Let the pins begin; teams primed for wrestling season

Los Lunas

How did area wrestlers spend the final weekend before the start of high school practice on Monday? Relaxing, putting their feet up?

That was not the case for many local grapplers, who were on the mats Saturday and Sunday learning from a three-time collegiate champion at the first New Mexico Junior Wrestling preseason camp at Los Lunas High School.

Wrestlers from LLHS and Belen High School were among about 85 youngsters who received pointers from Jason Nolf, who won three NCAA championships at Penn State from 2017 to 2019.

“I love doing them,” Nolf said about the string of camps he does annually. “My goal here is to make wrestling fun. Get them to enjoy it and want to keep coming back.”

After originally planning to hold the clinic in Albuquerque, the NMJW decided to take a detour to Los Lunas.

“This area has a tremendous amount of wrestling. It was a natural fit,” said Joel Partridge, NMJW vice president of Socorro, citing the popularity of the sport in Valencia County.

Former LLHS wrestler Jonathan Maestas is the president of NMJW, and said, “We’ve had a great turnout,” with wrestlers from El Paso, Deming and Farmington traveling to the camp. “They’re learning a lot of different techniques, everything from the collegiate level.”

Practice underway

The camp turned out to be something of an opening act locally for the wrestling season. As the Tigers, BHS Eagles and Valencia Jaguars returned to practice Monday, there was a feeling of excitement.

“We have a good core of kids. The nucleus is good and it spreads from there,” said Steve Chavez, Los Lunas boys coach. “I think we can be strong in all 14 weight classes this year, honestly.”

At last season’s 5A State Championships, LLHS finished sixth. The Tigers will have to fill the void left by a number of state placers, including 145-pound state champion James Bachicha.

Still, Chavez hopes for a top-five finish, or higher, at state.

“We’ve got some good horses,” citing Matthew Valdez, Anthony Scott and Andres Romero.

Chavez will no longer have double-duty, now that LoriAnn Archuleta takes over as the girls first designated head coach.

“I’m excited to be up on the new mats we’ve got up there,” Archuleta said about the wrestling room above the gymnasium. “The first week is going to be working on our basics to see where the team is at and then growing from there.”

In addition to several transfers, Los Lunas will have Haidyn Garley and Janie Wheeler, who competed in the all-class state meet last year.

First-year Belen head coach Chris Perea, a long-time BHS assistant, inherits a boys team that was sixth in 4A last season.

“We’re excited. We’re moving forward with a lot of good kids,” Perea said, with state placers that include Damian Gomez, David Sedillo and Mythias Layton.

On the flipside, the Eagles lost “some monsters,” according to Perea, including Joshua Jaramillo and Tommy Freeman, who are wrestling collegiately.

“We’re young,” according to Perea. “We have a good freshmen class coming, so we’re excited.”

The BHS girls team has Olyvia Sanchez and Olivia Ortiz to build around. Both qualified for the state championship in 2025.

Like Belen, Valencia will have a first-year coach guiding the program, and despite having talent on both the boys and girls rosters, “We’re rebuilding the program,” said Shawn Avis-Labus. “We’re installing some things that the kids probably aren’t used to at the high school level.”

Avis-Labus is also an assistant on the Jaguars’ football team.

“There’s going to be a more detailed breakdown through practice,” he said.

Dominik Suarez headlines the boys lineup, finishing third at 107-pounds at state last season as a freshman. According to the coach, Suarez and his brother Jovan, Jorgen Booth and Elijah Avis-Labus, the coach’s son, competed well nationally in the summer.

Several standouts are back for the Jags girls squad, starting with 107-pounder Alexis Avis-Labus, who finished third in the state championships.

“She’s chasing a title, obviously. She’s had a few looks from some colleges,” said her father, the coach. Adrianna Berni is another wrestler with state tournament experience for Valencia.

The first big date on the wrestling calendar is Dec. 6, with the Valencia boys visiting the Tom Torres Duals at Los Lunas.

BHS brings boys and girls teams to a tournament at Santa Fe Capital on the same date, while the VHS girls are at Highland High School.