LADY PINTOS WRESTLING: Means and Shoemate-Means Secure Regional Silver

RIO RANCHO – With their eyes on much bigger prizes Moriarty Lady Pinto wrestlers Kristina Means and Lilly Shoemate-Means made gut-wrenching decisions to medically forfeit a chance at a regional wrestling title in favor of pursing state titles. Both wrestlers returned from the Region 1 meet with silver medals.

Strategy Over Gold: Precautionary Forfeits in the Finals

Despite battling some minor injuries/strains, Means (120 lbs) and Shoemate-Means (135 lbs) dominated their brackets to reach the championship matches.

With State qualification already secured, the team opted for a “safety first” approach. Means is managing a knee complaint, while Shoemate-Means is dealing with an elbow issue.

Opting to take the regionals silver medals gives both athletes time to ensure they head into the state tournament at maximum health.

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120 lbs: Kristina Means (2nd Place)

Means (23-2) showed exactly why she is a top contender. After a first-round bye, she pinned Santa Fe’s Shaniah Beltran in just 1:22. She followed that with a fall over Pojoaque Valley’s Mariah Leyba. Her performance of the weekend, however, was a nail-biting technical 2-1 decision over Eldorado’s Onaleigh Leiro in the semifinals to herself in the state wrestling brackets.

135 lbs: Lilly Shoemate-Means (2nd Place)

Lilly Shoemate-Means (20-2) was a force of nature in the early rounds. She spent less than five minutes total on the mat across three matches, securing pins in 0:12, 0:55, and 3:37. Her clinical path to the finals solidified her status as one of the region’s most dangerous competitors.

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Round-by-Round Results

While Means and Shoemate-Means were the lone qualifiers for the state tournament, several other Lady Pintos fought hard and contributed to the team score. Notably, Amber Lavery (110 lbs) and Emma Rodriguez (115 lbs) both earned wins by fall during the tournament.

Wrestler	Weight	Record	Result
Kristina Means	120	23-2	2nd Place (State Qualifier)
Lilly Shoemate-Means	135	20-2	2nd Place (State Qualifier)
Amber Lavery	110	8-16	DNP (Scored 7.0 team points)
Emma Rodriguez	115	6-12	DNP (Scored 4.0 team points)
Mckayla Miller	125	16-12	DNP (Scored 4.0 team points)
Linda Gonzalez	105	4-16	DNP
Karli Fulfer	190	8-14	DNP