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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Monarchs 'Peaked at the Right Time'

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    RIO RANCHO— "How's that for improvement?"
    Travis Barr's exclamation was more of a proclamation than a query after the once-obscure Manzano High senior claimed the Class 5A 215-pound title at the state wrestling tournament at the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho on Saturday night.
    Barr's question/declaration also was applicable for the entire Monarchs team as the city and District 5-5A champion squad leaped to a second-place finish in a 20-team field after placing back in the pack at 10th last season. Rio Rancho's Rams won their second straight team crown with 2141/2 points.
    Manzano scored 166. Cibola trailed at 1541/2 for third.
    "These guys have talent, and they worked hard," Monarchs first-year coach Dan Sparago said of his wrestlers. "We peaked at the right time. I'm proud of our guys."
    Barr pinned Carlsbad's Daniel Martinez at the 5:58 mark of their championship-round match, a mere two seconds before the conclusion of the third and final period in regulation. Barr tied it at 9 early in the third before gaining an 11-9 lead on the takedown— with 5 seconds remaining— that ultimately led to the fall.
    "I never told this to anyone but one other person," said Barr, a Sandia Park resident who also played football for Manzano. "My freshman year, I told myself I was going to win a blue (ribbon or trophy) in something in high school. It turned out that blue something was a gold in wrestling."
    Monarch Justin Martinez also won a state title. He defeated Albuquerque High's Johnny Garcia in an 11-4 decision.
    But the victory wasn't as easy as the score seems to indicate. Twenty-five seconds into the first 2-minute period, Martinez, a former Moriarty Baseball League youth player, lay sprawled across the mat's outer circle writhing in pain.
    "I couldn't put pressure on it," Martinez said. "Three years ago, I had to get surgery on my right knee."
    As the match concluded, Martinez— on pure adrenalin— sprinted around the mat in celebration. But afterward, he hobbled to the trainer's table where he maintained a white-knuckled grasp of a railing during the examination.
    "I felt like it was worth it to continue," the junior said. "A state championship was worth taking a chance with the knee."
    Sandia Park's Matt Raymer, a Manzano senior, earned a silver medal in the 152-pound weight class. Jesus Mesa of Las Cruces Oñate pinned Raymer at 1:37.
    "It was cool," Raymer said. "It was only my second year in wrestling. I think I did pretty good."
    The Monarchs also earned two bronze medals. Junior Jordan Eye defeated Rio Rancho's Caleb Rubalcaba 10-2 in a major decision at 119 pounds, and senior Albert Gonzales pinned Pedrus Khodaie of La Cueva at 1:28 in the 285 division.
    Gonzales, who often is 20-30 pounds lighter than his opponents, was in the midst of a typical heavyweight impasse when, suddenly, he threw Khodaie and rolled atop the Bears behemoth for the fall. It was the first time Gonzales had prevailed over Khodaie.
    "I've been training all year for that match," Gonzales said. "With God, my family and my friends by my side, I did it."
    Kenneth Eye, Jordan's brother, took fourth at 112.
    Manzano senior Caleb Krumel, who had hopes of making it to the 189 finals, was introspective after a disappointing fifth-place finish. He got a 12-2 major decision versus Cibola's D'Andre Gonzalez in his last match as a Monarch.
    "I lost to two guys that I shouldn't have," said Krumel, who lives in Cedar Crest. "But I really liked wrestling for Manzano. It was a good experience."
    Manzano's Dominic Lopez was fifth at 140 pounds.
    The Monarchs were hurt by the lack of a competitor at 145 and 160 pounds.
    Manzano's Bryant Flores (135) and Brian Wilkinson (171) exited the competition in the consolation bracket's third round. Monarch Danny Sanchez (130) was eliminated in the second round of consolations, and Manzano's Matt Whiting (125) fell in the consolation's first round.