12 Conference.
“I would have been happy with a D-2 school, as well,” Tapia said. “But when I went up to Boise, the coaches and the campus and the wrestling just fit. What I like about it is that Boise State isn’t really known in the wrestling world, but they’re getting better and better. I’m going to be a part of that.”
It was the culmination of a 15-year journey for Tapia, who started wrestling at the age of 4. Johnny Tapia said the upcoming school year will be odd, know that his son will be in Idaho. He’s not done yet, though, as younger son junior Javier Tapia is a twotime state champion and looking to follow his brother’s path.
“It will be a little rough for me,” Johnny Tapia said. “Hopefully, I can make a few of his matches.”
Tapia’s accomplishment is yet another high-water mark for Capital, which earned its first podium finish as a team in 2016 when it took third place in Class 5A. This winter, the Jaguars were state runners-up to Belen. Capital head coach Marcos Gallegos said Tapia helped set a tone that permeated through the program.
“It’s been positive,” Gallegos said. “And Jose earned all of that. He’s got that work ethic and drive. It’s been a pleasure to have a kid like that in the program who can bring guidance, who can bring leadership. I always say when you have good people around you, you can do good things.”
Tapia was not the only Northern New Mexican athlete to earn a scholarship on Wednesday. West Las Vegas’ D.J. Bustos elected to stay home and play for New Mexico Highlands University for the 2017-18 season. The Cowboys nabbed the state’s all-time leading scorer, as Bustos set the mark twice in February — first against Las Vegas Robertson on Feb. 8, then on Valentine’s Day at Pojoaque Valley.
How was that possible? Well, The Dons forfeited their win over the Cardinals in accordance to their role in illegally filming a Robertson-St. Michael’s boys basketball. So, Bustos did it again the following week against the Elks.
Despite that hiccup, the Dons senior scored 2,689 points in a five-year career that began when he was an eighth-grader. Bustos also led the Dons to two straight 4A runner-up finishes when he was a sophomore and a junior.
“Highlands is the best fit for me because I’ll get playing time as a freshman and I’m excited to begin my journey as a Cowboy,” Bustos said in a media release. “There are no guarantees of playing immediately at the Division 1 college level. At Highlands, I’ll also get to play in front of my family and hometown friends. They’ve been supporting me since I played peewee basketball.”
Also signing on Wednesday was St. Michael’s senior center Danielle Vigil, who will play for Adams State College in the fall. Vigil, a 6-foot center who is the niece of Horsemen legendary 7-footer Nick Pino, spent the past three seasons starting on the varsity for the Lady Horsemen. She averaged nine points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks as a senior.
Meanwhile, West Las Vegas also celebrated senior Jenika Padilla signing to play at Western New Mexico. Padilla averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and five steals this season for a Lady Dons team that went 21-9 and reached the 4A quarterfinals. West Las Vegas went 19-9 this season, winning the District 2-4A Tournament and reaching the 4A quarterfinals.