RIO RANCHO -- For the rest of us, it was like slam, bam, over and done.

But from the perspective of Moriarty High's Jacob Griego, it seemed like an eternity before he was able to pin John Marshall of Farmington High in the Class 4A 171-pound title match at the state wrestling championships Saturday night.

"It was slow motion to me," said the Fightin' Pinto, who got the fall just 47 seconds into the finals duel at the Santa Ana Star Center. "It seemed like it took forever. I was even worried that time was going to run out (in what would have been the initial 2-minute period). I had wrestled him once before at the Joe Vivian (Classic in January). He beat me by like four points, I think."

Griego, a junior, got a takedown 29 seconds after the start of the match. The Pinto then quickly and forcefully gathered Marshall (35-6) into what was, for the lanky Scorpion, a terminal grip.

"He slapped him down, spun him around, put a cradle on him and pinned him," said Moriarty coach Dennis Friedland, who with frenzied hand motions described the move to his fellow coaches after the victory.

Friedland leaped from his chair when the official slapped the mat to signify the pin. And Griego rushed to Friedland and celebrated by lustily lifting his coach into a fireman's carry.

Griego's arrival at the pinnacle of New Mexico prep wrestling wasn't assured. Just the week before, on Feb. 13, he lost in a 10-6 decision to Del Norte's Gino Duran (33-12) in the championship match of the District 5-4A tournament.

This time, however, the Pinto pinned Duran at the 5:46 mark of their state semifinal match Saturday morning.

"This year was a roller-coaster ride," Griego said. "We had such highs in the beginning, and then we hit some lows."

Despite those valleys, Moriarty concluded the season with a second-place finish and brought home a team trophy. The Pintos — with medals that included a gold, a silver and a bronze, and five others who placed in the top six — scored 160 points in a field of 25 teams.

Volcano Vista, which will move up to Class 5A next season, won the tournament with 198 points.

The last time Moriarty finished the season at such rarefied heights was in 2003, when the Joey Gonzales-coached Pintos placed second in the state individual tournament and were third in the now-defunct state duals competition.

"I'm happy," said Friedland, who previously guided Rio Rancho High to five state large-school titles. "We had some adversity. But we took second. You can't take second away from us now."

Griego (33-4) dedicated his win to his older brother, Vincent Griego. Vincent, who earned the 215-pound state title when he was a junior in 2006, is an Army infantryman serving overseas.

"I did it for him," Jacob said. "He's in Iraq right now."

Pintos seniors Kiki Salcido, Keaton Chancellor, LeeLand Sons and Stephen Apodaca had been gunning for individual state titles. Sons and Salcido, in particular, seemed destined to strike gold early in the season, but in the end were disappointed this past weekend.

The quartet, however, scored heavily and were the foundation in Moriarty acquiring some hardware.

Of the four, Salcido (30-4), a silver medalist, came the closest to pay dirt. Deming's Danny Padron barely escaped with a 6-5 decision in the 160 finals.

"It was so close," Salcido said. "But wrestling for Moriarty was the best experience of my life."

Chancellor (29-11) took fourth at 112. He had been a favorite to win the state 103 title last season but struggled in the waning weeks of 2009.

"It was an awesome experience because of coach Friedland," Chancellor said. "He puts so much effort into it. He worked with every one of us. The positives outweigh the negatives for me. If I hadn't done it this year, I would've regretted it. I would've regretted it big time. I'm glad I did."

Sons (34-4) placed fourth at 140.

"This team has been my family," he said.

Apodaca (33-9) was fourth at 145.

"I give credit to the coaches," he said. "When coach Friedland took over we had lost a bunch of seniors. We were all a bunch of young guys. He brought us up."

Three Moriarty underclassmen placed at state. Junior Jacob Marchand (28-10) was awarded the bronze medal at 152; sophomore Curtis Apodaca (34-9) was fifth at 189; and junior Jeremy Gonzales (29-15) took sixth at 135.

"I pinned the rest of the way out (after falling in the first round) and took third," Marchand said. "I'm proud of myself."

Pintos senior Andrew Bird went 1-2 in his matches at state. He recently changed his surname from Foster.

Manzano

Monarchs senior Brian Wilkinson (24-7) won the Class 5A 171-pound crown, and Manzano placed fourth with 99 1/2 points at the state tournament. The Monarchs wound up just 3 1/2 points behind third-place Rio Grande and thus barely missed out on a top-three trophy.

Rio Rancho High dominated the meet with 264 1/2 points.

Manzano senior Brian O'Neil (32-7) lost to Rio Rancho's Louis Trujillo (47-0) in the 130 finals. O'Neil, who lives in Cedar Crest, surged this season to take the silver despite never previously placing at state.

"It was my last match," said O'Neil, who hopes to begin premed studies in college next fall. "I had a real good run, but that's it for wrestling. But it meant everything to me while it lasted."