LA JARA – Alamosa High School wrestling coach  Rusty Johnson did some strategizing when the Mean Moose, ranked fourth in Class 3A, faced Centauri, the top-ranked team in Class 2A, Tuesday at the Falcons’ gym.

Johnson’s strategy paid off as the Mean Moose defeated the Falcons 41-36.

“They’re extremely tough,” Johnson said. “They’re a really good team. We had to move our guys around to beat them. They’re really good.”

“Every loss is a tough loss,” said Centauri coach Cahlen Keys.

The Mean Moose started the dual meet by taking an early 10-0 lead. First, Dyson Woodward scored a 13-4 major decision over Matthew Salazar at 106 pounds, and then Dempsey Gibbs pinned Riley Valdez in 30 seconds at 113.

The Falcons got their first win as Mario Vigil won by forfeit. But Alamosa won the next four matches to increase its lead to 29-6.

Dario Valdez squeaked out an 8-5 decision over Diego Hernandez in the 126-pound match. Sage Rockcastle then pinned Robert Coombs in 3:13 at 132, Trevor Maestas pinned Cyrus Sandoval in 35 seconds at 138, and Kyler Liddell won by a 15-6 major decision over Ivan Lopez at 145.

Centauri got right back into the dual meet by winning the next five matches. Eyan Chavez won by forfeit at 152, Josh Polkowske pinned Jaedon Quintana in 2:54 at 160, Erik Mestas pinned Miguel Marquez in 25 seconds at 170, and Zach Buhr pinned Mikey Trujillo in 19 seconds at 182.

Johnson then forfeited the 195-pound match to Byron Shawcroft to give the Falcons at 36-29 lead. He bumped up Logan Garcia to 220 pounds where he pinned Skylar Montague in 26 seconds to help the Mean Moose to pull within 36-35.

He also bumped Erik Celis from 220 to 285 where he took forfeit win to wrap up the match.

Alamosa will host another dual meet today this time with Monte Vista. The meet begins at 6 p.m. at the AHS gym.

“The valley teams are tough,” Johnson said. “All of them.”

Centauri will have a big weekend in Center ahead of itself as it will compete in the Kortney Lake duals on Friday and the Valley Classic on Saturday.

“There’s a lot of 2A schools at the Valley Classic,” Keys said. “We’ll be able to see a lot of the teams that will be at state this weekend.”

Alamosa 41, Centauri 36

106 – Woodward (A) maj. dec. Salazar, 13-4; 113 – Gibbs (A) pinned Valdez, 0:30; 120 – Vigil (C) by forfeit; 126 – Valdez (A) dec. Hernandez, 8-5; 132 – Rockcastle (A) pinned Coombs, 3:13; 138 – Maestas (A) pinned Sandoval, 0:35; 145 – Liddell (A) maj. dec. Lopez, 15-6; 152- Chavez (C) by forfeit; 160 – Polkowske (C) pinned Quintana, 2:54; 170 – Mestas (C) pinned Marquez, 0:25; 182 – Buhr (C) pinned Trujillo, 0:19; 195 – Shawcroft (C) by forfeit; 220 – Garcia (A) pinned Montague, 0:26; 285 – Celis (A) by forfeit.