CHS Wrestlers Fare Well at Rio Hondo Scuffle

By Don Eskins

The Cavemen and Cavegirl wrestling teams performed well at the Rio Hondo Scuffle on December 19-20 in Roswell. In split sessions, the girls competed on December 19, the boys on the 20th.

The Cavemen, competing in a field of 20, placed sixth, while the Cavegirls finished sixth in a field of 19.

"Overall, both our boys' and girls' teams wrestled well at the Rio Hondo Scuffle," said CHS head wrestling coach Mark Pratt. "As with all of our meets this season, we saw a lot of very positive things from our kids."

Top performers for the Cavemen were second-place silver medalists Justin Owens, 5-1; Francisco Calderon, 5-1; and Juan Rubio, 5-1; and third-place bronze medalist Xavier Huff, 5-2.

Manuel Dominguez, wrestling in the B-Bracket, went 3-0 to place first.

"The boys had some really tough matches. But, en route to medaling, Justin, Francisco, and Xavier defeated opponents that they had lost to earlier this season at either Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, or Goddard," said Pratt. "Those victories were very encouraging for all of us."

Turning in top performances for the girls were first-place gold medalist Elianna Campos, 5-0; second-place silver medalists Arianna Campos and Sophie Westfall, both 5-1; and third-place bronze medalist Faith Abeyta, 2-2.

"Although the girls' tournament was also a tough one, we got some great efforts from our kids," said coach Pratt. "Besides wrestling well, they picked up some wins against our district opponents, which should help them with seeding for Regionals later this season.

"Ellianna, our gold medal winner, was awesome on the mat. She did everything we like to see from our wrestlers," he said. "She was aggressive and took care of business. We're all so very proud of her."

On Thursday, December 18, the Cavemen and Cavegirls traveled to Roswell for a dual meet with the Goddard Rockets. Both teams picked up victories at the dual. The Cavemen downed the Rockets 55-22, while the Cavegirls slid by the Roswell-based team 29-26.            

Roswell Rio Hondo ScuffleCavemen Team: 6 of 20Varsity Results: 106, open; 113, open; 120, William Graziano, 1-4, DNP; 126, open; 132, Andrew Fuentes, 2-3, DNP; 138, Guess Box, 4-3, 5^th; 144, Justin Owens, 5-1, 2^nd; 150, Francisco Calderon, 5-1, 2^nd; 157, Carter Pulice, 1-4, DNP; 157, Tyson Vasquez, 1-4, DNP; 165, open; 175, Eddie Lopez, 3-3, 7^th; 175B, Manuel Dominguez, 3-0, 1^st; 190, Xavier Huff, 5-2, 3^rd; 215, Juan Rubio, 5-1, 2^nd; 285, Jaxson Powell, 5-2, 5th.

Cavegirls Team: 6 of 19 Varsity Results: 100, Ava Guymon, 4-2, 5^th; 105, Camila Gamez, 3-3, 7^th; 110, Scarlett Harmer, 3-3, DNP; 115, Raelyn Graziano, 4-2, DNP; 120, open; 125, open; 130, Ellianna Campos, 5-0, 1^st; 135, open; 140, open; 145, open; 155, Kendall Graziano, 4-2, DNP; 170, Sophie Westfall, 5-1, 2^nd; 190, Arianna Campos, 5-1, 2^nd; 235, Faith Abeyta, 2-2, 3rd.

Cavemen JV Division: 7 of 16132B, Sabas Hernandez, 4-0, 1^st; 132B, Zair Cornejo, 3-1, 2^nd; 138A, Mathias Meier, 2-0, 1^st; 138C, Rydge Crow, 3-0, 1^st; 138D, Raul Valenzuela, 3-0, 1^st; 150A, Daniel Bencomo, 1-2, 3^rd; 150B, Kason Calderon, 1-1, 2^nd; 150C, Elijah Campbell, 1-1, 2^nd; 157C, Xander Huff, 3-0, 1^st; 165A, Israel Methola, 0-2, DNP; 190A, Nathan Aranda, 1-3, 5^th; 215, Jordan Burnall, 0-2, DNP.             

Roswell Goddard DualCavemen Team Score: Won 55- 22Varsity Results: 106, lost by forfeit; 113, Phenyx Meier, lost by major decision; 120, William Graziano, won by forfeit; 126, lost by forfeit; 132, Andrew Fuentes, won by tech fall; 138, Guess Box, won by fall; 144, Justin Owens, won by fall; 150, Francisco Calderon, won by fall; 157, Carter Pulice, won by forfeit; 157, Jay Norris, won by forfeit; 175, Eddie Lopez, won by forfeit; 190, Xavier Huff, won by decision; 215, Juan Rubio, won by tech fall; 285, Jaxson Powell, lost by fall.

Cavegirl Team Score: Won 29-26Varsity Results: 100, Ava Guymon, won by fall; 105, Camila Gamez, won by forfeit; 110, lost by forfeit; 115, lost by forfeit; 120, lost by forfeit; 120, Raelyn Graziano, lost by tech fall; 125, Ellianna Campos, won by fall; 130, lost by forfeit; 135, lost by forfeit; 140, lost by forfeit; 145, lost by forfeit; 155, Kendall Graziano, won by fall; 170, Sophie Westfall, won by forfeit; 190, Arianna Campos, lost by decision; 23,- Faith Abeyta, lost by fall.