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Thursday, February 28, 2008

Pay Dirt

By Harold Smith
Mountain View Telegraph
    RIO RANCHO— Bradley Spence was as cool as a cucumber. The Moriarty High senior, heretofore the epitome of the angry young man during previous state tournaments, got a takedown with 2 seconds left in the third period of the Class 4A 130-pound finals on Saturday to garner a long-sought state individual wrestling title.
    Spence, sporting a golden Mohawk hairdo for the occasion, defeated Silver High's Marcos Maynes in a 6-4 decision on center mat at Rio Rancho's Santa Ana Star Center, the home of the New Mexico Scorpions professional hockey team. Maynes was the silver medalist at 125 pounds in 2007.
    Spence— who had maintained a mature, confident demeanor before the victory— then leaped into the chest of Pintos first-year coach Dennis Friedland. Spence, from the arena's main floor, then proceeded to jump two rows deep into the stands and the arms of his father, Ben.
    "It feels great; it feels great to do it," Spence said. "It took me four years before I did it, but I finally did it."
    Spence, who also was seeded No. 1 as a junior, was hurt by disqualifications last year and finished a disappointing sixth at 125. He was third at 112 in 2006.
    But Spence didn't let the officials, or anybody else for that matter, divert him from his goal this season.
    "Coach Friedland helped me a lot with that," he said.
    "I just kept reinforcing to him for him to stay focused when he was on the mat," Friedland explained later.
    Spence trailed Maynes (pronounced like the word "minus") 2-0 after the first 2-minute period and had a 3-2 deficit after the second stanza. Then in the third, he was cautioned for jumping the gun from the down position.
    But Spence persevered, taking his first lead with a reverse with 1:20 to go in the match. His Colts opponent got an escape, at 1:08, to tie it at 4.
    "When I went down 2-0, I just thought I needed to refocus to get back to my game plan," Spence said. "Starting out, the plan was to stay away from him. But then I locked up with him and found that I could do it."
    Before the two-day meet, Moriarty had visions of a state runner-up finish. The Pintos wound up in fourth place, a mere half point out of the running for a top-three trophy.
    The Pintos, who placed second in the District 5-4A Duals Tournament on Feb. 23, scored 1371/2 points. Third-place Deming had 138.
    Belen, the 5-4A champion, earned its sixth straight state title with 253 points. Silver was second at 163.
    "We went over our (early season) expectations," Friedland said. "It was a big difference from last year (when Moriarty finished 10th). And we have over 80 percent, no, more like 90 percent of the kids coming back. We should be able to be in contention for a title next year."
    Pinto Chris Apodaca improved dramatically the last two years and had a successful senior season, wrapping up his prep career with a state-meet silver medal. Apodaca— clad in a mottled, neon-lime-green singlet for the 160-pound finals— ultimately lost a 10-4 decision to Colt Juan Carlos Maynes.
    Maynes, Marcos' brother, also won the 160 title in 2007.
    Apodaca took a 2-0 lead with a takedown 15 seconds into the match. He was in contention, trailing 3-2 at the conclusion of the first and second periods.
    But a Maynes reverse, at 1:30, and a near fall, at 1:07, in the third put the Pinto in a hole at 8-2. Apodaca's reverse with a minute left narrowed the gap to 8-4, but the Silver wrestler's takedown with 20 seconds remaining iced it.
    "It's great," said Apodaca, who met his goal of making it to the championship match. "I don't have any regrets. I did the best I could."
    Also for Moriarty, Kyle McMurray (119), Kiki Salcido (145) and Alex Griego (152) placed fourth.
    Salcido upset the tourney's top seed in the first round on Friday.
    "It was a great tournament," said Salcido, a sophomore. "I think I did all right."
    Jacob Griego (171) and Stephen Apodaca (189) finished in fifth place. Josh Tripp (103) was sixth.