“And the 2009 state wrestling championship trophy goes to … .”

You probably realize when that announcement is made at Santa Ana Star Center in February, the last four words will be “Rio Rancho High School.”

Still, third-year Rams wrestling coach Jason Nickal knows there’s a long way to go before his matmen can lay claim to their third 5A title in as many years.

Louis Trujillo, now a junior, seeks his third individual state title in February.

This year’s team has plenty of depth and only a few questions marks, like who’s competing at 189 pounds and at heavyweight. Wrestling fans will get their first look at the Rams next weekend at the annual Southwest Shootout Duals at RRHS.

Twenty-four teams will be in the Rams Athletic Center for the Friday-Saturday event, featuring teams from Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico, including Manzano, last year’s 5A runner-up, plus Los Lunas, Gallup, Albuquerque High, Santa Fe, Robertson and Silver City.

Heading into last week’s wrestle-offs, in which there were some stiff battles for starting spots, here’s Nickal’s line-up as the season begins:

103: Jake Williams, a senior who was fourth at state last season.

112: to be determined in wrestle-offs; senior Raymond Valerio may be the favorite here.

119: “Interesting,” Nickal says. The wrestle-off here pits Caleb Rubalcaba, who was fourth at state (119) last year, against Matt Nunez, an All-American in Greco-Roman in the summer.

125: Nathaniel Lujan, third at state at 112, only a sophomore.

130: Louis Trujillo, a junior and two-time state champ (125 both times).

135: Chris Rubalcaba, another senior who won a title at 130 last year.

140: Defending 140 champ Max Ortega, who won his first of four state titles while attending the Mid-High; he is bidding to become only the second wrestler in state history with five individual crowns.

145: Zach Rogers, the Rams’ placekicker who just joined the team after football ended, may be the frontrunner, but he competes here with two or three other candidates, Nickal said.

152: Erik Witt, a senior who “missed state placement by one win (at 145),” Nickal said.

160: also coming down to wrestle-offs.

171: Chris Morales, a junior who was third at state (160) last year.

189: “We’re searching for somebody; maybe somebody to come out from football,” Nickal said.

215: Shea Nolen, “one round out of placing at state. “We’re expecting big things from him,” Nickal said of the promising sophomore.

Heavyweight: (285 lbs. is maximum) “We’ve had a couple injuries; unfortunately, two juniors suffered knee injuries. We’ve actually got three heavyweights in the room; I don’t know who’ll win the challenge match. We have a freshman and two seniors who’ve never wrestled before and it takes awhile to figure out technique and strategy. Half the battle is just getting somebody in a singlet — we’ve got bodies, it’s just a matter of who.”

Although many folks are ready to predict the Rams will win another team title at state, probably even more are betting Ortega will win his fifth championship, matching former Carlsbad High standout Michael Scott Owen (1994-98).

“You never know,” Nickal says. “You hate to say there isn’t (anybody who can beat him). There’s always a guy looking to knock off a defending state champ, but we don’t see that person right now. I don’t see him getting challenged too much in the state.”

“We always look forward to our tournament right out of the chute,” Nickal said. “It’s a chance to compete in front of the home fans. We’ve got over 20 teams coming in from out of state: the 4A defending champs from Colorado, 3A champs from Arizona.”

Nickal said he’s also looking forward to a “Night of Champions,” when his 5A champs will meet 3A champ Robertson and 4A champ Belen in duals in the RAC.

“Our next big event is the Reno Tournament of Champions — also in December,” he said. “We were fourth last year; we’re looking to get top-three this year. There are usually 80-90 teams from all over the West Coast.”

Nationally, despite their success, the Rams “haven’t been ranked,” Nickal said. “Max and Louis are ranked in the top 10 nationally in several wrestling publications. One has Max ranked as high as fourth, another has Louis ranked as high as sixth; among juniors, Louis is second. That’s nice. And Chris Morales received honorable mention in a national publication.”

Nickal said he expects Manzano to present a challenge of sorts for the blue trophy.

“They have quite a few state placers back and they were runners-up last year,” Nickal said. “They’re coming to the Shootout. Among the tough teams in our classification, Cibola and Eldorado. Eldorado might start a little slow because of the success they’ve had in football.”

Mike Santos, Cory Anderson, and newcomer Donn Fishburn, who moved here from California, where he coached high school wrestling, are Nickal’s assistants, with Fishburn coaching the junior varsity.

Ben Vigil is on the JV staff, while former Albuquerque High mat coach Tom Tice and former Rams wrestler Nick Kinnard are helping at the Mid-High.

“We’re off to a good start,” Nickal said. “We have to fill a few holes and we might have the best team we’ve had in three years. It should be a good year for us.”

Check out the Rams’ new Web site, rioranchowrestling.com, for more information and the complete schedule for the varsity and junior varsity.