2015 New Mexico National Guard
State Wrestling Championships
Presented by Farmers Insurance Group
Rio Rancho Wins Second Consecutive Blue Trophy
6A
Rio Rancho hoisted the blue trophy for the second consecutive year in 2015, earning the schools 12th overall wrestling title
with a team score of 252.5. The Rams crosstown rival, Cleveland, earned second place with 237 points, followed by Rio Grande
who finished in third with 155 points.
The Cleveland Storm took home five individual state titles, while Rio Rancho captured four as six wrestlers repeated as state
champions from 2014. In all, the Rams and the Storm faced off six times during the final round of the 2015 New Mexico National Guard State Wrestling Championships, presented by Farmers Insurance Group.
Michael Mascarenas of Cleveland defeated Gabriel Gray of Rio Rancho with a 10-5 decision in the 106 pound weight class,
as teammate Noah Mirabal of Cleveland beat Orion Gutierrez of Rio Rancho, 10-6 at 113. This was Marabal’s second straight
individual title, earning the 106 pound championship in 2014.
Treavon Nicoley of Cleveland also earned a second straight title, making it a clean sweep of the first three weight classes with
a 5-2 decision over Rio Rancho’s Javier Salazar at 120 pounds. The Rams’ Brandon Leyba earned his team’s first individual title
by pinning Isaac Garcia of Manzano in the 126 pound finals.
Sophomore Ryan Rochford of Rio Rancho capped off an unseeded run to the state title, which included a first round pin over
two-time defending state champion Dylan Udero of Las Cruces, by downing Shawn Nieto of Cleveland 4-2 in the finals. At 138
Isaac Lopez of Rio Grande, earned his second consecutive title by beating Santana Guerra of Mayfield, 14-6. Lopez won in 2014
at 126 pounds.
In the 145 pound weight class, Richard Govea of Volcano Vista escaped with a one-point win over Clayton Arellano of Rio
Grande, 4-3. It was Govea’s first
win over Arellano after having
lost to him four times during the
regular season. Orlando Gutierrez of Rio Rancho helped the
Rams pull even with Cleveland
with its third individual title of
the finals, beating Jesse Nieto of
Cleveland with a 3-1 decision.
At 160 pounds, Kyle Snelling of
La Cueva defeated Jordan Velasquez of Valley, 10-4, earning
his second straight individual
state title. Santiago Apodaca of
Cleveland won the fourth finals
match for the Storm with a 6-2
decision over Manzano’s Travis
Decker at 170 pounds.
Miguel Barreras of Rio Rancho handled Angel Castillo of Cleveland in a 6-1 decision at 182 pounds, while, Scott Yarbrough
of Cleveland, a wild card entry after placing 4th in the district tournament, pinned Joshua Griego of Volcano Vista in the 195
pound finals. With the victory, Barreras became a three-time state champion, winning at 160 pounds in 2014 and 152 pounds
in 2013.
Mark Hussey of Rio Grande would shutout Dominik Trujillo of Mayfield, 7-0 to capture the 220 pound title, as James Romero of
Atrisco Heritage capped off his senior year by repeating as the 285 champion, pinning Adrian Mancha of Rio Grande.
Piedra Vista Takes Fifth Straight State Title
5A
Piedra Vista continued to keep a tight grip on the 5A state wrestling title, earning its fifth straight championship at the 2015
New Mexico National Guard State Wrestling Championships, presented by Farmers Insurance Group. The Panthers won the
blue trophy with 294.5 points, just 8.5 points ahead of Belen, who finished second, despite holding a 4.5 point lead going into
the finals. Piedra Vista earned 24 points in the finals, compared to Belen’s eight.
Both Piedra Vista and Belen sent six wrestlers to the finals, facing each other three times, with the Panthers earning the win in
all three matches. In fact, Piedra Vista was 5-1 in finals matches in the tournament, while Belen was 2-4.
At 106 pounds, Roman Cervantes of Los Lunas defeated Javier Tapia of Capital in a 5-2 decision. Capital’s Jose Tapia finished his
sophomore season at a perfect 44-0, earning his third straight individual state crown, joining the prestigious 3-time champion
club by pinning Toshio Herrera of Miyamura in the 113 weight class. Jose Tapia won the 113 pound championship in 2014 and
the 106 title in 2013.
Lawrence `Sam’ Sandoval of Piedra Vista defeated Gavino Hernandez of St Pius X, 6-4, at 120 pounds, earning his second
straight title, as fellow teammate Philip Archuleta also became a two-time state champion with a 8-2 decision over Anthony
Trujillo of Belen at 126 pounds.
Wes Rayburn of Piedra Vista handled Austin Sauceda of Los Lunas, 6-0 at 132 pounds, while teammate Nick Rino won the 138
pound title by pinning Matthew Lucero of Belen. Senior Anthony Juckes of Piedra Vista became just the sixth wrestler in New
Mexico High School history to earned a fifth straight title after pinning Jerry Robinson of Belen in the 145 pound weight class.
At 152 pounds, Gunner Robinson of Belen defeated Alias Starkovich of Miyamura, 2-1 in overtime to earn the Eagles first individual title of the championships. Goddard’s Marcus Trujillo won the 160 pound title with a one-point decision over Wyatt
Weaver of Piedra Vista.
Nate Nash of Valencia beat Raymond Anaya of Goddard in the 170 pound finals with an 8-5 decision, while Los Alamos’ Lane
Saunders won the 182 pound state title with a 1-0 overtime victory over Israel Villa of Goddard. Saunders was the 170 pound
state champion in 2014.
In the 195 pound finals, Ramon
Artiaga of Del Norte defeated
Estevan Chavez of Belen, 8-1,
while Matthew Burguena of
Belen earned the Eagles their
second individual title of the
championships with a 4-3 decision over Isacc Lewis of Valencia.
Jasper Denetclaw of Miyamura
pinned Jonathan Schueler of
Los Alamos in the heavy weight
division, becoming the Patriots
first state wrestling champion
in school history.
Robertson Wins First Blue Trophy since 2009
A-4A
Down 11.5 points to Silver going into the finals of the 2015 New Mexico National Guard State Wrestling Championships presented by Farmers Insurance Group, Robertson won seven of its nine championship matches, earning its 10th blue trophy and
the first since 2009. The Cardinals tallied 243.5 points for the championships, followed by Silver (224) and Cobre (210). Cobre
won three individual titles, while St. Michael’s earned two.
The Cardinal’s road to victory started at the 106 pound finals, as Johnathan Trujillo of Robertson defeated Zeke Marquez of
Silver in a major decision, 11-2. Eric Morales of Cobre won the 113 title in overtime, 6-1, over Tristan Trujillo of Robertson.
Bradley Jordan of Robertson earned a valuable four points for the Cardinals with a one-point decision over Isiah Sifuentes of
Cobre, 3-2, as Robert Rodriguez of Cobre pinned Gage Krielick of Bloomfield to win the 126 pound title. This was the second
straight year that Rodriguez earned the 126 pound title.
At 132 pounds, Aidan Cockrell of Kirtland Central defeated Armando Galindo of Silver, 6-1. Richard Montoya of Robertson
capped off a perfect season at 48-0 by pinning Tavian Arredondo of Silver in the 138 pound finals. Montoya’s win earned him
his fifth individual state title, making him just the fifth wrestler in New Mexico High School history to accomplish that feat.
Joseph Paul Griego of Robertson pinned Avery Scott of Bloomfield to take the 145 title, while Cobre’s Randy Maynes earned the
152 crown over Ethan Lucero of Silver, 7-2.
In the 160 pound finals, Dominic Lucero of Robertson became a two-time state champion with a 3-2 decision over JD Robinson
of Bloomfield. Lucero was the
2014 champion at 152 pounds.
Shawn Dubiskas of Silver defeated Diego Trujillo of Robertson, 5-2, to earn the Colts only
individual title of the tournament.
St. Michael’s Xavier Vigil beat
Donavan Clyde of Wingate by
pin, finishing off his sophomore
campaign at 33-1 in the 182
finals, while Amos Rivera of
Robertson defeated Chad McNamara of St. Michael`s by onepoint in a 3-2 decision.
Kenneth Yara of Robertson
would pin Salvador Lopez of
West Las Vegas for the 220
pound title, as St. Michael’s
Ryan Ortiz defeated Alex Wagner of Silver in double overtime, 3-2.