Isiah Estrada goes for the pin during one of the four matches he win at the Rio Hondo Scuffle in Roswell on Saturday.
Russell Huffman | El Defensor Chieftain

Four Socorro wrestlers got their seasons off to hot starts with first-place finishes at the Rio Hondo Scuffle at Roswell High School on Dec. 17.

Socorro’s Isiah Estrada and David Gutierrez, Jr. picked up first-place medals on the boys side, while Jayden Kayser and Sasha Gonzalez won on the girls side.

Both Warriors went 4-0 on the day, with Estrada winning the 107-weight class and Gutierrez topping all comers in the 285s.

“We’re still not at full strength as a team,” Socorro coach Joel Partridge said. “We still have some wrestlers who have not completed their weight assessments, and we have a few who are out sick today.”

All of the Warriors taking part in Roswell made it to the championship match of their weight brackets as Kane Johnson finished second in the 127-class and Caden Moreland took second in the 189-class.

“We took some hammers. I knew the tournament would be tough, but I think if we have a few more kids. that’s a tournament we can win,” Partridge said. “I think this is our best start ever for sure. It was one heck of a tournament.”

Kayser worked through an action-packed bracket to win the 114-class, and it was the kind of tournament performance Partridge and his wrestling staff have been expecting to happen.

“She really broke out in that tournament and wrestled the way, we knew she could wrestle,” Partridge said.

Gonzales (a state finalist last year) was No. 1 in the 120s. Alexandria Martinez nabbed fifth place in the 152s.

Socorro should have all its weights assessments done by the time the Warriors play host to Cobre on Jan. 4. Socorro travels to Belen on Jan. 11 and hosts the annual Sammy V tournament on Jan. 14.

Russell Huffman | Assistant Editor