The Spartans went 1-for-3 on the first day of the wrestling State Championships at Ball Arena on Thursday.

The three wrestlers who qualified for state this year included sophomore Tagen Becher, junior Julian “Specs” Chavez, and senior Andre Ortiz. 

Chavez, wrestling 120s, won his first match in dominating fashion, 17-2, in two rounds against Lewis Palmer’s Zach Zulkosky. Chavez explained how his first match set the precedent for the rest of the tournament. “It showed me that no matter where I am, that I can dominate over all these kids because I can see a big difference from last year on how much I worked.” Chavez explained. 

Becher, at 157 pounds, lost to No. 1 seed Luke Diehl in two rounds by pinfall. Becher explained what this moment meant to him as it was his first year at state.  “So technically I’m not supposed to be here, but, I got gifted with an opportunity and so I think, I just have to take advantage of that opportunity…It’s really special to be one of the three on the team that made it.”

The only senior state wrestler this year, Andre Ortiz, lost to No. 3 seed Joseph Maes out of Vista Peak by pinfall. Ortiz admitted being the underdog will continue to motivate him and how he will continue to stay motivated throughout the rest of the tournament. “What I need to do is stay focused and stay motivated. Our coaches always say that the brackets are won on the backside, and that’s what I gotta do,” Ortiz said. “I need to stay focused and stay motivated. I gotta punch these kids in the mouth on the backside.” 

Ortiz will be ready to go when the competition continues for the Spartans Friday at 12:45 p.m. “I got a lot of wrestling left ahead of me. So that’s just keeping me motivated right now,” Ortiz said.