Top 11 returning teams. It’s going to take a lot to beat Sahuarita, they return almost all of their points from last season (139/142). There are a few teams (Walden Grove, ALA-Gilbert, Safford) capable if they can add and/or develop the groups they have returning. I don’t really know if there are any impact freshman going anywhere on this list besides ALA-Gilbert, (even then I only know of Pahl) this also does not take into account any transfers. I will adjust when that information is available.
1. Sahuarita 139
2. Walden Grove 93.5
3. Salpointe 84
4. Mica Mountain 60
5. Mohave 57.5
6. Safford 47
7. Snowflake 45
8.Poston Butte 39
9. Florence 36.5
10. Show Low 36
11. ALA-Gilbert 26
Sahuarita:
106-Richard Tanori (6th)
113-Sebastian Serrano (3rd)
120-Daniel Guerrero (1st)
132-Orion Johnsen (22-14) DNQ
138-Jordan Rael (3rd)
144-Sergio Macias (19-5) DNP
150-Nathaniel Gallardo (3rd)
157-Gabriel Gallardo (1st)
165- Sergio Pena (1st in ‘22, 4th in 23)
175-William Thwaits (5th)
285-Dryden Pruitt (5th)
Returning points: 139 (2 Champs, 8 medals, 9 qualifiers) Sahuarita doesn’t lose very much from last season, points wise. They totaled 142 points and bring back 139. Mustangs have 2 returning champs that were dominant last year, Guerrero and G. Gallardo had a combined season record of 105-1. Their younger group really turned it up at the state tournament and helped them win it. Tanori, Serrano, N. Gallardo and Thwaits all placed as underclassmen. Serrano was a finalist as a freshman, before getting 3rd this year. Rael and Pruitt return for their senior seasons as returning medalists looking for their first state titles. I expected Macias would medal after watching him in middle school, but I’m sure he gets on the podium this year. The question mark is ‘22 State Champ Sergio Pena, wrestled a few matches last season and then disappeared. Is he still in school there? Did he get hurt? Is he still wrestling? This team will be hard to beat with so many returning and potential medals
Walden Grove:
Brett Bates, 113, (50-9) 4th
Rand Porter, 120, (24-13) DNP
James Buck, 120 (16-3) DNQ
Pedro Mendoza, 132, (29-5) 1st
Enzo Morales, 165, (38-1) 1st
Salvador Nieves, 285, (40-7) 3rd
Returning points: 93.5 (2 Champs, 4 medals, 5 qualifiers) Some big point scorers coming back for the Red Wolves, Mendoza and Morales lead the way as returning champs. Buck had a good record and then was out for a bit, he should be able to contribute this year and score some points at state. I think Porter will also get on the podium, watching him last year he seemed much better than his record but was also wrestling up at 38/32 before going down to 20 to finish the season. Bates and Nieves both had good seasons and got into the 3rd place matches last season before finishing 4th and 3rd, respectively. If they can supplement this group with a couple more point scorers, they could find themselves taking home another state trophy. They’ve finished 2nd, 3rd and 2nd the past 3 years, Sahuarita has been 1st each of those years. What is in the water down there??
Salpointe:
106-Rhett Palmer (42-17) DNQ
113-Che Jenkins (1st)
120-Aron Gomez (6th)
144-Nathaniel Higgins (1st)
190-Joseph Figeuroa (4th)
Returning points: 84 (2 Champs, 4 medalists, 4 qualifiers) 84 Returning points is huge for this program, as was having 2 state champions last year. I am not sure when the last time Salpointe had 2 champs was but I know it’s been 20+ years. You have to imagine that these 4 have just gotten better during the offseason and will have the chance to score 100 points between the 4 of them. Jenkins was dominant all year with a major in the fnals, Higgins pushes the pace all the time and finished the state tournament with 3 pins and a major. Palmer will be looking to qualify this year and add the Lancers’ point total as they will be looking to improve on their 5th place finish from last February. If they have a little more of a supporting cast, they may be able to move up the leaderboard. Their big 4 will carry the scoring load but they need some help in order to move up.
Mica Mountain:
144-Joseph Hernandez (0-2) DNP
150-Logan Brandt (1-2)DNP
165-Conner Hangartner (3rd)
175-Tyler Shumway (2nd)
215-George Flores (3rd)
Returning points: 60 (3 medals, 5 qualifiers) Led by Hangartner and Shumway, who both have been to the state finals, the Thunderbolts are moving to a new section and looking build off of their 3rd consecutive top 6 finish at the State Championships. I think not being in the buzzsaw southern section will help them qualify more kids, which should help them score more points. Coach Patterson usually has his heavier weights ready to go so I anticipate them finding some tough kids to fill in their lineup and compete for a top 5 finish this year.
Mohave
106-Chrystian Owens (1st)
113-Julio Gonzalez (5th)
144-Arthur Cruz (18-12)
157-Isaac Urias (3rd)
Returning points: 57.5 (1 champ, 3 medals, 4 qualifiers) Mohave has 2 heavy hitters in returning champ Owens and Gonzalez (‘23). Owens was dominant all year, going 39-1. He’ll be looking to repeat as champ, with Gonzalez looking to get back to the top of the podium. Urias is a 2 time medal winner and should score close to 20 points, if not more. Mohave has the same issue as a few of these other schools, after their core group of point scorers they don’t have much help, on paper.
Safford:
106- Alex Chacon (0-2) DNP
113-Isac Contreras (6th)
138-Teegan Baldwin (5th)
144-Nathaniel Rodriguez (5th)
150-Daniel Roybal (0-2)
190-Micah Chaplin (5th)
285-Xavier Rivers (0-2)
Returning points: 47 (4 medals, 7 qualifiers) Can’t help but think there may have been a different team champion if Chacon makes weight at state last year. He looked great at 13 and had some really good wins during the regular season, he avenged a major decision loss to Jarmen from Mesa, a win over D2 runner-up Alire from Kofa, even beat defending state champ Gonzalez from Mohave. He would have had a pretty good shot at winning the whole thing if he could have beat the scale. I’m sure he’ll be back more motivated than ever. With Cordova and Smith graduating, Chaplin will be in the right weight class. He’s been fun to watch being undersized and still getting it done, looking for him to have a better season and a higher finish this year. This is the team that won the southern section last year beating out the 1st (Sahuarita) and 2nd (Walden Grove) place teams to do so. Coach Andrews has 8 state championships, he always has his team ready to fight. They’ll be dangerous after moving into a different section. Contreras, Baldwin, Rodriguez and Chaplin were all in the ⅚ place matches last year and will be looking to make their moves towards the top of the podium.
1. Sahuarita 139
2. Walden Grove 93.5
3. Salpointe 84
4. Mica Mountain 60
5. Mohave 57.5
6. Safford 47
7. Snowflake 45
8.Poston Butte 39
9. Florence 36.5
10. Show Low 36
11. ALA-Gilbert 26
Sahuarita:
106-Richard Tanori (6th)
113-Sebastian Serrano (3rd)
120-Daniel Guerrero (1st)
132-Orion Johnsen (22-14) DNQ
138-Jordan Rael (3rd)
144-Sergio Macias (19-5) DNP
150-Nathaniel Gallardo (3rd)
157-Gabriel Gallardo (1st)
165- Sergio Pena (1st in ‘22, 4th in 23)
175-William Thwaits (5th)
285-Dryden Pruitt (5th)
Returning points: 139 (2 Champs, 8 medals, 9 qualifiers) Sahuarita doesn’t lose very much from last season, points wise. They totaled 142 points and bring back 139. Mustangs have 2 returning champs that were dominant last year, Guerrero and G. Gallardo had a combined season record of 105-1. Their younger group really turned it up at the state tournament and helped them win it. Tanori, Serrano, N. Gallardo and Thwaits all placed as underclassmen. Serrano was a finalist as a freshman, before getting 3rd this year. Rael and Pruitt return for their senior seasons as returning medalists looking for their first state titles. I expected Macias would medal after watching him in middle school, but I’m sure he gets on the podium this year. The question mark is ‘22 State Champ Sergio Pena, wrestled a few matches last season and then disappeared. Is he still in school there? Did he get hurt? Is he still wrestling? This team will be hard to beat with so many returning and potential medals
Walden Grove:
Brett Bates, 113, (50-9) 4th
Rand Porter, 120, (24-13) DNP
James Buck, 120 (16-3) DNQ
Pedro Mendoza, 132, (29-5) 1st
Enzo Morales, 165, (38-1) 1st
Salvador Nieves, 285, (40-7) 3rd
Returning points: 93.5 (2 Champs, 4 medals, 5 qualifiers) Some big point scorers coming back for the Red Wolves, Mendoza and Morales lead the way as returning champs. Buck had a good record and then was out for a bit, he should be able to contribute this year and score some points at state. I think Porter will also get on the podium, watching him last year he seemed much better than his record but was also wrestling up at 38/32 before going down to 20 to finish the season. Bates and Nieves both had good seasons and got into the 3rd place matches last season before finishing 4th and 3rd, respectively. If they can supplement this group with a couple more point scorers, they could find themselves taking home another state trophy. They’ve finished 2nd, 3rd and 2nd the past 3 years, Sahuarita has been 1st each of those years. What is in the water down there??
Salpointe:
106-Rhett Palmer (42-17) DNQ
113-Che Jenkins (1st)
120-Aron Gomez (6th)
144-Nathaniel Higgins (1st)
190-Joseph Figeuroa (4th)
Returning points: 84 (2 Champs, 4 medalists, 4 qualifiers) 84 Returning points is huge for this program, as was having 2 state champions last year. I am not sure when the last time Salpointe had 2 champs was but I know it’s been 20+ years. You have to imagine that these 4 have just gotten better during the offseason and will have the chance to score 100 points between the 4 of them. Jenkins was dominant all year with a major in the fnals, Higgins pushes the pace all the time and finished the state tournament with 3 pins and a major. Palmer will be looking to qualify this year and add the Lancers’ point total as they will be looking to improve on their 5th place finish from last February. If they have a little more of a supporting cast, they may be able to move up the leaderboard. Their big 4 will carry the scoring load but they need some help in order to move up.
Mica Mountain:
144-Joseph Hernandez (0-2) DNP
150-Logan Brandt (1-2)DNP
165-Conner Hangartner (3rd)
175-Tyler Shumway (2nd)
215-George Flores (3rd)
Returning points: 60 (3 medals, 5 qualifiers) Led by Hangartner and Shumway, who both have been to the state finals, the Thunderbolts are moving to a new section and looking build off of their 3rd consecutive top 6 finish at the State Championships. I think not being in the buzzsaw southern section will help them qualify more kids, which should help them score more points. Coach Patterson usually has his heavier weights ready to go so I anticipate them finding some tough kids to fill in their lineup and compete for a top 5 finish this year.
Mohave
106-Chrystian Owens (1st)
113-Julio Gonzalez (5th)
144-Arthur Cruz (18-12)
157-Isaac Urias (3rd)
Returning points: 57.5 (1 champ, 3 medals, 4 qualifiers) Mohave has 2 heavy hitters in returning champ Owens and Gonzalez (‘23). Owens was dominant all year, going 39-1. He’ll be looking to repeat as champ, with Gonzalez looking to get back to the top of the podium. Urias is a 2 time medal winner and should score close to 20 points, if not more. Mohave has the same issue as a few of these other schools, after their core group of point scorers they don’t have much help, on paper.
Safford:
106- Alex Chacon (0-2) DNP
113-Isac Contreras (6th)
138-Teegan Baldwin (5th)
144-Nathaniel Rodriguez (5th)
150-Daniel Roybal (0-2)
190-Micah Chaplin (5th)
285-Xavier Rivers (0-2)
Returning points: 47 (4 medals, 7 qualifiers) Can’t help but think there may have been a different team champion if Chacon makes weight at state last year. He looked great at 13 and had some really good wins during the regular season, he avenged a major decision loss to Jarmen from Mesa, a win over D2 runner-up Alire from Kofa, even beat defending state champ Gonzalez from Mohave. He would have had a pretty good shot at winning the whole thing if he could have beat the scale. I’m sure he’ll be back more motivated than ever. With Cordova and Smith graduating, Chaplin will be in the right weight class. He’s been fun to watch being undersized and still getting it done, looking for him to have a better season and a higher finish this year. This is the team that won the southern section last year beating out the 1st (Sahuarita) and 2nd (Walden Grove) place teams to do so. Coach Andrews has 8 state championships, he always has his team ready to fight. They’ll be dangerous after moving into a different section. Contreras, Baldwin, Rodriguez and Chaplin were all in the ⅚ place matches last year and will be looking to make their moves towards the top of the podium.
