SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
After wrestling in the Joe Vivian Invitational and this past weekend in the Cardinal Classic at Robertson, the next stop for Santa Fe High and first-year head coach Mark Hussey is Wednesday at Albuquerque Sandia in a match-of District 5-5A foes Sandia and Albuquerque Rio Grande.
“We’re down a few wrestlers who we have to replace,” Hussey said, “but we figure to do well against Sandia, but should have a tough time against Rio Grande.”
Team-wise, the Demons were number one at Robertson.
One bright spot has been senior Sammy Martinez. State champion as a sophomore, he’s been on the team since his freshmen year, and this season he also played for the first time on the sch.ool’s football team, and excelled as its rushing leader and also displayed his versatility.
Now he’s doing his part on the mats. He’s 28-2, has won a pair of championships to go with several runner-up finishes, and at the Joe Vivian he came in at 152 pounds and won by a 4-0 decision. He followed that up with a first place at Robertson, pinning his opponent in the first period.
Sophomore Miguel Padilla took second place twice at the 124 weight to advance his record to 12-4. At Robertson, senior Adam Pena, still recovering from a shoulder injury, is also in his fifth year and at 119 pounds, and took the top spot despite the injury that Coach Hussey said is getting better.
Sophomore Abran Mandels picked up a fourth place at the Joe Vivian, and a second at Robertson. Also in Las Vegas, senior Isaiah Vargas had a third place and Jaden Schilling placed fourth.
One of the big losses for the squad was when sophomore Cipriano Moya, at the 182 weight, dislocated his shoulder and is out for the remainder of the campaign. So at this time, the team is grappling well, but it will be tough to fill three spots.
