Noah Mirabal and Cleveland enter this season as the top team in New Mexico.
Photo courtesy of Jesse Hankins/PrimeTime Pics
is the preseason No. 1-ranked wrestling team in New Mexico, according to Kolbe Fraley of ZiaWrestler.com.
Coach Corey Anderson has the experienced firepower to back up the prediction with 10 of his 14 starters returning - including four state champions. Junior
Noah Mirabal, who won at 113 pounds last year, is one of the state's top five wrestlers. Other defending champions and the weight classes they won were: junior
Michael Mascarenas (106), senior
Treavon Nicoley (120) and senior
Santiago Apodaca (170).
In addition, junior
Shawn Nieto was runner-up at 132 and senior
Tetsuyoshi Yamada was fourth at 126.
Cleveland, a seven-year-old school that placed second as a team in Class 6A, won it all in 2012 and 2013. Coach Anderson said philosophically, "None of that matters until the last whistle is blown."
Strong challenges will come from Class 5A
Belen and Class 6A
Rio Grande (Albuquerque).
The Belen Eagles return nine starters, all who placed no lower than fourth during last year's state finals. Seniors
Gunner Robinson (152) and
Matthew Burguena (220) both are defending champions. Senior
Jerry Robinson (145) and junior
Estevan Chavez (195) both finished second.
Coach Lee Chaves - who owns three state titles and two runner-up finishes - brought his team in second even though his father died and two of his No. 1-seeded wrestlers were upset.
The Rio Grande Ravens have 10 of their 14 starters back, two of them defending champions and five others who placed a year ago. The champions are seniors
Isaac Lopez (170), a top-10 wrestler in the state, and
Mark Hussey (220).
Coach Loren Vigil said optimistically, "We definitely are going to be one of the stronger teams that I've had. We're heavy on seniors."
Other top-10 teams that could surprise the favorites include
Volcano Vista (Albuquerque),
Rio Rancho and
Piedra Vista (Farmington).
