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.

Brandon Sanchez Is Awarded NROTC Scholarship

Brandon Sanchez NROTC Scholarship Winner

Brandon Sanchez, class of 2012, has been awarded the NROTC Scholarship.  He will receive between $180,000-$200,000 for the college or university of his choice. 

Brandon was selected from a pool of 155 applicants in the state of Arizona and is ranked as the number 1 candidate by the U.S. Marine Corps.

Though the NROTC scholarship covers many expenses, including tuition, books, fees, uniforms and living expenses, the benefits of selection into the program extend much further than educational funding and financial assistance. For those with both the desire and ability to begin a journey filled with honor, courage and commitment, becoming a Marine-Option Midshipman represents a unique opportunity to find direction, purpose and, most importantly, your place among the few as an Officer of Marines. (www.marines.com)

Brandon’s top three school choices currently are: 1) Embry-Riddle Aeronatical University, 2) Stevens Institute Of Technology and 3) ASU.

Congratulations to him and his family for this being awarded this distinguished scholarship.

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!

Pueblo Has Two Wendy’s High School Heisman Award Semi-Finalists

Pueblo is proud to announce that Class of 2012 Seniors Damen Romero & Michelle Godinez are 2 of 20 student athletes in the state of Arizona selected as semi-finalists for the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award.  We are very pleased to have a male and female selection this year. 

Damen Romero & Michelle Godinez

This award honors well-rounded young men and woman who excel in learning, performing, and leading in the class room, on the field and in the community. They will both find out in December if they have been selected as finalists.

Finalists will be brought to New York City for Heisman Weekend activities and the Wendy’s High School Heisman Award Banquet in which the two National Winners will be announced nationally on ESPN. 

Congratulations to both and way to represent Pueblo!

Stella Pope Duarte Makes Her Annual Visit To Pueblo

Stella Pope Duarte makes her annual visit to Pueblo

Stella Pope Duarte, author of Let Their Spirits Dance spoke at Pueblo High School on November 21st to the Senior Latino literature classes. Most writers charge a fee to talk about their novels but Pope Duarte does this because she enjoys speaking to young adults, but especially Pueblo High School students. 

She spoke to the seniors about her novels but specifically Let Their Spirits Dance since the seniors are currently reading it. She discussed the themes, the conflicts and the characterization in the novel and the process she went through in writing it.

Stella Pope Duarte writes,  “The students were FABULOUS! I absolutely loved presenting to them. They also pin-pointed some very important issues in the novel.  It is indeed an honor to write stories from our own heritage, stories of heart, soul, blood, and spirit.”

Pueblo Takes 1st Place At UA Trebuchet Competition

Pueblo science students took 1st place at the 1st Annual Trebuchet Competition at UA on Sunday October 30th sponsored by Raytheon, MESA, and the Physics Factory.  Warriors competed and beat teams including Salpointe and adult engineers.

Pueblo trebuchet fired 98 meters hitting target  dead-on on second attempt.  1st attempt was only 3 feet off.

Pueblo Warriors Trebuchet Winning Rig

Competition was to design, construct and fire a trebuchet (gravity-powered catapult) for distance and accuracy.  Competition took place on the UA Mall where over ten teams competed from various schools and groups including Salpointe Catholic High and a team of professional engineers.

Teams were given four shots (2 for distance and 2 for accuracy.)  Pueblo’s range was around 100 meters.  Despite having the option of pulling target back in to have a better chance of accuracy as most teams did, Team Pueblo was so sharp that they set their target at the maximum distance they fired previously and still hit the 7 foot by 5 foot target dead center 98 meters away. This is the length of about a football field! Here’s a short video of winning shot:

A big crowd gathered at the UA Mall and the team definitely represented Pueblo well.

No team was more efficient in setting up and launching within the 3 minute time limit than Pueblo.  No team showed more spirit than Pueblo.  No team showed the most character in helping other teams than Pueblo.  No team deserved the win more than Pueblo.

Pueblo Warriors Trebuchet Team

Student participants were:

Maricela Bravo (Freshman), Cecilia Machado (Freshman), Zelin Pallanes (Freshman), Raul Ballesteros (Junior), Rafael Lopez (Junior), Aaron Barrera (Junior), Rodger Seratt (Junior), Bill DeLaRosa (Senior) & Arthur Hernandez (Senior).

Thanks to everyone for your support and encouragement.  Special thanks goes to Diane and Mark Bouchard for financial, carpentry, and engineering support.

[Story compiled by Jim Uomoto]