Cody Wood second in 106-pound class at Cruces

Carlsbad sophomore wrestler Cody Wood had a big weekend, taking home second place overall in the 106-pound weight division to conclude the Las Cruces Invitational on Saturday.

Although Wood lost to Cleveland's Joseph Otero 10-2 via major decision in the championship match, coach Ryan Salcido said he was happy to see the kind of work Wood put in to go that far in the tournament.

"He's been an in-your-face type of wrestler. That's just how he's getting by. He's not moving around. He's straight to the point, taking care of business finishing all his shots. He's just wrestling really, really smart," Salcido said. "This is considered harder than any tournament we'll ever be in. For him to be wrestling in the finals is just such a good thing to see for Carlsbad."

Wood took down Silver’s Oscar Lopez in just 44 seconds, according to trackwrestling.com. Although it took him four minutes and 36 seconds to do so, Wood beat Payton Billings of Ironwood Ridge (Tuscon, Ariz.) to reach the quarterfinals.

From there, Wood continued his dominance – beating Piedra Vista’s Diego Sanchez-Mora 14-6 by major decision and El Paso Hanks’ Joseph Galarza in an 11-5 decision prior to the championship round.

Additional Cavemen go deep

Senior Adrian Flaco received a first-round bye in the 220-pound weight division and went on to beat Ironwood Ridge’s Taylor Ball via forfeit, which automatically gave Carlsbad six team points. Flaco lost to Belen’s Estaphan Chavez (2:35) in the quarterfinals, but went on to beat Gadsden's Alvaro Gonzalez in the third-place match by a 7-4 decision.

Senior Kyle Mallett received byes in the first and second rounds in the 195-pound weight division, but lost to Piedra Vista’s Alberto Marquez (2:51) in the quarterfinals. Mallett ended the tournament in fourth overall for his weight class. Freshman RJ Baca also received first and second-round byes in the 138-pound weight division, but lost to Deming's Brandon Baca in the quarterfinals in a 5-4 decision.

Sophomore Mateo Messer beat El Paso Franklin’s Mathew Hernandez (1:08) and Gadsden’s Luis Tovar (1:27) to reach the 170-pound weight division quarterfinals. Messer lost to El Paso Burges’ Michael Dominguez (1:06) in the quarterfinals.

Salcido said Messer would have advanced further in the tournament had he not injured his shoulder.

"It was an unfortunate ending for Mateo. I really expected him to be in the medal rounds. It was kind of out of our hands at that point," Salcido said.

Carlsbad will travel to Volcano Vista next Friday and Saturday for Albuquerque Invite.

"We're coming along. We're getting to where we need to be. It's a good feeling to see the progress that these kids have made," Salcido said.