Saturday, November 25, 2006

LLHS wrestling team fills in gaps

Coach Chavez says team is young

T.S. Last News-Bulletin Sports Editor; tslast@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Los Lunas High School wrestling coach Steven Chavez feels like he's starting over again — again.

Chavez returned to LLHS as head coach last year after leading the Belen Eagles to three straight Class 4A championships. He was filling the shoes of his mentor, Tom Torres, who built the Tiger program into one of the best in the state over a 30-year career. Under Torres, Los Lunas won five state titles and placed second an amazing 12 times, including his final year in 2004 when the Tigers graduated two state champions.

"This year is kind of the same situation as I had last year. I lost some horses and had a young team last year, and we're going to be that way again," said Chavez.

The Tigers also had issues with eligibility and injuries last year, and the coach is faced with the same situation this year.

"I have some people who are still injured and aren't ready, so it's hard to determine where we're at," he said, adding that getting kids qualified under the weight management program is also an issue. "I don't want to screw up a kid who weighed in at 130 when he really could have made 125. So this weight management program has delayed the process."

The coach is also concerned about grades. A change this year calls for student-athletes' eligibility to be determined by grade reports every nine weeks, as opposed to mid-semester reports last year. That means if a wrestler is ineligible at the beginning of the season, he can't start his season until January.

"My concern now is just trying to get kids eligible and keep their grades up," he said.

Though there's a lot weighing on the coach's mind right now, there's reason to be optimistic.

"We're still young, but we have some veterans now. Those six or seven freshmen that we had on varsity last year, I consider them veterans now," he said. "If everything comes together, we can have the same kind of year we did last year when we weren't predicted to do anything and then came back and finished third in state."

Los Lunas finished a surprising third at last year's Class 5A state championships, thanks in part to state champion Cody East, runner-up Steven Aragon, medallist David Sanchez and Chris Trujillo — all of whom have been lost to graduation.

Not only that, Los Lunas may have also lost another state champ. Tyler East, who won the 189-pound state title as a freshman, was injured in a car accident two months ago.

Chavez said East's injuries could potentially sideline him for the season.

"We just don't know. I wish I could say if he's going to be back or not. But until I hear from his doctor or the trainer, we don't know if he's going to be back this year," he said.

With or without East in the lineup, Chavez said there's a good nucleus of returnees to build around. The Tigers return four wrestlers who earned state medals by placing in the top six last season.

Seniors Augustine Silva and Ahren Griego are the veterans. Silva was a state runner-up two years ago and finished third in the 119-pound division last season. Griego is also a two-time state placer, finishing fifth at 135 pounds a year ago.

Patrick Encinias and Michael Salazar placed as freshmen last season. Encinias was fourth at 125 pounds, while Salazar was fifth at 103 pounds.

Also at the lower weights, the Tigers return junior Justin Valencia and sophomore Justin Arellano.

A sensational sophomore class also includes Jeremy Bock, Ray Contreras and Mario Montaño.

The Los Lunas roster includes four other seniors — Vince Armijo, Jeremiah McElroy, Chris Montoya and Anthony Romero — who the coach said could crack the lineup.

"We have some veterans, but we're still filling in some spots. We're going to have some young kids at the higher weights," the coach said.

Despite all the questions, Chavez said he expects the Tigers to compete for a state trophy again in February. The coach said he considers Rio Rancho the team to beat this season. Defending champion Eldorado will also be strong, and Cibola returns a lot of wrestlers.

But, if like last year, it all comes together in the end, there's no telling how high the Tigers can finish.

"The sky's the limit," he said. "We still have some good kids. If we continue learning, stay injury free and keep doing what we have to do, and keep our grades up, you can't count Los Lunas out."

The Tigers open the season next Wednesday with a home dual match against Cibola. The varsity match is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The Tigers will host the Los Lunas Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 2.

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