NM's best high school wrestlers come together for Joe Vivian Classic

Atrisco Heritage is the host site for this year’s Joe Vivian Classic, one of the top boys/girls prep wrestling events of the regular season. 

Volcano Vista, the recent champion of the prestigious Conflict at Cleveland, headlines a strong field for the two-day event which begins on Friday.

The finals are scheduled roughly mid-afternoon Saturday. All of the top teams from Albuquerque Public Schools, plus many of the top programs from outside Albuquerque (but not Rio Rancho or Cleveland) will be competing. 

Rio Rancho sophomore guard Madi Martinez last week went over 1,000 career points with the Rams. 

MORE TOURNAMENTS: One of the last regular-season prep basketball tournaments on the calendar is the annual Hope Christian Invitational.

The combined boys/girls 2026 event begins on Thursday.

Defending Class 4A boys state champion Artesia is the headliner this week. The Bulldogs (11-3) open the tournament at 4:30 p.m. Thursday against Taos, a team Artesia just beat on Saturday.

The Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 in 4A in the latest coaches’ poll; the host Huskies are ranked third, and these two teams might be on track to meet on Saturday night in the final.

Hope opens against Shiprock at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. 

Also in the first round, Bloomfield meets West Las Vegas at 1:30 p.m. and St. Pius takes on Hot Springs at 7:30 p.m. The semifinals are 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Los Lunas is the top attraction on the girls’ half of the bracket. The Tigers, a strong No. 5 in the coaches’ poll, plays Taos at 6 p.m. Thursday in the last of the first-round matchups.

Hope and Hot Springs get things started at 9 a.m., with St. Pius-Bloomfield scheduled to tip off at noon. Artesia meets West Las Vegas at 3 p.m.

The semis are 3 and 6 p.m. Friday; the final is 5 p.m. Saturday.