Four-time state wrestling champ Louis Trujillo watches the youngsters go through drills on the mat, where he once trained with the Rams. (Herron photo)
In light of the continued success in wrestling in the City of Vision, you might want to consider getting your son and/or daughter engaged in it.
In Rio Rancho, the Juggernaut Wrestling Club is a good place to start.
And, as Rio Rancho High School wrestling coach Mike Santos says, the main ingredients to mat success are a good work ethic and having fun, the latter probably more evident before a workout began, with the kids playing dodgeball.
Its top two instructors, Louis Trujillo and Vicente Varela started wrestling, as they recently recalled, at the ages of 4 and 8, respectively, which would fit in well with the crop of three dozen spending three afternoons each week in the Rio Rancho High School wrestling room.
When Trujillo and Varela were Rams, there weren’t any prep girls wrestling. Since girls’ wrestling has been added to the list of New Mexico Activities Association’s sanctioned high school sports, girls have started getting serious about the sport — and Cleveland High recently added its first state champ, Ashley Smith, to its record book.
At last count, though, there were only two girls partaking in the Juggernauts’ sessions; one of them was Trujillo’s 7-year-old daughter, Ayva. (His son Eli, 9, is also a Juggernaut.) The current roster has kids from age 6 to 15.
It seems Trujillo and Varela never tire of the sport. After their successful youth days on the mats, they extended their success for Rio Rancho High School, each winning four state titles: Varela from 2004-07; Trujillo from 2007-10.
In recent years, each has fittingly been inducted into the RRHS Sports Hall of Fame.
For more information, visit the Juggernaut Wrestling Club page on Facebook.
