Montezuma-Cortez High School varsity wrestling squad made one its best showings as a team at the annual Warrior Classic at Grand Junction Central High School. The seventh-ranked Panthers finished seventh in the standings with 120 points.

"As usual, it was a great tournament and we saw some outstanding wrestlers," MCHS coach Mike Allison commented. "Overall, I’m very pleased. Most of our guys are wrestling very well right now. I know we should’ve had, could’ve had a few more placers."

Moffat County, a team Cortez will see at Regionals, won with 186. West Jordan, Utah came in second with 157. Middle Park took third with 155. Pueblo South 146, Alamosa 141, and Grand Junction High 132.5 were the only schools finishing ahead of the Panthers. Chasing them were Paonia 111.5, Rio Rancho, N.M. 109, Olathe 103.5, Hotchkiss 99.5, Thunderbird 97.5, Battle Mountain 96.5, Grand Junction Central 87.5, Pueblo Centennial 80.5, Meeker 73.5, Arapahoe 70.5, Brighton 70, Kennedy 68.5, Eagle Valley 61.5, Montrose and Nucla 58, Farmington, N.M. and Monte Vista 55, Delta 50.5, Durango 46, Pagosa Springs and Mojave, Nev. 45, and Rangley and Palisade 37.

Cole Allison, 160, captured the individual championship at his weight. He defeated a Paonia wrestler 2-0 in the finals. Joey Wynes, 152, came in third place winning 10-2 over a Fruita-Monument wrestler. Jared Carver, 130, won by fall in 4 minutes, 55 seconds over a Grand Junction Wrestler on the final day.

The Panthers did very well the first round of the tourney. Out of 14 matches, the Panthers drew two byes, picked up seven wins and lost several close ones. The second round Cortez hit and excellent Moffat County team in three weights and lost all three.

"We had some good matches," Allison added. "Joey Wynes in the second round got a wake-up call as he was taken to his back but he came back and he finally wound up pinning him in 3:51. Cole took a kid down from Arapahoe wrapped his legs around him and pinned him. We really did have some good matches."

In the third round (consolations), the Panthers were still doing well with several weights making it through. Jared Sanders, 103; Tyler Gray, 112; Carver; Nick Martinez, 135; Devin Newby, 145; Dan O’Neal, 189; and Shawn Randolph, 215; all advanced to the rounds the next morning. In the last rounds of consolations, many of them lost close matches and were eliminated.

Allison reported that for the most part, his wrestlers should good technique but had some problems finishing off. Several of the Panthers found out what it takes to do compete at a tournament of this caliber.

On their way to Grand Junction for the Warrior, they wrestled in a dual against Grand County (Moab, Utah) and won easily 56-12.

Sanders won by fall in 52 seconds. Gray won even faster in 30 seconds. Lyle Bennally, 119, won by pin in 3:23. Travis Spruell, 125, lost a heartbreaker 5-6. Carver whipped his opponent 14-4. Martinez won 11-8. Shane Chadwick, 140, won by fall in 1:48 and Newby won by fall in 50 seconds. Wynes won by fall in 2:29. Allison won by fall in 3:13. Josh Knapp, 171, dominated his opponent, winning 12-1. O’Neal lost a tight contest 7-9. Randolph won 4-2 and Evan Frost, heavyweight, was pinned in 1:50.

The Panthers will take some time off for the Christmas-New Year’s break and then get ready for the final push to Regionals and State in mid-February.