N.M. state wrestling tournament

W ingate High School junior Miles Davis gave new meaning to the saying "No pain, no gain."

Davis, wrestling through a neck muscle injury from earlier in the week, walked away from the state wrestling championships with the state 119-pound title Saturday.

"I surprised myself," Davis said.

Davis, who almost couldn't stand after the first period, played it close.

With the score tied 6-6 late in the third period, Davis came away with a late reversal and points to pull off an 11-6 decision for the win over David Cuhen of Cobre in the championship finals of the Class 3A New Mexico Athletic Association state championships.

"I didn't know I had him until he was on his back," Davis admitted. "I had to push it until the end. I couldn't give up for a second. I couldn't stop until the end."

Davis (49-20 placed fourth last year as a sophomore.

Wingate coach Christopher Begay was pleased, calling it an awesome performance.

"(Davis) wrestled his heart out," Begay said, noting that Davis was battling the injury. "He showed a lot of determination throughout the tournament. He showed a lot of heart."

Davis' Bears teammate Wacy Jodie (26-6) finished as the runner-up at 160 pounds to Robertson's Dimitri Almanzar.

Also placing for Wingate were senior Casey Livingston (41-13) who placed third overall at 145 pounds; senior Marty Notah (41-14) finishing third overall; and sophomore Bryant Pinto (33-6) taking fourth place.

In the final team standings, Robertson High won the state title with 193.5 points, with St. Michael's the runner-up at 176.5 in a close race with Bloomfield, who finished third overall at 174.5. Cobre was fourth at 127.5 and Wingate was fifth with 96 team points.

Although the Bobcats had six wrestlers in the championship round, it took the two big guys to earn state titles.

At 215 pounds, Bobcat senior Issac Duarte (31-8) had a statement to make. With four of his teammates coming up short, Duarte didn't want to let his team walk away without a state title. He also looking for a little revenge, since St. Michael's Michael Lamb had beaten him earlier in the year.

"It was intense," Duarte said.

After Lamb escaped in the second period, Duarte came up with the takedown, but gave up another escape making it a tied match at 2-2 going into the final period.

Duarte, choosing down to start the third, pulled off the escape. Duarte was penalized for stalling with less than 20 seconds remaining in the third, tying the score back up at 3-3 and sending the match into overtime.

Duarte slipped away from Lamb's shot and got him from the backside for the takedown.

"I waited for him to shoot," Duarte said. "I knew he was going to try and shoot. I had to get away from it so I could (make my move).

"I ducked under when he took his shot and got away from it," Duarte said of coming away with the overtime victory.

Duarte's win fired up his teammates and was a perfect prelude for teammate Anthony DeHerrera.

Saturday was DeHerrera's third trip to the championship finals, and after playing runner-up twice, the third time was the charm for DeHerrera.

DeHerrera (27-0) capped off a perfect season with a quick 1:07 pin against Tucumcari's Leroy Sena for the state title at heavyweight.

"I walked in knowing he was going to try and throw me. I waited to counter and threw him and took him to his back," an emotional DeHerrera said after the win.

"It's finally paid off. It feels amazing. (All the hard work) is worth it. This is my life's payment for working hard every practice," he said.

Runners-up for Bloomfield included: Chad Snell (112), Mikey Loy (125), Zach Castillo (135), and Mike Archibeque (140).

Also placing for the Bobcats were Jose Perez (119) in fourth, Jose Martinez (130) placing third, Seth Boswell (152) in fourth, and John Dockter (160) in fourth.

The other 3A state champions were: at 103, Raymond Jimenez from Tucumcari; at 112, Daniel Udero of Cobre; at 125, Xavier DeLaTorre of Cobre; at 130, Jesse Martinez of St. Michaels; at 135, Joseph Dominguez of Robertson; at 140, Ryan Fought of Tucumcari; at 145, Wally Diaz of Robertson; at 152, Daniel Martinez of Robertson; at 160, Dmitri Almanzar of Robertson; at 171, John Armijo of West Las Vegas; and at 189, Michael Aranda of St. Michael's.

Class 4A

The Four Corners area saw several additional individual state champions as well.

Aztec, with only three in the finals, had all three earn state titles and moved the Tigers up into fifth place.

Derrick Pringle got things started with the win at 125 pounds.

"I did it for my dad and my family," the junior, who is20-9 this season, said. "I did well on my feel, which let me get control."

Teammate Sam Hollar defended his state title, earning the 145 crown with a 10-3 decision over Danny Padron of Deming.

"This has always been my dream," said the senior who went 31-3 on the season. "It meant a lot of hard work and I got a lot of support form my family and friends.

"In the third period I knew I had to watch out for takedown, because (Padron) is good on his feet, " said Hollar. "I had to be patient and pick my shots carefully. I knew I was winning, and knew he was going to come on strong. I just kept going hard to keep him off balance."

Then at 171 pounds, Tiger senior Mike Hathcock topped Farmington's John Marshall in an 8-6 decision for the state title.

"I knew I had the advantage on my feet, and I had to take good shots," said Hathcock, who placed just sixth as a junior.

"I just signed to play football at Eastern New Mexico in Portales," added the senior, who went 38-3 on the season.

"This was my last match and I wanted to go out on top," he said. "I've been through 13 seasons, and this is my first state title, so I know it takes a lot of dedication and hard work. I gave everything and it feels great, even though it really hasn't sunk in yet."

Silver City won the team title with 156, followed by Belen with 145.5, Deming with 139, Kirtland Central with 133, and Aztec with 129.5.

Piedra Vista finished in 10th with 88, Farmington was 12th with 60, and Shiprock was 17th with 36.

Other Four Corners placers included: Chris Edwards from Piedra Vista in third at 112 pounds; Nick Pacheco from Piedra Vista in second at 119 pounds; Rio Escojeda of Aztec in third at 119 pounds; Marcus Begay of Shiprock in fourth at 119 pounds; Brady Four of Kirtland Central in fourth at 135 pounds; Douglas Ben of Kirtland in fourth at 145; Robert Sanders from Kirtland in second at 152 pounds; Julius Begay of Aztec in fourth at 189 pounds; heavyweight Hunter Cummins from Piedra Vista in third; and heavyweight Raymond Tahapa from Kirtland in fourth.

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