By Jim Thomas

This time of year the high school wrestlers are busy participating in various tournaments.

The Panthers, who just returned from a triumphant engagement at the Norwest Wells Fargo Invitational (Monument Valley High School) in Kayenta, Ariz. last Friday and Saturday, Dec. 10-11, will compete in the annual Warrior Classic this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 17-18, at Grand Junction Central High School. Wrestlers from Dolores, Dolores County, and Mancos will be in action at Bloomfield, N.M.

"What can you say about the Warrior that hasn’t already been said," Montezuma-Cortez High School head coach Mike Allison commented. "This is Colorado’s premier (in-season) wrestling tournament. This is the tournament we try to get ready for before Christmas. I try to build everything up to the Warrior. I want to invite all wrestling fans to come up because this is by far the best wrestling tournament on the Western Slope and any where around.

"We will get a chance to see to a lot of good wrestlers and get to see some who we will see later on in our league duals and at Regionals. This tournament will give us another measuring block to see how well we are coming along," he added.

The first matches will begin at 10 a.m. Friday and continue with three rounds until late that evening. Action will get under way at the same time Saturday morning and continue through the consolation and championship finals that afternoon.

The Bulldogs, Blue Jays and Bears all will be at the big Bloomfield Invitational this Friday and Saturday.

"This is a long (hours) tournament," Mancos coach Travis Bryant said of the tourney. "It is very tough because nationally-ranked Aztec will be there." Action begins at 10 a.m. Friday and continues well into early evening on Saturday.

Dolores County head coach Shane Baughman said the Bloomfield Tournament will be the toughest regular-season tournament his kids will participate in all season.

"If all the 25 teams show up, this will be the best one ever. Aztec (nationally ranked) will be there as will many large New Mexico schools," he noted.

The Panthers will have plenty of experience and momentum after winning the Norwest Wells Fargo Invitational with 224 points. Aztec, N.M., II came in second with 194, while Gallup, N.M. came in third with 172.5, Bloomfield, N.M. 166, Kirtland, N.M. 150, Monticello, Utah 147.5, Piedra Vista (Farmington, N.M.) 129, Ganado, Ariz. 127, Shiprock, N.M. 123, Dolores County 102, Kanab, Utah 98, Hurricane, Utah 82, Red Mesa, Ariz. 62, Grey Hills, Ariz. 55.5, Monument Valley, Ariz. 55, Whitehorse (Aneth, Utah) 49.5, Pinon, N.M. 38, and Monument Valley, Utah 7.

"I have never been in a tournament where each kid got at least four to five matches in pool play. We started at 1:30 Friday and we wrestled until 11 p.m. And then we wrestled most of the day on Saturday. We came to wrestle and it was great. Most of my wrestlers ended with eight to 10 matches when it was done. We went to get matches and experience and that’s what we accomplished. I believe it will pay off in dividends at the end of the season."

At least every Panther placed in the tourney. Joey Wynes, who won by fall in 5:04 in the title bout, took first at 152 pounds and now has a 10-0 record. Cole Allison, who won 5-2 in the title match, won at 160 and now has an 11-0 mark. Shawn Randolph won by fall in 2:18 for first place and now has a 9-0 record at 215.

Dan O’Neal, 189, won by fall in 3:28 in the match for third place and now has an 11-2 mark. Josh Knapp, 171, won by fall in 3:26 for third and now has an 8-3 record. Jared Carver, 130, won by fall in 3:06 for third at 130 and has a 10-1 record. Evan Frost, heavy, lost by fall in 2:51 and settled for fourth place (2-4 mark). Nick Martinez, 135, was pinned in 5:53 and took fourth (8-4). Jared Sanders, 103, won by fall in 3:26 to take fifth (6-5). Tyler Gray, 112, lost 1-12 for sixth (7-4). Travis Spruell, 125, lost 1-5 for eighth (5-6). Lyle Benally, 119, did not place (5-5). Devan Newby, 145, did not place (7-5). No one wrestled at 140.

The Panthers had an excellent first matches of pool play, according to Allison, as they had 31 falls and 4 against. They had nine falls in the first round of the tournament portion the next day. Cortez had nine make the semifinals and three went through. The Panthers led the tournament from beginning to end.

Dolores County also competed at Monument Valley and all six wrestlers did well.

Jade Huskey (140) won his weight division. Kyle Riddell (103) and Nick Montgomery (112) both captured third place. Casey Spitzer (119) finished in fourth and Bill Ransom (heavyweight) placed fifth. Randy Curtis (125) did not place but finished with a 2-2 mark at the event.

"I thought Huskey looked very good. He pinned most of his challengers in the first round until the finals where he won 4-3 after wrestling a little too conservatively. Spitzer did well by placing considering he was in a tough weight class. Ransom went 4-4 and is improving. Montgomery did not have a good tournament for him," Baughman commented.

Mancos High School captured fifth at the first Cedaredge Tournament last weekend. The Blue Jays took fifth place, finishing out of fourth by a half-point. Basalt — an up-and-coming team — took first, Hayden finished second, host Cedaredge third, and Gunnison fourth.

"This tournament was more our caliber. We competed last year at Delta which had mostly 4A and 5A schools. This one had some 2A and 3A schools. But we still saw some top-notch wrestlers. I was very pleased we went to this new tournament," Bryant added.

Several MHS grapplers placed. Scott Koppenhafer, 130, was the only winner. Daniel Wilson, 112; Victor Rosales, 145; Phillip Wilson, 160; and Jeremiah Muniz, 125; all took seconds. Chris Cready, 145, captured third. Cody Montoya, 119, came in fourth.

The Bears competed last Saturday at the annual Sargent Invitational.

Six of Dolores’ eight wrestlers placed. Three of those won individual weight championships and three others came in fourth. Capturing titles were Justin Peters at 152, Derek Thompson 215, and Steve Snyder heavyweight. Coming in fourth were Justin Reed 112, Shawn Everett 125, and Jonathan Larsen 130. Peters was chosen the meet’s outstanding wrestler in the upper weights.

"All of our champions pinned their way through the tournament," Dolores head coach Bill Kralicek reported. "This was a good tournament for us. We are showing a great deal of improvement. And we hope it will continue from week to week. That is our goal, anyway."