Four CHS Wrestlers Place at State Wrestling Meet

kmarksteiner0
Feb 27
3 min read

By Don Eskins

Carlsbad Cavegirls Aaliyah Martin and Ellianna Campos, along with Cavemen Aiden Rodriguez and Ethan Powell, battled their way through some tough tournament brackets to place among the top five grapplers in their specific weight classes at the recent NMAA State Wrestling Tournament in Rio Rancho on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22.

Martin compiled a record of 3-1 to finish as the state runner-up in the 235 lb. class, while Campos, at 126 lbs., went 3-2 to place fifth. Both Rodriguez, at 114 lbs., and Powell, at 160 lbs., closed out the tourney at 4-2 to place fourth. All but Campos, who is only a sophomore, are seniors.

At the Big Dance in Rio Rancho, in a field of 26, the Cavemen placed 11th, while the Cavegirls, in a field of 56, finished 17th.

“Overall, I feel like our kids wrestled fairly well. However, I also feel like as teams, both the boys and girls could have wrestled somewhat better,” said CHS head wrestling coach Mark Pratt. “We just had a few unexpected things happen to us at the meet, which led to some early exits.

“But we took 12 wrestlers, placed three of them, and of those who competed at the state meet, seven of them will be coming back,” he said. “For the most part, our program is filled with young kids, and we have to keep that in perspective. The experience we got at the state tournament should help us big time next year.”

As for CHS’s placers, Pratt was a very proud coach.

“On the boys’ side, we got some great efforts from both Aiden and Ethan,” he said. “They battled hard throughout the tournament. We’ll miss them a lot next year.

“As for the girls, we got the same kind of efforts from Aaliyah and Ellianna that we got from Aiden and Ethan,” he said. “They were both very impressive in their attempts to bring back an individual state title to Carlsbad.”

Especially impressive was Martin. The Cavegirl senior wrestled her way to three straight wins, all via pins, before falling in the second period of the tournament final to this year’s defending state champion.

“Aaliyah really had a lot on her plate at this year’s state tournament. She’d been nursing an injury to her shoulder for some time, which had to somewhat figure in the match’s outcome,” said Pratt. “But, also, on the day before we loaded up to come to Rio Rancho, she lost her biggest fan, her grandmother.

“I was really surprised that she made the trip, but her parents said that her grandmother, who resided in Wyoming, wanted her to wrestle,” said the CHS coach. “Through it all, Aaliyah gave her very best, and I know her grandmother would have been very proud of her, as were we.”

With the 2024-25 season now behind them, Pratt said it was time for his charges to look forward.

“We do have a good crop of kids coming back next year. Add to that, we expect to see a good group of young grapplers coming up from the junior high as well,” he said. “Right now, though, we’ll take a few days off to recuperate and then get ready for our off-season spring and summer programs.” CHS State Meet Results:

Cavemen- 11th of 26

114- (Sr) Aiden Rodriguez 4-2, 4th

121- (Fr) Mathias Meier 0-2, DNP

127- (So) Sabas Hernandez 1-2, DNP

133-(Fr) Guess Box 1-2, DNP

139- (Jr) Jay Norris 0-2, DNP

152- (Sr) Francisco Calderon 2-2, DNP

160-(Sr) Ethan Powell 4-2, 4th

Cavegirls- 17th of 56

100- (Sr) Andrea Ramirez 1-2, DNP

114- (Jr) Emily Fuentes 0-2, DNP

126- (So) Ellianna Campos 3-2, 5th