Cavegirls 7th, Cavemen 11th at Las Cruces

By Don Eskins

The Carlsbad Cavemen and Cavegirls recently returned from the Las Cruces Wrestling Invitational, both having performed very well. The tournament, one of New Mexico’s toughest, took place on Friday and Saturday, December 12-13, in the City of Crosses.

At the mega meet, featuring teams from as far away as California, the Cavegirls placed seventh in a field of 38, while the Cavemen placed 11th in a field of 40. The CHS boys finished just four points shy of 10th place.

The Cavemen, as did the Cavegirls, had four open weight classes at the meet.

Cavegirls Ellianna Campos, Arianna Campos, and Emily Fuentes turned in Carlsbad’s top performances in Las Cruces. Wrestling at 125 lbs., Ellianna posted a 4-1 record to place second, as did Arianna, who went 3-1 at 190 lbs. Emily, after closing out her day at 5-1, placed third.

Others placing for the Cavegirls were: at 170 lbs., Sophie Westfall, 4-2, fifth; 235 lbs., Atria Wells, 2-2, fifth; and 235 lbs., Faith Abeyta, 2-3, sixth.

Placing for the Cavemen were: at 150 lbs., Francisco Calderon, 6-2, fourth, and at 165 lbs., Jay Norris, 7-2, fourth.

“The Las Cruces Invitational is always a great meet. It’s been around for quite some time, and it attracts some of the best wrestling programs throughout the southwest,” said CHS head wrestling coach Mark Pratt. “Considering the number of teams at the meet and the level of talent, I’d say our kids wrestled very well.

“In Las Cruces, we saw some great efforts from all of our kids. Fernando Calderon, at 150, tech-falled a wrestler that had beaten him last week at Rio Rancho, and Kendall Graziano, only an eighth grader, came within 15 seconds of upsetting this year’s Las Cruces runner-up, Abigail Snell of Hobbs, at 155.”

The Cavegirls, unfortunately, have lost the services of Breanna Trujillo, who suffered a knee injury at the meet.

“Breanna’s injury was most unfortunate for her and the Cavegirls. She’s a great kid, and she’s worked really hard this year,” said Pratt. “We’re going to miss her a lot.”

As the clock runs down to end 2025, the CHS grapplers will see action three more times this year.

On Thursday, December 18, the boys’ and girls’ varsity and junior varsity squads will compete at the Goddard Dual. The meet is set to get underway at 6 p.m.

On Friday, December 19, the varsity girls, plus the junior varsity boys’ and girls’ teams, will compete at the Roswell Rio Hondo Invitational. Action is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m.

On Saturday, December 19, the Cavemen varsity will participate in the Roswell Rio Hondo Invitational. The tournament will get underway at 7 a.m.

Las Cruces Invite CHS Results:

Boys’ Division Team Scores: 11th out of 40 (4 pts. out of top 10)

Boys’ Varsity Meet Records: 106, open; 113, Phenyx Meier, 1-2; 120, open; 126, open; 132, Andrew Fuentes, 1-2; 138, Guess Box, 2-2; 144, Justin Owens, 3-2; 150, Francisco Calderon, 6-2, fourth; 157, Carter Pulice, 1-2; 157, Tyson Vasquez, 1-2; 165, Jay Norris, 7-2, fourth; 175, Eddie Lopez, 2-2; 190, Manuel Dominguez, 1-2; 190, Xavier Huff, 1-2; 215, Juan Rubio, 3-2; 285, open.

Girls’ Division Team Scores: 7 of 38

Girls’ Varsity Records: 100, Ava Guymon, 1-2; 105, Camila Gamez, 1-2; 110, Violet Harmer, 1-2; 115, Scarlett Harmer, 1-2; 115, Breanna Trujillo, 1-2; 120, Emily Fuentes, 5-1, third; 120, Raelyn Graziano, 2-2; 125, Ellianna Campos, 4-1, second; 130, open; 135, open; 140, open; 145, open; 155, Kendall Graziano, 2-2; 170, Sophie Westfall, 4-2, fifth; 190, Arianna Campos, 3-1, second; 235, Faith Abeyta, 2-3, sixth; 235, Atria Wells, 2-2, fifth.