Pinto Power: Moriarty Wrestlers Dominate Artesia Dog Fight Invite

The Moriarty High School wrestling program made a loud statement this past Saturday at the Artesia Dog Fight Invite, as both the Pintos and Lady Pintos battled their way to the podium across multiple divisions. Powered by four individual titles and a flurry of pins, Moriarty proved they are a starting to peak at just the right time of the season.

Lady Pintos: Perfection and Power

The Moriarty girls were led by a pair of unstoppable performances from Kristina Means and Lilly Shoemate-Means, both of whom captured first-place finishes with flawless records.

  • Kristina Means (120 lbs): Means was the definition of efficiency, going 5-0 on the day. Remarkably, she pinned every single opponent she faced, with four of those matches ending in 35 seconds or less. Her dominance earned the team a massive 26 points.
  • Lilly Shoemate-Means (135 lbs): Matching her teammate’s golden run, Shoemate-Means also went 5-0 with five pins. Her quickest victory came in just 14 seconds against Centennial’s Hailey Barker.
  • McKayla Miller (125 lbs): Miller fought her way to a 4th-place finish, contributing three pins to the team’s total.
  • Karli Fulfer (190 lbs): Fulfer secured a 3rd-place podium spot, capping her day with a pin over Roswell’s Sasha Sanchez.

Pintos Boys: Gustafson and Brito Lead the Charge

The boys’ side featured equally impressive hardware, with Caleb Gustafson and Domicio Brito leading the Pintos to several top-three finishes.

  • Caleb Gustafson (150 lbs): Gustafson continued his stellar season (now 19-1), taking 1st place in dominant fashion. He racked up two pins before finishing the championship match with a 20-0 technical fall over Nathaniel Bernal of Roswell.
  • Domicio Brito (113 lbs): Brito stood atop the podium after a grueling day, securing four pins and a gritty 9-5 decision victory in the final match to claim 1st place.
  • Ethan McClaskey (120 lbs): McClaskey reached the finals with two straight pins, ultimately taking home a silver medal (2nd place).
  • Gavin Everett (126 lbs) & Lucas Rodelas Lozoya (138 lbs): Both wrestlers showed immense resilience, battling back through the consolation brackets to secure 3rd-place finishes. Everett ended his day with three consecutive pins.
  • Mishen Jaramillo (215 lbs): Jaramillo also secured 3rd place, finishing strong with a 9-0 major decision over Goddard’s Brian Santillan.

Team Impact

The Pintos showed depth across the board, with Angelo Montoya (175 lbs) taking 4th, and Amber Lavery (110 lbs), Dominic Lopez (106 lbs), Linda Gonzalez (100 lbs), and Megan Trujillo (135 lbs) all placing within the top six of their respective brackets.


Moriarty Individual Results Summary

WeightWrestlerPlacementPoints Scored
113Domicio Brito1st Place24.0
150Caleb Gustafson1st Place23.5
120Ethan McClaskey2nd Place18.0
215Mishen Jaramillo3rd Place19.0
138Lucas Rodelas Lozoya3rd Place16.0
126Gavin Everett3rd Place15.0
175Angelo Montoya4th Place11.0
106Dominic Lopez6th Place5.0
113Almeron Saxton7th Place4.0

Additional contributions came from Angelo Montoya (175), who placed 4th after recording two pins, and Dominic Lopez (106), who finished 6th. Almeron Saxton added to the team total by pinning his way to 7th place at 113 pounds.

Here is a breakdown of the final standings, records for the day, and total team points contributed by each wrestler.

Lady Pintos Results

WeightWrestlerPlaceRecordTeam Points
120Kristina Means1st5-026.0
135Lilly Shoemate-Means1st5-026.0
190Karli Fulfer3rd2-26.0
125McKayla Miller4th3-213.0
110Amber Lavery5th1-47.0
100Linda Gonzalez6th1-35.0
135Megan Trujillo6th0-53.0

Pintos Boys Results

WeightWrestlerPlaceRecordTeam Points
113Domicio Brito1st5-024.0
150Caleb Gustafson1st4-023.5
120Ethan McClaskey2nd2-118.0
126Gavin Everett3rd3-115.0
138Lucas Rodelas Lozoya3rd3-116.0
215Mishen Jaramillo3rd4-119.0
175Angelo Montoya4th2-211.0
106Dominic Lopez6th1-45.0
113Almeron Saxton7th1-44.0
165Fabian SilvaDNP1-22.0
285Joseph PachecoDNP1-22.0
120Kayleb GleasonDNP0-20.0
126Matthew SerranoDNP0-20.0
132Joaquin MoralesDNP0-20.0

Tournament Highlights

  • The Pinners: Kristina Means and Lilly Shoemate-Means combined for a perfect 10-0 record with 10 pins, maxing out their scoring potential for the team.
  • The Wall: Caleb Gustafson remains nearly perfect on the season, finishing his championship match with a 20-0 technical fall.
  • The Grinders: Domicio Brito and Mishen Jaramillo both wrestled five matches each, showing incredible stamina to secure their podium spots.