Cavegirl Wrestlers at Regionals in Roswell

By Don Eskins

The Carlsbad High School Cavegirls will compete at the NMAA Southern Regionals on Friday and Saturday, February 6-7, in Roswell.

With the regular grappling season now behind them, the Cavegirls’ dreams of competing in this year’s state tournament will start and end at the regional meet.

The top seven placers in each weight class, plus a wild card, will advance to the state tournament. For all others, the season will be over.

“No doubt, this will be a tough one. As many as 34 teams from around southern New Mexico will be competing at regionals, all with the same dream,” said CHS head wrestling coach Mark Pratt. “Like us, they want to wrestle well and move on to state.”

Despite the level of competition, Pratt feels his girls will have a great opportunity to do just that, wrestle well, and move on.

“Our girls have progressed and competed well throughout the season, all knowing that our overall goal has been to get as many wrestlers to state as we possibly can,” said the CHS coach. “So, they all know what’s at stake this weekend. If they go out, wrestle aggressively and smart, I think we’ll be in good shape.”

Cavegirl Regional Roster: 100, Ava Guymon; 105, Camila Gamez; 110, Scarlett Harmer; 115, Raelyn Graziano; 120, Emily Fuentes; 125, Ellianna Campos; 145, Kendall Graziano; 155, Adrianna Carrasco; 170, Sophie Westfall; 190, Arianna Campos; and 235, Atria Wells.

The Cavemen will compete at regionals on Friday and Saturday, February 13-14, at West Mesa High School in Albuquerque.

This year’s state tournament for both the boys and girls will take place at Rio Rancho on Friday and Saturday, February 20-21.

Cavemen, Cavegirls Fall to Hobbs

Both the Cavemen and Cavegirls entered Thursday night’s, January 29, dual matchups with Hobbs hoping to capture this year’s District 4/5A title, or at least a piece of it.

The Cavemen entered the match at 2-0, as did Hobbs. A victory over the Eagles would have given the boys this year’s conference title. The Cavegirls took the mat at 1-1. A victory over the Eagles would have left them sitting in a three-way tie for first with Hobbs and Clovis.

But, for the CHS’s grapplers, there would be no district title in 2025-26. The Cavemen fell to the Eagles 41-19, the Cavegirls 44-33. The dual matches took place in Carlsbad.

With the loss, the Cavemen finished as the District 4/5A runner-up; the Cavegirls finished third.

“We felt like we were in good shape, especially with our boys. But we just weren’t able to finish,” said Pratt. “We wrestled well during the first two periods, but during the third, we just didn’t get it done.

“As for the girls, they, too, wrestled well,” he said. “But their biggest problem wasn’t the Hobbs Eagles. Their problem was overcoming four open weight classes, classes that gave the Eagles 24 points before the match even started. But to their credit, they did push the Eagles.”

Registering victories on the mat for the Cavemen were, at 138, Justin Owens, who won by a 13-5 major decision; at 157, Jay Norris, who won by a 4-0 decision; and at 215, Juan Rubio, who won by fall.

Recording wins for the Cavegirls were, at 100, Ava Guymon, who won by fall; at 120, Emily Fuentes, who won by fall; at 125, Ellianna Campos, who won by fall; at 170, Sophie Westfall, who won by a 6-2 decision; at 190, Arianna Campos, who won by fall; and at 235, Atria Wells, who won by fall.

Making the most noise in CHS’s battle with Hobbs was Cavegirl Sophie Westfall. An Eagle wrestler, who normally competes at 155, had been moved up to 170 to take on the Cavegirl, only an eighth grader.

As Hobbs probably saw it, on paper, it looked like a sure win for the Eagles. Bad mistake!

“At 155, she was very tough; I think she’d only lost twice this year,” said the CHS head coach. “But she couldn’t handle Sophie, and when the match was over, Sophie’s effort brought the house down. We were all so proud of her.”

Cavemen vs. Hobbs

Team Scores: Cavemen 19, Hobbs 41

Cavemen Results: 113, Phenyx Meier, lost decision, 3-0; 120, William Graziano, lost decision, 11-16; 126, Zair Cornejo, won by forfeit; 132, Guess Box, lost decision, 3-1; 138, Justin Owens, won 13-5 major decision; 144, Matheis Meier, lost 19-3 decision; 150, Francisco Calderon, lost 6-9 decision; 157, Jay Norris, won 4-0 decision; 165, Xander Huff, lost by fall; 175, Eddie Lopez, lost by fall; 190, Xavier Huff, lost by fall; 215, Juan Rubio, won by fall; 285, Jaxson Powell, lost by fall.

Cavegirls vs. Hobbs

Team Scores: Cavegirls 33, Hobbs 44 (Gave up 24 pts.)

Cavegirl Results: 100 Ava Guymon, won by fall; 105, Camila Gamez, lost by fall; 110, Scarlett Harmer, lost 6-0 decision; 115, Raelyn Graziano, lost 3-9 decision; 120, Emily Fuentes, won by fall; 125, Ellianna Campos, won by fall; 130, open; 135, open; 140, open; 145, open; 155, Kendall Graziano, lost by fall; 170, Sophie Westfall, won by 6-2 decision; 190, Arianna Campos, won by fall; 235, Atria Wells, won by fall.