PAGOSA SPRINGS – If one has to lose a wrestling bout, one may as well do so against a competitor whose level one aspires to reach. That was the case Saturday for Ignacio’s Aven Bourriague.
Dealt just his second defeat this winter at Pagosa Springs’ 2024 Rocky Mountain Invitational, the sophomore 106-pounder only lost to Bloomfield junior Gunner Samora – last season’s New Mexico Activities Association Class 4A State Champion at 107 – in the semifinals, but lasted the full six minutes before dropping a 13-5 major decision.
Otherwise, Bourriague (18-2 overall) had a strong day. Three of his four wins at the meet came via pin, and he concluded the event beating Center freshman Michael Archuleta – ranked No. 2 at the weight in On The Mat’s updated Class 2A rankings going in –by a 6-2 margin in the third-place clash.
And with senior Kyle Rima finishing second at heavyweight, and sophomore Lincoln deKay doing likewise at 150 pounds, head coach Jordan Larsen’s gents amassed 99 points and placed ninth overall. Bringing the RMI championship back to La Jara, 3A Centauri piled up a winning 203 points in defeating 3A PSHS (174) and third-place Center (162).
Also finishing ahead of IHS, 4A Durango and 1A Monticello, Utah, tied for seventh with 114 points each.
Rima (12-3) went 2-1 on the day, losing 2-1 in the finals to Pagosa Springs junior Antonio Quesada. Rima’s semifinal win, however, over RFHS sophomore Omar Ocana was impressive; Rima pinned the Meloneer 1:22 into the third and last two-minute period, and Ocana then fought back to save third place with back-to-back pins – improving his season record to 21-4 already.
deKay (17-1) went 3-1 with a pin, a major decision, and a conventional decision, but then lost – for the first time in the 2023-24 season – in the finals to 2A Monte Vista junior Kevin Cisneros, 5 to 1.
Ignacio sophomore Zane Pontine (15-5) placed fourth at 144 pounds, going 3-2 on the day. His only losses came against Center junior Aaron Valadez (by a 7-3 decision) in the semis, then to Viking junior Andre Meraz (by an 11-2 major) in the third-place bout – after Pontine had stayed alive in the consolation round with a third-period pin of Bloomfield junior Eli Snell-Martinez.
Sophomore Joshua Kerrigan also went 3-2 and saved seventh place, his own seesaw tournament at 120 pounds also fortunately ending on the up – in the form of a 7-4 win over Dolores’ Kenji Edwards. At 126, freshman Judah Ashley went 0-2 while sophomore Dillon Brann did likewise at 132 and freshman Brandon Blevins at 157.
Up next, IHS will travel to Kirtland, N.M., on Saturday, Jan. 13, for Kirtland Central’s 2024 Bronco Invite/Duals.
