Tapia is seventh to win five
Belen repeats as 5A champ, Silver takes Class 4A title
RIO RANCHO — The fans at the high school state wrestling tournament usually reserve a special place in their hearts for the five-timers.
Welcome, Jose Tapia.
The Capital senior on Saturday pinned St. Pius freshman Diego Pavia in 2 minutes and 46 seconds, locking up the 138-pound bracket in the Class 5A division — and giving him five individual state championships.
The crowd at the Santa Ana Star Center, as it does whenever someone attains No. 5, vocalized its appreciation.
“How can I put it? It’s bittersweet,” said Tapia. “Now that it’s all over, it’s amazing.”
Only six other wrestlers had won five titles. Tapia, who has given a verbal commitment to Boise State, capped a 37-2 season.
“This is just the beginning,” he said. “I want to keep getting better and better.”
For his five-year career, Tapia compiled a record of 174 victories and only 4 losses. He was undefeated in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and his two losses this season were forfeits.
Tapia, 19, wrestled 20 matches at the state tournament since 2013. He registered 18 pins, including four in each of the last three state tournaments.
Meanwhile, Belen had what felt like a virtual parade of state champions — especially in the second half of the session — as the Eagles repeated in 5A.
Chris Robinson at 145 pounds, Jeramie Flores at 160, Lano Luna at 170, Rowdy Robinson at 182 and heavyweight Estevan Chavez all claimed individual glory for Belen, which scored 211 points.
That total put the Eagles comfortably ahead of second-place Capital (172½ and three individual champions), with Aztec (148½) claiming third place.
“All the hard work paid off. I couldn’t be happier,” said Chris Robinson. Rowdy is his cousin.
“I got what everyone works for,” Chris Robinson said. “I know I can leave my high school with a title. Few people have this feeling, and I’m glad to be one of them.”
Del Norte junior Frankie Baca was one of the feel-good champions in 5A. At 106, the No. 1 seed opened the finals with a 6-5 decision over Jonathan Romero of Capital.
Two years ago, he only weighed 88 pounds, and admitted he lost plenty of matches because he lacked the bulk.
“This means everything to me,” Baca said. “Ever since I was in third grade, when I started wrestling, this is what I dreamed of.”
CLASS 4A: Neighbors Silver and Cobre went 1-2, with the Colts outpointing the Indians 222-189½. Robertson (175) was third.
The Colts had four champions, Cobre none. The Cardinals also had four champions, including Jonathan Trujillo at 138 pounds, who became a state champ for the third straight year.
Shiprock, with Logan Charley, had a rare (and very popular) champion at 195 pounds. This was the longest match of the night in any class, with Charley finally winning by pin in 8 minutes, 18 seconds.