Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars Wrestling

Wrestling community:

Some of you may or may not have heard, but I have resigned the Atrisco Wrestling head coaching position. This was a decision that was not made lightly. After much conversation with my family, discussions with other coaches and prayer, I have made the tough decision to step down. I have been a high school coach for 20 years, 18 as the head coach at Atrisco. We have had a good run and I am at peace with this decision. I gave everything I had to the success of the program.

Most importantly, thank you to my wife Jessica and my kids Anastacio and Ariana. My family has made countless sacrifices for the good of the program. Jessica, from running concessions to organizing parent meetings, as well as listening to me and all of my problems, you stood and thrived through it all. I could not have made it this long without your support. To my kids, thank you for being a part of this process. You two have validated what I do as a coach and I can’t express how it makes me feel as your dad. I can’t wait to see you two continue to progress on the mat and in your studies. Also, to my parents, siblings and extended family, thank you for all of your attendances, donations and support.

To the 2 assistant coaches that have been a part of this journey from the beginning, thank you! Coach John Rogers, you are the man! The meticulous notes and stats you take for our program are unmatched! You have been the mentor that every young coach needs and I can’t thank you enough for all you have done for me, my family and the program. Coach MacErnie, you were the person that got me to fall in love with the sport of wrestling, for that, I can’t thank you enough. You have been the catalyst from the old to the newer school of wrestling, but as you have always said, the MacErnie way is the right way!

Coach Robert Wilson, Coach Gabino Noriega, Coach WEDO Wright, Coach Daniel Gutierrez, Coach Miguel Montes, Coach Harry St. Leger, Coach Ruben Romero, Coach Joshua Lerma, Coach Anthony Cordova, Coach Santiago Lopez, Coach Dom Casaus, Coach Marah Rogers, Coach James Romero, Coach Nick Chavez, Coach Monte Wallace, Coach Gary Padilla, Coach Dominick Trujillo, the time and effort you have helped with this program is immeasurable. A head coach is only as good as his/her assistants, I will say with all confidence that I have had the best assistant coaches anyone could ask for!!! I couldn’t have asked for better help, knowledge and advice. Thank you all for your time!!!

Thank you to all of the state coaches that welcomed me into the realm of coaching bigger than our program. We can move forward as a state by working together and you all taught me that. Thank you Coach Evan, Coach Nathaniel, Coach Emily and Coach Benavidez!

Thank you to all of the competition, it was a fun ride trying to compete with you all! I won’t forget the good and the bad of the competitive side.

Last but not least, thank you to all of the wrestlers that came through the program and gave it your all. Whether or not you won medals or titles, the true prize is who you have become. I gave everything I had to help the success of the program, but it was you wrestlers that created the outcome. I believe the program is in healthy place and will be successful in the years to come. I will continue to follow and support you all from the stands! Thank you all for the amazing ride!!!

Coach Martínez

Congratulations to Ariana for signing her letter of intent to wrestle at the next level!! She will be wrestling for Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. We are excited for her next chapter in the sport!

Also, Gianluca Ramirez signed to play football for Arizona Cristian University. Luca was a 3 year wrestler for our team!

Congratulations to our 8 state placers from this weekend NMAA State tournament! Although we fell a little short of our team goals, we still had a very successful season! We will miss our seniors, they have given a lot to this program!

Boys:
Aydan Gonzales State Runner-up 🥈
Diego Garcia 3rd Place 🥉
Santana Routzen 5th place

Girls:
Leah Duran 4th Place
Ariana Martínez 4th place
Lilly Apodaca 4th place
Rihanna Casaus 4th place
Annie Montano 5th place

Congratulations to the boys that qualified for the state tournament! One more week, the job is not finished yet!

Congratulations to the boys wrestling team today for being back the NMAA Region 2 trophy back to Atrisco!!! 12 qualified for state and waiting on possible wild cards. On to state!

Congratulations to the Lady Jag wrestlers on their Region 2 Runner-up finish. The team also had 8 automatic qualifiers for the upcoming NMAA State Tournament! Congratulations ladies!!

Update: We got 2 more ladies into the state tournament! Congratulations to the 10 state qualifiers!!

Come out for senior night and support these senior wrestlers!!! It is our last dual before we prepare for the post season. See you there!

Day 2 for the ladies and day 1 for the boys! Jags are in Colorado for a business trip, off to work!

Wow! What a weekend of wrestling. I’ll start with the wrestlers performances. Out of 30 teams, our ladies became back to back Joe Vivian Champions! They came to wrestle and kept the trophy home. Our boys team also had a good showing, finishing 4th in a tough field of 31 teams.

Girls Individual Placers:

Rihanna Casaus 170- Runner-up 🥈
Annalisa Montano 190- Runner-up 🥈
Leah Duran 105- 3rd place 🥉
Ariana Martinez 120- 3rd place 🥉
Lilly Apodaca 155- 3rd place 🥉
Jazelle Romero 115- 4th place
Laieghla Boudreaux 100- 5th place
Alexa Castro 135- 5th place
Olivia Torrez 145- 6th place
Vanessa Benavidez 235- 6th place

Boys Individual Placers:

Diego Garcia 138- Runner-up 🥈
Santana Routzen 190- Runner-up 🥈
Joey Baca 126- 3rd place 🥉
Ethan Trujillo 165- 3rd place 🥉
Aydan Gonzales 285- 3rd place 🥉
Gabe Castillo 150- 4th place
Leroy Chavez 132- 5th place
Izaiah Trujillo 106- 6th place
Diego Cordova 144- 6th place

I would like to take this time to thank all of the teams that were in attendance. We had 31 boys teams and 30 girls teams, this is the biggest tournament ever hosted at Atrisco. We even had a very competitive team from Colorado.

Thank you to all of the countless people that helped make this a successful tournament. Thank you to all of the coaching staff, we couldn’t have done it without your help and leadership throughout the weekend.

Thank you to all of the parents that supported the program! Thank you for all of your hours volunteered and to all of the donations that you brought in.

Thank you Principal Lovato and AD Jana for your help and support over the week and planning. We are grateful for your help.

Thank you Priscilla and your great kids that helped cook for and run the hospitality room. We got lots of compliments on the food.

Thank you to the crew that showed up this morning on their day off to finish breaking down the last mats and cleaning. You are all appreciated.

If I missed anyone that helped make this weekends tournament a success, it was not on purpose, thank you too!

We had a rare BYE day today, so we got a field workout in and then had a team bonding day. We cooked the wrestlers some disco eggs, potato’s, bacon, sausage and pancakes for after their workout. We even celebrated Olivia’s birthday! Now on to the Joe Vivian!