Eyeing uncharted territory

By Jared Harmon

Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008 | 12:15 a.m.

Liberty wrestler Carlos Tautoto couldn't help second guessing himself.

After winning his first 17 matches to start last season, Tautoto only won half of his 30 remaining matches.

Tautoto, who wrestles in the 215-pound division, said the first loss rattled him and made him doubt his ability.

However, he managed to pull himself out of the rut and take second in the Sunrise Regional tournament.

Now a senior, Tautoto feels he has the experience to make a serious run at an individual state championship.

"I knew I could do better than the way I was wrestling," Tautoto said. "My brother talked to me and said whatever I was doing, I was doing to myself. That snapped me out of it."

Tautoto also had the disadvantage of wrestling in the 215-pound weight class despite weighing closer to 200 pounds.

Once he reached the postseason, however, Tautoto stormed through the regional tournament to help Liberty to take seventh in the 15-team tournament. It was the team's highest finish in five years of existence.

This season, after training and conditioning with the school's football team, Tautoto will be at the higher end of the 215-pound spectrum.

"Last year I kept trying to get my weight up. This year I'm going to have to lose weight to get down to 215 pounds," he said. "I feel as strong as I've ever felt. My power and intensity are up. My conditioning is great because of all the running we did for football."

Liberty coach Rich Muraco said the senior's biggest challenge early will be keeping himself from beating his opponents too quickly.

"Last year he pinned so many guys so quickly early on in the season that when he ran into some tougher opponents, he didn't have the mat time they did," Muraco said. "He really needs to slow down and practice his technique more."

Muraco feels Tautoto has a legitimate shot at a state title run, as do a couple teammates like Tautoto's fellow state-qualifier from last year Mike Reveles (135 pounds). Tautoto said he would like to put his stamp on the program with Liberty's first individual state title, but he is more concerned with helping the team make its mark.

At the Canyon Springs Invitational Friday and Saturday, Tautoto and Reveles — along with Reveles' younger brother, 145-pounder Rudy Reveles — won their division to help the Patriots to a tournament victory. Tautoto was named the tournament's outstanding wrestler.

"We're all working harder and trying harder this year," Tautoto said. "We saw what we could do last year. We want to put the whole team on the map and make Liberty a team people have to watch out for. We have a full roster for the first time this year and we have a lineup that can do some damage."

Jared Harmon can be reached at 990-8922 or [email protected].