PREP WRESTLING
Cleveland, Volcano Vista pull away from field in 5A tournament
Semifinals and finals are Saturday at Rio Rancho Events Center
What a battle for supremacy it is shaping up to be in Class 5A wrestling.
District 1 rivals Cleveland and Volcano Vista, as expected, pulled away from the field on the first day of the 2026 state tournament as action began Friday at the Rio Rancho Events Center.
The Storm, looking to end the Hawks’ three-year run atop 5A, put an astonishing 13 out of 14 wrestlers into the semifinal round. They lost just one match.
Volcano Vista had a terrific Friday, as well, with 10 wrestlers still going into the semifinals.
Cleveland scored 140 points Friday, eight more than Volcano Vista. It was a long way back to third-place Las Cruces, which has 78 points.
The semifinal session on Saturday at the RREC begins at 10 a.m. The championship finals are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday in all classifications.
Aztec, the defending state champion in Class 1A-4A boys, stockpiled 109 points on Day 1 of the 2026 event.
The Tigers lead Belen (87.5) in the team standings, with St. Pius (74) sitting in third place, narrowly ahead of West Las Vegas (72).
Aztec has placed nine wrestlers into the semifinals.
The girls’ standings are compact. Atrisco Heritage leads with 60 points, but two-time defending state champion Cleveland is just 1½ points behind the Jaguars.
The entire top five is tightly bunched, with Miyamura (57), Las Cruces (56.5) and Volcano Vista (56) all very much in the hunt to win a trophy on Saturday.
Cleveland and Miyamura both have a tournament-leading five girls who have reached the semifinals. Atrisco Heritage is sending four to the semis.
James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at @JamesDYodice.
