RIO RANCHO — Perhaps the best thing that happened to Ryan Means Jr. was one of the worst things that can happen to a high school athlete.

Friday was Means' first experience of the State Wrestling Championships, but it should have been his second. The Santa Fe High sophomore missed last season's state meet as poor grades kept him off the mat.

But from that disappointing moment came a renewed and refocused student-athlete. Means regained his eligibility and took advantage of a second chance, going 25-9 this season as he competes in the 175-pound weight class in Class 5A. He took fourth at last week's Region 1-5A Championships to earn a sixth seed for this weekend's state meet, then lived up to the seed with a convincing performance in the opening round over Carlsbad's Eddie Lopez.

Means built a 15-0 lead into the second period before pinning Lopez at the 1:10 mark to reach the quarterfinals. The afternoon session did not go as well as Albuquerque Eldorado's Martin Lovato pinned him in the third period with a 10-1 lead.

The day was not over for Means, who returned to the mat almost two hours later to pin Albuquerque La Cueva's Louis Pennington with 15 seconds left in the opening period to reach a consolation semifinal. With a win over Organ Mountain's Carlos Maldonado on Saturday morning, Means will guarantee himself a spot on the podium.

Demons head coach Joe Jiron said the sky is the limit for Means, especially after learning a tough lesson about the importance of academics and athletics.

"I feel like he's embraced academics they way he's embraced his sports," Jiron said. "He's just going all out and doing good. His grades are awesome now."

Means said some of his struggles resulted from personal issues he dealt with through middle school. He said he dealt with a series of family issues and the death of his grandmother affected him profoundly. He said wrestling and football helped him cope with his struggles until his grades began to slip as a freshman. Means said he did enough to get by in the fall for football but his grades after that "sort of just tanked."

Jiron said Means disappeared for a few weeks from the wrestling room, but he saw him mature and improve his grades. Means said his stepmother also encouraged him to come to church, which helped him find direction.

"I had a lot of support and a lot of help getting me to this point," Means said. "Not being able to go to regionals and state last year gave me a goal to make it here and stay on top of my grades."

Jiron said Means keeps himself busy not just with sports, but also with the school choir. He added, Means also intends to play baseball to add to his to-do list.

Means grew up in Chardon, Neb., before moving to Santa Fe when he was in fourth grade. He said the transition to Santa Fe, where his dad and 2005 Capital graduate Ryan Means Sr. grew up, was challenging because he had roots in Chadron.

He added, that might have contributed to some of his struggles in middle school.

"I was kinda rebellious," Means Jr. said. "I didn't want to move, so I distanced myself a little bit."

However, wrestling helped him find new friends and adjust to his surroundings. Means started competing in the sport at the age of 5, and had plenty of youth programs to attend because of the sport's huge popularity in Nebraska.

Jiron said Means Jr. was already a well-skilled wrestler as an eighth grader, so the goal was to refine his skills and get him stronger as his body developed. The coach said Means' best asset on the mat might be his ears.

"He listens on top of putting in the work at practice," Jiron said. "He transitions pretty well now, going from A to B, and from B to C. There's a little bit of fluidity in his body to where he doesn't get stuck in one position."

The performances of Means Jr. and of fellow sophomore Marina Martinez, who reached the semifinals of the 235 girls division, were bright spots amid a tough season in which boys medal contenders Elias Mendiola and Leyton Opare missed the last half of the season because of injuries.

"The sky's the limit for these kids," Jiron said, "as long as they focus on their academics and put in the work that's in front of them."

In other action

Martinez wasted little time in making her way to the girls semifinals, needing 83 seconds to record pins of Belen's Emma Perez and Shayla Esplain of Kirtland Central. Martinez, the third seed in the bracket, will take on No. 2 Vanessa Martinez of Roswell Goddard on Saturday morning.

Pojoaque Valley's Natalie Romero also recorded a pair of pins to get to the 140 semifinals. She took down Albuquerque Volcano Vista's Alyssa Herrera with 13 seconds left in the second period to set up a rematch with Kirtland Central's Hailey Robinson. The two faced off in the Region 1 Championship finals Feb. 7, with Robinson pinning her in the third period.

In 1A/4A boys, West Las Vegas had four wrestlers make it to the semifinals — Andres Rambo Lopez at 113, Santiago Medrano at 132, Korbyn Harvey at 175 and Vicente Garcia at 192. They helped the Dons to a 68-point total in the team standings with four other wrestlers still alive in the consolation round.

Los Alamos and Taos each had one wrestler alive in the championship side. The Tigers' Reggie Suazo needed an escape in the third period of his opening-round match against Roswell Goddard's Riccie Winchester to pull out a 6-5 win but pinned Aztec's Harvey Blackwater to reach the semifinals. He will take on Silver's Christian Maynes.

Adrian Oshel also made it to the 165 semifinals for the Hilltoppers, pinning Tristan Lopez of Belen in the third period of their quarterfinals battle.

Jedrek Lewandowski of St. Michael's, the fourth seed in the 285 division, lost in stunning upset to 12th-seeded Thomas Williams, who pinned him in the second period of their quarterfinal match.