Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Some Jaguar wrestlers have varsity experience already

Season begins with Volcano dual Dec. 3

John Gale News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jgale@news-bulletin.com

Tomé The Valencia wrestling team has an advantage over many of the other Jaguar athletic programs because the wrestlers are not entering their first-ever varsity season, as they competed at varsity meets last season, including at district and state.

"It's a little better for us than the other teams," Valencia coach Tom Torres said. (The wrestlers) were nervous last year. This year, the practice is excellent. They're working hard. Their technique is a lot better."

While the Jaguars didn't rack up many wins in duals, they did gain valuable experience throughout the season and even defeated then-district opponent Grants 46-12 at the District 5-4A tournament.

Torres didn't identify any wrestlers in particular to watch, but five Valencia wrestlers competed in the Class 4A state tournament, including Orlando Ortiz at 125 pounds, Juan Rodriguez at 135, Alfredo Rendon at 145, Josh Valdez at 152 and Joe Benitez at 215.

The five Jaguars qualified by virtue of a selection committee deeming them as among the top 16 wrestlers in their weight class in 4A. This season, only the top wrestlers from each district tournament will qualify.

Four of the five lost their first-round matches, but Ortiz pinned Moriarty's Erik Berrotran 1:48 into the second round to pick up three points for the Jaguars, their first points at a state meet. Ortiz then lost a 9-2 decision to St. Pius' Mike Rhode.

Valencia finished 22nd out of the 23 teams competing.

"Last year, we were done on Friday," Torres said. "I'm hoping to be there on Saturday this year. "This year, our goal will be to have a full team."

In addition to the wrestlers who made it to state, Keith Miller will be returning at 215 pounds or heavyweight, as will Neil Padilla (215), Lucas Aragon (160), Juan Rodriguez (135-140), Henry Palenapa (189), Julian Peña (119-125), Clayton Martinez (135-140), Brandon Towie (119-125) and Luis Brandt (140).

Newcomers include Victor Guerra at 140 pounds, Lewis Lockhart (heavyweight), Russell Martinez (152), Stevie Garcia (112-119), Joseph Salas (171-189), Marcos Valalobas (103), Daniel Garcia (103) and Gabe Mora (140).

Torres brings a wealth of experience, as he coached the Los Lunas wrestling team for 30 years, leading the Tigers to 19 top-three finishes, including 12 second-place trophies and five state championships.

He said the biggest difference between Los Lunas and Valencia is that Los Lunas already has a well-developed program, while Valencia is still in the early stages.

"We're trying to improve in the high school and also the middle school, all combined together," Torres said. "At Los Lunas, I had between 50 and 60 wrestlers. That's what we're trying to get to at Valencia. If the kids improve, maybe more kids will start wrestling."

At the district 5-4A meet, Valencia will have to contend with Del Norte, Albuquerque Academy and Moriarty, who finished fourth at state last season.

"Moriarty is going to be pretty good," Torres said. "They're going to be very strong. They have a lot of kids back. Del Norte has some good individuals and Academy does too."

Torres said the team is trying to build a fairly difficult schedule. The season starts on Dec. 3 when the Jaguars host another young program, Volcano Vista, at approximately 7:30 p.m.

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