No BHS vs. LLHS wrestling meet this season

Another high-profile sporting event between Belen and Los Lunas has been discontinued.

The annual Eagles-Tigers wrestling dual will not be held this season, with poor fan behavior playing a role.

When asked if an incident involving Belen fans near the Eagles’ team bus after last year’s dual at LLHS was the reason behind the decision, Nick Sanchez, BHS coach, said, after pausing, “A little bit.”

Whatever happened, Steve Chavez, LLHS coach, emphasized Los Lunas supporters were not involved and he wished the dual had continued.

“It’s sad because it’s always been a great dual,” Chavez said. “It was nice wrestling Belen.”

The move comes on the heels of the end of the decades-old BHS-LLHS football rivalry after Los Lunas, with a significant enrollment advantage, started dominating the Valencia Bowl.

While LLHS has taken control of the wrestling series as well, BHS coach Sanchez said his athletes enjoyed the competition.

“It’s always highly contested. It’s fun,” the coach said. “The kids enjoy it, but we decided to go in a different direction.

“We just need to learn it’s about the kids. Let the kids have fun with it. They know how to control themselves.”

Belen would have been the host school this season if the meet was scheduled. The dual was always a near sellout, and Chavez laments the host school missing out on proceeds from the gate and concessions.

“There could have been a better remedy to this then just canceling the dual,” Chavez said.

When asked if they would comment about the decision to drop the dual meet, Steven Contreras, Belen Schools athletic coordinator, and Wilson Holland, Los Lunas Schools director of athletics, both declined. Each said the wrestling coaches put the schedules together.

Sanchez, who won a state wrestling championship at BHS when Chavez was coach of the Eagles, said, “Hopefully, we can bring it back. It’s none of the kids’ fault or anything like that.”

Sanchez noted that competition between the Eagles and Tigers in several other athletic programs has ended in recent years, although the schools will resume the girls’ basketball rivalry this season.

The Eagles and Tigers will cross paths at various wrestling tournaments, including the Conflict at Cleveland, but not in a dual format. Saturday, Los Lunas hosts the Tom Torres Duals. BHS has entered this weekend’s Jaguar Invitational at Santa Fe Capital.