Deming High head wrestling coach Jesse Padron was proud of the Wildcats’ performance during the Class 4A State Wrestling Tournament in Rio Rancho, commending their efforts with only seven male wrestlers and one female. Despite this small roster size, Deming placed seven wrestlers and almost clinched a top five team finish, coming just shy of first place Belen, Bloomfield and Aztec. With the ultimate goal to be crowned as overall champions, Padron highlighted the importance of having a full roster of wrestlers at different weight classes. The Wildcats exceeded expectations despite the smaller squad, pointing to what could be achieved when they field a competitive full-strength team.
The close competition between Deming and Silver High for fourth place in the 3-4A District was a battle to the wire, with only a half-point separating the two rivals. While Silver ultimately took fourth place with 131 points, it was always an exciting match when these two teams faced the competition. During this tournament, senior Rocco Farano from Deming had a memorable performance in his 152-pound weight class. Despite a 7-1 loss to Nicko Trujillo of Cobre High School in the championship finals, Farano secured a silver medal by stringing together three wins before entering this grand finale. His win over Allen Potts of Albuquerque Academy was particularly impressive, as he scored a fall with only 20 seconds left in the first period. It will be interesting to see who will prevail in this rivalry next time they meet!
Farano had an impressive run for the Deming Wildcats in the state championship. He won an 11-3 major decision over Brian Armijo of Socorro in the quarterfinals and followed that with a 12-8 decision against Kyle Coffeen of Española Valley to set up the championship final against Trujillo. Farano’s season was a successful one, finishing his high school career with 42 wins out of 51 fights. Meanwhile, Xavier Baca, another standout from Deming, put together four wins in his weight class on his way to a third place finish. He first secured a technical fall (15-0) over Cooper Beavers of Los Alamos then clinched a fall over C.J. Saiz of Aztec with two seconds left in the first period to reach the semi-finals. Both Farano and Baca put on valiant performances for their team and made it clear that Deming was well prepared for the state championship this season.
Gunnar Samora of Bloomfield ended Baca’s shot for a medal after scoring a fall with five seconds left in their match, but Baca didn’t give up. He battled his way back to earn another chance at third place, achieving it by earning a second-period fall over John Roybal of Cobre and then going on to take the bronze medalist spot after securing a technical fall (15-0) against Austin Lopez of Miyamura. Junior Xavier Almanza also fought hard for his medal, getting a first-period fall (1:25) over Caedon Kamplain during his opening match. Unfortunately Almanza’s run was cut short when Elias Johnson of Bloomfield took him out with an impressive first-period fall (1:56). Nevertheless, these two ‘Cats certainly showed incredible dedication in their fights for a place on the podium.
