The annual Terry Rockwell Wrestling Tournament , Saturday, Feb. 5, at Dolores, offered local high school teams one last chance to look each other over before the Regional Tournament at Palisade and at the same time go up against some tough big school competition.

Bill Kralicek, head coach of the hosting Bears, had predicted a tough meet. With twelve teams on hand, including Class 2A San Juan League teams from Dolores, Dolores County, Mancos and Nucla and Norwood, competition certainly was fierce in all of the weight classes.

Although it did not take any individual team championships, Shiprock, N.M., showed good team strength with second, third and fourth places on the way to amassing a total of 138 team points for the meet championship. San Juan League powerhouse Nucla took second with 135. Bloomfield, N.M., the largest school at the meet, finished up third in the team standings with 108 1/2 points.

San Juan League champion Dolores County held fourth place when the dust had settled with 98 points while Dolores toted up at 87 for fifth with Mancos at a distant sixth with 58.

Rounding out the second six in the team standings were Antonito (53), Montezuma-Cortez junior varsity (46), Norwood (33), Newcomb, N.M., (17), Tohachi, N.M., (13) and Centennial which did not score.

"Shiprock showed their team strength by coming in the back door in the tournament," Kralicek said. "They’re a strong team all the way through and that’s what you need to win a tournament this size."

Some very good individual performances were featured as well. Philip Wilson, Mancos 160 pounder, was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament in the upper weight divisions while Dove Creek’s 103 pound Kyle Riddell got the nod for the lower division ranks. Both wrestlers emerged champions in their respective weight classes.

Quinten Seevers, 103 pound grappler from Dolores, had the quickest pin of the tournament. Competing for the first time since breaking an arm earlier in the season, Seevers ended his first match in the preliminary round with a 14 second fall.

Wilson’s championship bout against defending state 2A champion Tryllen Richards of Nucla had all the drama of a World Wrestling Federation bout but without the hype. It was not the first time the two not-so-friendly rivals had met. Earlier, during the San Duals in Mancos, both had been ejected when their passions got a little out of hand. Both wrestlers felt they had something to prove, and it took regulation plus overtime for Wilson to pull out a 3-1 upset.

After a deadlocked first period, Richards went ahead 1-0 in the second with an escape. Wilson scored an escape in the third period to tie the score, and there it stood after three periods of regulation time. The first overtime period had almost expired when Wilson got the upper hand and scored with a takedown with just five seconds left on the clock.

In the 103 pound championship bout, Riddel scored almost at will against Tyler Hare of Bloomfield. Riddell racked up 10 points while Hare managed just two on a second period reversal.

Fellow Bulldog Nick Montgomery had a come from behind win in the 112 championship against Darryl Muniz, also from Bloomfield. Trailing 5-2 going into the third period, Montgomery scored on two escapes, a couple of near falls and a penalty point to take a 9-5 win.

Scott Koppenhafer of Mancos took a 12-9 win his 125 championship match up with Shiprock’s Paxston Buck. After trading takedowns and escapes, the two were tied 3-3 after a period. In the second period, though, Koppenhafer got the upper hand with a near fall, escape and takedown while up a point on an escape. Buck fought back with a takedown and near fall in the final period, but Koppenhafer preserved his lead and won with an escape and a reversal.

The 135 pound championship went to Jade Huskey of Dove Creek after a 6-3 win over Bloomfield wrestler Huston Kowach. Huskey added to a 2-0 first period lead with a reversal and takedown in the second period while giving up an escape point. After giving up two points on a reversal in the third, Huskey held his opponent off.

Justin Peters, Dolores, kept his winning ways up and took the 152 pound championship from Jeremy Spor of Norwood. Peters led all the way, taking a 7-0 lead into the third period. He notched a pin in 5:47.

Dolores wrestlers took championships in the top two weight categories, both with falls.

At 215, Derek Thompson pinned Cory Dillon from Nucla in 5:52. Steve Snyder scored a 3:33 pin over Dove Creek’s Bill Ransom.

In the consolation bracket at 112 pounds, Justin Reed of Dolores placed third while Daniel Wilson, Mancos, took fourth. Dove Creek’s Casey Spitzer finished fourth at 119 pounds and 125 pound fourth-place honors went to Shaun Everett.