Los Lunas, Aztec boys get early leads

Goddard girls also have edge; finals are Saturday

Los Lunas (Class 5A) and Aztec (1A4A) are the first-day boys team leaders at the state high school wrestling championships at the Rio Rancho Events Center.

The Tigers hold a slim four-point lead on Volcano Vista, 89-85, following the first two sessions Friday of the two-day meet.

There are two additional sessions Saturday, including the semifinals in the morning, and the championship finals — in both 5A and 1A-4A — at 5 p.m.

La Cueva (79.5) is in third place in 5A, followed by Atrisco Heritage (78) and Rio Rancho (77), with Cleveland and Farmington still very much in the hunt for a trophy.

Most of the 5A brackets’ top two individual seeds emerged from Friday unscathed — but not everyone.

There was a significant upset at 215 pounds, where the No. 2 seed, Harris Mbueha of Cleveland, was defeated in the first round by Albuquerque High’s Malik Felder in a 7-5 decision.

The only other top-two seed in 5A that didn’t advance beyond the first round was No. 2 Jason Maestas of Volcano Vista at 145 pounds, who was pinned in the first round by district rival Asiah Trujillo of Cibola.

Aztec, which is chasing a fifth straight state title, leads Bloomfield by two points, 87-85. Belen (81.5) is in third place.

Goddard leads the girls team standings. The Rockets scored 65.5 points on Friday, 1.5 points ahead of Volcano Vista. Miyamura (50.5 points) is in third place.

The No. 1 seed is alive in all 12 brackets, and 10 of the 12 No. 2 seeds also advanced into Saturday’s semifinals for the girls. The girls finals also are slated for 5 p.m. Saturday.