Full wrestling rosters give BHS, LLHS edge

With the state wrestling championships on tap Friday and Saturday at Rio Rancho Events Center, the Belen and Los Lunas boys alerted the rest of New Mexico that they are contenders once again.

Last weekend, BHS captured the NMAA Region 2-4A Championship in impressive fashion, while LLHS was runner-up at the NMAA Region 2-5A meet. Both the Eagles and Tigers qualified wrestlers in all 13-weight classes for the state championships.

Belen Eagles

Belen wrestlers took titles in three weight divisions at Valley High School, as the Eagles won the team crown over Silver, 230.5 to 209.5. Valencia came in a solid eighth.

Individual champions for BHS were Joshua Jaramillo, 121 pounds; Edward Freeman, 160 pounds; and Damian Gomez at 172 pounds. After finishing as state runner-up at 114 pounds the previous two years, Jaramillo moved up in weight this season.

“I outgrew the weight class for sure,” said Jaramillo, who was “feeling pretty weak” to start the season at 114 pounds.

“This is my weight. This is my year,” Jaramillo said, as he looks ahead to ending his prep career with a title. “This is what I love, this is what I do. That’s what I’ve dedicated my life for.”

A state team title is in reach for the Eagles, who won the championship in 2023 and were third last year.

“We’re looking to take it home,” said Manny Valdez, runner-up at 127 pounds. “I feel that as a team we’re solid. I see us definitely making noise.”

As the Belen coach, Nick Sanchez, is a little more cautious, pointing to defending champion Bloomfield, with Aztec, Silver, St. Pius and West Las Vegas also as contenders.

“We’re in the race if we perform like we should and wrestle like we can,” according to Sanchez, who wasn’t completely satisfied with his team’s performance at regionals. “We gave up some matches we could have won.”

Belen’s Larry Duran, 114 pounds, earned a state qualifying berth as a wildcard selection.

Valencia Jaguars

Valencia’s performance may have pleasantly surprised coach Emanual Aragon, with seven Jaguars qualifying for the state championship.

“This is a very young team. Ninety percent of our team is freshmen or eighth-graders,” Aragon said.

VHS was led by Dominik Suarez, a freshman, who took second at 107 pounds. His brother, Yovan, the team’s elder statesman as a junior, is also off to the state meet after finishing fifth at 114 pounds.

“I know what I need to work on this week, and I know what I need to tighten up,” Yovan Suarez said. “I’m ready to have some fun next weekend.”

Two VHS wrestlers qualified for state via wildcard, Malachi McCoy, 172 pounds; and Dalton Muzzy, 189 pounds.

Los Lunas Tigers

Even after a runner-up finish in the Region 2-5A championship in Las Cruces, Los Lunas will need to be at the top of its game to reach the podium at state with a third place or better effort.

The top three teams last season, Volcano Vista, Cleveland and La Cueva, are loaded again.

Still, it was encouraging that LLHS showed off surprising depth at regionals last weekend.

“I thought they over-performed in some weight classes,” said Steve Chavez, LLHS coach, about several wrestlers who finished above their seeding. “We were looking to have a great performance overall and that’s what we got.”

One of those who “ “over performed” was Treg Sanchez, the ninth seed at 215 pounds who came in fourth.

“He had some killer matches, some tight matches that he pulled out,” noted Chavez.

Something else that was a bit of a surprise was when three Tigers were selected as wildcards, advancing to the state tournament brackets: Brandon Chavez, 114 pounds; Cristian Montoya, 152 pounds; and 189-pounder Alexis Zapata.

Certainly not to be overlooked were three individual champions, Aaron Ramirez, 121 pounds; Ayden Cordova, 139 pounds; and James Bachicha, at 160 pounds.

“It’s kind of cool — it means a lot to me,” said Bachicha about the regional title.

Bachicha, a senior, will be one of the top seeds this weekend. Not only is Bachicha anxious to improve upon two previous third place finishes, he’s looking forward to helping the team by getting “as many team points as I can. Celebrate with my friends and my boys.”

Three separate tournaments, Girls Championship, A/4A Boys Championship, and 5A Boys Championship, will be conducted at the same time starting 10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 21, at Rio Rancho Events Center.

The championship matches for all three tournaments begin at 5 p.m., Saturday.

NMAA Region 2-5A team results

1. Atrisco Heritage, 253.5

2. Los Lunas, 227.5

3. Las Cruces, 197.0

4. Hobbs, 144.5

5. Roswell, 111.5

NMAA Region 2-5A individual results

107 pounds: 3. Nava Gurule, LLHS, sophomore

121 pounds: 1. Aaron Ramirez, LLHS, sophomore

127 pounds: 2. Anthony Scott, LLHS, junior

133 pounds: 3. Andres Romero, LLHS, junior

139 pounds: 1. Ayden Cordova, LLHS, senior

145 pounds: 3. Aaron Pyle, LLHS, senior

152 pounds: 8. Cristian Montoya, LLHS, senior

160 pounds: 1. James Bachicha, LLHS, senior

172 pounds: 5. Bryant Baca, LLHS, sophomore

215 pounds: 4. Treg Sanchez, LLHS, senior

285 pounds: 2. Santiago Hurbina, LLHS, sophomore

NMAA Region 2-4A team results

1. Belen, 230.5

2. Silver, 209.5

3. St. Pius, 184.5

4. Socorro, 157.0

8. Valencia, 80.5

Region 2-4A individual results

107 pounds: 2. Dominik Suarez, VHS, freshman; 3. David Sedillo, BHS, freshman

114 pounds: 5. Yovan Suarez, VHS, junior

121 pounds: 1. Joshua Jaramillo, BHS, senior; 5. James Madrid, VHS, freshman

127 pounds: 2. Manny Valdez, BHS, junior; 7. Emmitt Bland, VHS, sophomore

133 pounds: 3. Mythias Layton, BHS, freshman; 5. Elijah Avis-Labus, VHS, freshman

139 pounds: 3. Ansel Salaz, BHS, senior

145 pounds: 7. Mario Gutierrez, BHS, sophomore

152 pounds: 5. Stephan Ulibarri, BHS, junior

160 pounds: 1. Edward Freeman, BHS, senior

172 pounds: 1. Damian Gomez, BHS, sophomore; 8. Malachi McCoy, VHS, freshman

189 pounds: 5. Marinus Sanchez, BHS, senior

215 pounds: 5. Daniel Chilimidos, BHS, senior

285 pounds: 5. Jeremy Trujeque, BHS, freshman