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Former state champion, Christopher Montoya, returns to St. Michael’s as the new head wrestling coach

Set to graduate soon with a Master of Arts Degree from New Mexico Highlands, he welcomes an impressive turnout in his initial meeting with the grapplers

By Arnie Leshin 
Arnie Leshin

It has been a good year for Christopher Montoya, and it will get even better.

Montoya was a typical St. Michael’s athlete. He played several sports, several positions, and said he had a ball.

A 2007 graduate, his favorite was wrestling, and now a decade later he’s stepping in to coach the Horsemen.

“It’s exciting,” he said, “and I’m so happy.”

One week after meeting with athletic director Tom Manning and confirmed as the new head coach, he met with members of the team and was impressed by the turnout and the attitude of the youngsters.

“They were great,” he said. “We had about 20 who turned out, they asked questions about my years on the wrestling team here, and I let them know that I was state champion my senior year, fourth as a junior, and sixth my freshman year.”

In 2007, the year he won the 145-pound 3A state title, he became the first state champion for head coach Pat Aranda. The team finished third in state,but then won three in a row under Aranda, the first championship season in 27 years.

“I also played baseball and football,” said Montoya, “but I liked wrestling the most. And Pat Aranda was real good coach. His son, Michael, was also a state champion and now owns an olive oil company in Santa Fe.”

Montoya began at Santa Fe High after coming out of DeVargas Junior High as its best wrestler. He grappled his freshman year for the Demons, and then transferred to St. Michael’s in the middle of the summer.

“It was something I wanted to do,” he said. “St. Michael’s loved the competition, it was much more competitive, it was a good school, and everybody got along.

As Santa Fe High, he didn’t get away to a good start on the mats. As an 8th grader, he won but one match, but hung in there the following season and placed sixth in the 4A weight of 140. His sophomore year as a Horsemen, he broke his wrist one minute into the bout and had to forfeit.

“I also had shoulder problems,” he said, “and did therapy under athletic trainer Tom Fagan,”

He either competed in a sport or just became a fan of the others, namely track and field coached by his football coach, Joey Fernandez.

In baseball and football, he was the typical St. Michael’s athlete. He pitched and did some behind-the-plate catching. In football, he played middle linebacker, guard, and wide receiver.

Presently, he’s a graduate student at New Mexico Highlands. On July 28th, he will take his composition test in order to obtain his Master of Arts Degree.

And he’s been busy coaching. He was an assistant this season at Robertson High, assisting the track and field sprinters. But he’s more familiar with wrestling and even did one year of mixed martial arts.

And sticking with St. Michael’s, he’s married to a former Lady Horsemen, the former Erin Gonzales.

“She’s very happy about all this,” he said, “very much so. “She swam for the swimming team coached by Amy Beim, and we have now been married for four years. No children, just cats for now.”

Now residing in Las Vegas, the two are soon relocating to Santa Fe.

The bottom line is that Montoya loves to coach, and to be back at St. Michael’s is an extra goodie.

“Great memories,” he said. “Kevin Chavez was the football quarterback. We had some excellent athletes on the wrestling team. There was my good friend, Mark Manning, who played football and baseball, and now it’s just a great feeling to return.”

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