Pueblo Wrestling Finishes 3rd At TUSD William Bell Tournament 2016

Pueblo Wrestling competed in the annual TUSD William Bell Tournament on December 2nd & 3rd.  They finished 3rd as a Team and went 7-1 overall.  Here are the  dual results:

brian-lujan-champion-william-bell-tournament-2016
Brian Lujan @ 126lbs.

Tucson 33-40 (Lost)
CDO 37-34 (Won)
Desert View 39-32 (Won)
San Manuel 60-18 (Won)
Catalina 75-0 (Won)
Nogales 67-12 (Won)
Santa Rita 72-6 (Won)
Salpointe 45-25 (Won)

Here are the individual results:

juvanny-esquivel-champion-william-bell-tournament-2016
Juvanny Esquivel at 160lbs.

Cesar Labrado was 3rd @ 106
Juan Campista was 5th @ 113
Nick Gallegos was 5th @ 120
Brian Lujan was 1st @ 126 (Champion)
Fernando Esquer was 5th @ 132
Sammy Sierra was 2nd @ 145
Zack Espinoza was 6th @ 152
Juvanny Esquivel was 1st @ 160 (Champion)
Dominick Carrillo was 2nd @ 170
Billy Bertsch was 2nd @ 182
Omar Ibanez was 3rd @ 220

Way to go Warriors!

Boys’ Soccer Reined State Champs

By Kiana Gonzales

Pueblo Boys Soccer Arizona State Champions 2016
Pueblo Boys Soccer Division IV Arizona State Champions 2016

On Saturday, February 13, Pueblo’s Boy Soccer Team won the Arizona State Championship game against Buckeye High School in Glendale, Arizona, a deserving accolade for a team that has been triumphant all season long—ending with a record of 10-3.

Junior Alex Urtuzuastegui (and the son of the team’s coach), who played center mid-fielder, said, “This championship game was, by far, the toughest game of the season. I think that some of us really didn’t expect Pueblo to win, so when we did, it was a great feeling.”

The final score of Pueblo’s triumphant game against Buckeye was 2-1.

Coach Francisco Urtuzuastegui said, “I’m really happy for the guys, and it’s inspiring for the incoming guys.”

Senior Efren Robles, who played striker-forward, said, “Everybody on the team did an awesome job for the whole season. Our team members were able to bond early on, and we never lost that cohesiveness. This was our team’s most important strength.”

Throughout the season, the team was challenged several times due to players staying eligible, due to their academics.

Coach Urtuzuastegui said this group of young men has been playing for several years together, so they weren’t challenged by not knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Unfortunately, 10 of this year’s team members are seniors, so he doesn’t have any predictions for next year’s season—he just hopes that the team members have the same amount of compassion and enthusiasm as this season.

“I believe that our team next year will have a lot of potential to earn the right to go to State,” Coach Urtuzuastegui said.

Alex Urtuzuastegui said, “I’m excited for next year. I’ll be a senior, and I’d love to be able to graduate from Pueblo with another state championship for our school and for our team.”

Senior Mario Rodriguez, a mid-fielder, said that part of the magic this year came from the coach’s leadership.

“He [Coach Urtuzuastegui] constantly motivated us all throughout the season,” Rodriguez said. “He said that he almost became a pro soccer player himself, so he definitely knows this sport better than anybody.”

Student Advances to Spring ‘Bee’ Finals

By Gabriela Gastelum

Bernadette Romero Wins Pueblo Bee in 2014

The annual Vocabulary Bee was the buzz earlier this semester, and on Nov. 24, two Pueblo Magnet High School students competed—sophomore Valentino Lugo, and the victor, junior Bernadette Romero.

According to counselor Ms. Teresa Toro, the Academic Scholar Club wants to address the need for the students to use the most frequently used words on the SAT/ACT in order to help them be more successful for higher college-entrance exam scores and also to increase their diction in all writing assignments.

“Last year, I lost the Bee,” Romero said, “so I’ve been studying ever since because I really wanted to be the champion this school year. For the past year, I’ve been practicing using all the words in sentences—and I even tried to use these words on a daily basis.” She paused and added, “I felt very successful as the Vocabulary Bee champion this semester.”

“The Vocabulary Bee started with great support, but unfortunately, the enthusiasm seemed to wane,” Toro said. “Maybe we can generate more enthusiasm next year because we really want our students to increase their word choice.”

Toro said, “This contest is not a traditional spelling bee. Students are not required to spell the vocabulary word. But, they do have to enunciate the words, know their definitions and be able to utilize the words in sentences.”
She added that it’s not too early to promote interest for next year’s Vocabulary Bee, and if students are interested in participating, they should find a teacher-mentor who would like to spend time preparing them for the next Vocabulary Bee in the fall of 2015.

Romero has been rewarded with a Samsung Galaxy tablet and will have the opportunity to have lunch with her mentor and Pueblo’s principal Dr. Augustine Romero, on Wednesday, Dec. 17.

Mr. Jesus Orduño, Romero’s teacher mentor, was awarded a tote bag full of school supplies.

Warrior Wrestling Finishes 7th At William Bell Tournament

This past weekend, the Warrior Wrestling team participated in the TUSD William Bell Wrestling Tournament.

As a team, Pueblo ended up with a 5 win, 3 loss tournament record, which was not bad considering we fielded only 10 out of 14 possible wrestling weight classes. Pueblo ended up in 7th place out of 15 teams and qualified 6 wrestlers for the individual mini- tournament. In this part of the tournament, we finished in 4th place with those 6 wrestlers.

Anthony Montiel takes down opponent at William Bell Tournament 2014

We are very proud of the performance these young men gave and are anticipating an excellent season, especially when we get back some key wrestlers in January. Sadly, Anthony Montiel dislocated his shoulder and will not be able to continue. He was undefeated in his 4th match when it happened and ended up with a 3-1 record.

Congratulations to following wrestlers:

Champions

132- Christian Felix (Jr)
160- Samuel Sierra (Fr)

Runner-up Champion

220- George Majuta (Jr)

3rd Place
195- Miguel Moreno (Jr)
285- Ares Benitez (Jr)

4th Place
113- Nick Gallegos (So)

The other young men who also wrestled and did well are;
126- Matt Luna (Jr)
145- Lazaro Tovar-Fimbres (Jr)
152- Billy Bertsch (So)
170- Anthony Montiel (Sr)

Alvaro Gallego Hungry For Wrestling State Title

Alvaro Gallego tries to pin oppenent

Courtesy of Arizona Daily Star

If Alvaro Gallego could eat anything, he’d probably stop by McDonald’s or Burger King, grab a couple of cheeseburgers and a bag of french fries and enjoy a hearty meal with his friends.

But, that’s not happening anytime soon.

For now, it’s oatmeal in the morning, a few pieces of chicken for lunch and vegetables for dinner. Oh yeah, he also has a few cups of water with his meals.

“I really miss the fast food,” Gallego said, laughing. “And to make it worse, my friends always eat it right in front of me.”

Gallego, a senior at Pueblo, will get his burgers and fries soon enough.

First, there’s a state championship to win.

As a junior, Gallego went 35-4 and finished second at 103 pounds in the Division II state meet. This year, he’s chasing a state title at 106 pounds and closely monitoring his diet to stay in his weight class.

He’s already 29-0 this season and has won championships at the William Bell Invitational and the Phoenix Moon Valley Invitational.

“Right now, I haven’t lost yet and I’m just trying to get better each match,” Gallego said. “An undefeated season and a state championship would be the perfect way to go out.”

Here’s a closer look at Gallego’s road to becoming one of the top wrestlers in the state.

Youth

Memories: Gallego first stepped onto a wrestling mat as a fourth-grader and finished second in state his first full year. He was hoping for a first-place finish as a fifth-grader but instead had a disappointing season and he quit wrestling after the season.

Quotable: “I really liked the sport. But, I started losing in fifth grade and didn’t do well at state and didn’t want to do it anymore. I felt like I had dedicated myself to wrestling and it ended horribly. I was mad and had the mentality that I didn’t want to do it anymore.”

Big finish: Gallego took seventh at state his fifth-grade year before walking away from the sport.

Middle school

Memories: Still upset with his finish in fifth grade, Gallego didn’t wrestle or play any sports in middle school. Instead, the fun-spirited Gallego hung out with his friends and focused on doing well in school.

Quotable: “I thought I was too cool for sports. I wanted to be the cool guy, so I just did nothing.”

Big finish: Gallego was in touch with Pueblo coach Steve Lopez by the end of his eighth-grade year and knew he was ready to get back on the wrestling mat as a freshman in high school and wrestle for Lopez and the Warriors.

High School

Memories: Gallego wrestled junior varsity his freshman season because he “was only 70 pounds and wasn’t allowed on varsity yet.” He got his weight up to 86 pounds as a sophomore, his first year on varsity, and eventually 103 as a junior, when he broke out with his 35-4 season.

Quotable: “They just told me to keep eating and I’d get there sooner or later. They had me lifting weights and working out and I gained about 10 pounds each year. It seemed like I would eat whatever I wanted and still wouldn’t gain any weight. Now, that I’m there, I have to control it.”

Big finish: As the No. 2 seed at 103 pounds, Gallego took out Nogales’ Juan Dorame in the semifinals, before dropping a 9-7 decision to Moon Valley’s Mikah Trejo in the finals.

Senior year

Memories: Gallego was named the wrestler of the tournament at the William Bell Invitational one day after his grandmother, Olga Rosales, passed away. Gallego wrote her name on his headgear during the final day of competition and dedicated the tournament win to her.

Quotable: “It’s been a great year so far, but it’s all about state. My mom has never seen me wrestle in person. She only watches the videos and still gets nervous even though she knows I win. So, I really, really want her to come to state this year and hopefully she can watch me win a state championship.”

Big finish: That’s still to be determined. This year’s Division II state meet in Prescott Valley is set for Feb. 10-11. Gallego, ranked No. 1 in the state at 106 pounds by Azwrestler.com, will likely be the favorite in his weight class.

Warrior Wrestling’s Impressive Streak Comes To An End

Warrior Wrestling at 2011 TUSD Bill Bell Tournament

This past weekend, the Wrestling Warriors competed at Cholla High School for the annual TUSD William Bell Invitational. Pueblo has won this tournament for the past 9 years, but that streak came to an end on Saturday. Our wrestlers had the heart, but our youth and inexperience showed. Nevertheless, there were some bright spots!

Alvaro Gallego & Gabe Estillore were champions in their respective weight class, keeping alive, their goal to become State champions! Alvaro was also chosen as the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament at 106 lbs. Geo Armendariz & Vinson Herrera also did well finishing 2nd & 3rd, respectively.

Also placing 5th in the tournament were Ruben Rendon (132), Luis Laguna (145), Andres Valles (195) and placing 6th were Anthony Montiel (152), & John Grijalva (220).   

Congratulations go out to these young men and thank you for the awesome ride this past decade!