Belen Eagles excel at huge wrestling tournament

Rio Rancho

Considering the history of Belen boys wrestling, a sixth-place finish wouldn’t usually be something to shout about; however, at the huge Conflict at Cleveland, with 81 teams from six states, that type of showing is impressive.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the week that we could get a top 15 (finish), I’d be pretty happy with that,” Belen coach Chris Perea said Saturday night. “Every single person on the team got a win,” with all but one BHS wrestler registering a pin. “It was a team effort.”

BHS had three placers — Ryder Williamson was third (285 lbs.), with both Stephan Ulibarri (157) and Mason Carrillo (106) taking eighth place.

Also competing over the two days at the Rio Rancho Events Center was Los Lunas, coming in a solid 12th, fifth overall among in-state schools.

“This is not your typical New Mexico high school tournament,” said Steve Chavez, Los Lunas boys coach. “It’s a national tournament when you have teams from Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, California. It’s just amazing.”

For the first time in weeks, the Tigers started to shake the injury and illness bug that had sidelined six LLHS wrestlers.

Those placing for the Tigers were Noah Chavez (132) in fifth, Matthew Valdez (126) finishing seventh and Bryant Baca (190) eighth.

The Valencia boys tied for 45th, with many of the Jaguars just missing out of the top eight. Three-time defending 5A state champion Volcano Vista edged Cleveland by one point for the title. BHS easily placed the highest among 4A teams in the field, putting the Eagles among the favorites for next month’s state meet.

One of the downsides of such a large event is keeping track of the 13 mats going at once. Coaches, competitors, officials and reporters were scrambling during the first round to find where they needed to be.

“It makes it hard to see where kids are at, what mats they’re at, but I love the competition,” Chavez said as the Conflict hit high gear.

BHS sophomore David Sedillo, wrestling at 113-pounds, rallied to get a pin in the first round.

“You get to wrestle new people from out of state to see where you are at,” Sedillo said about the large field.

Sedillo showed his focus when asked where his opponent was from.

“I have no clue. I just came out here to wrestle,” was his response.

Valencia’s Jorgen Booth was looking forward to as many matches as possible.

“I think it’s pretty cool that New Mexico finally has something big going for them. In wrestling, especially,” said Booth, who went 2-2 in the tournament at 120-pounds.

In the 75 team girls tournament, BHS tied for 40th, LLHS was 42nd and VHS came in 47th. Garden City, Kan., was the runaway team champion, with Cleveland the top New Mexico team coming in fourth.

As the event started, Valencia’s Alexis Avis-Labus pinned her opening rival in just seconds, saying she “likes a lot of matches-get through them fast.” Avis-Labus scored three pins on her way to the championship match at 105 pounds before dropping a 9-5 decision to Vivienne Popadluc of Albuquerque Academy.

Other local wrestlers who placed were Haidyn Garley (190), of Los Lunas, who was fifth, and Belen’s Olyvia Ortiz (140), who was eighth.

“It’s very nerve wracking but very fun,” LLHS 105-pound senior Elyse Baldonado said about the number of teams and the large crowd, adding, “It’s more stressful than most.”

Baldonado went 3-2 in the Conflict, with all three victories by pin.

Perhaps summarizing the tournament best was Belen’s Perea, who coaches both the girls and boys programs.

“There’s no more fishes,” Perea said, referring to a wrestling term for weak competition. “Only sharks.”