Dove Creek captures second at Paonia

Dove Creek captures second at Paonia

Jan. 17, 2001

By Jim Thomas
Journal Sports Editor

Dolores County, despite not having its no. 1 103-pounder and not have very many wrestlers at the upper weights, captured second place last Saturday, Jan. 12, at the annual Paonia Tournament.

"This was a good indicator of how well we might do once we get to our region because everyone was there except for Mancos," DCHS head coach Shane Baughman said. "We did a lot of good things and it was close all the way to the end. We did not have a 215-pounder and the Nucla kid placed second which put them over the top."

2A no. 2 ranked Nucla won with 114.5 points. DCHS came in second with 140, Hayden third at 122, Hotchkiss fourth 109, Rangely fifth 106, followed by West Grand 104, Paonia 87, Norwood 72, Sorocco 69, Dolores 63, and North Park 28.

"I thought our kids came back from the break in pretty good shape. They actually did better than I expected," he said.

Kyle Riddell, the defending 2A state champ at 112, captured first place with a 4-0 tournament mark. He recently got back down to that weight. He defeated the no. 1 ranked Nucla wrestler 5-4 in the finals. He was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament.

Matt Beanland, 119, also went 4-0 to win his weight classification. Baughman said he wrestled perhaps, "the tournament of his life."

Casey Spitzer, 125, won with a 4-0 mark to win his weight class. "Casey is just wrestling real well right now," he remarked.

Randy Curtis, 135, also had a good day with a 4-0 mark to capture first. Baughman reported he, "looked great. He beat a good kid from Sorocco at 10-0 in the finals."

Kyle Krafka, 171, took third place with a 3-1record. First-year grappler Bru Meyer, 189, did not place (2-2) but he did pin the no. 5 ranked kid in the state.

Clint Barry (103), Zach Larimore (112), Jake Williams (112), Trinity Cressler (130), Drew Buffington (135), and Vern Hassell (145) also finished with 2-2 marks but did not place.

A scheduled dual against Shiprock will still take place beginning at 5 p.m. today, Jan. 17, at Dolores High School Gym. However, the dual will not become duals as Dolores and Durango JVs are bringing wrestlers. DCHS and Durango JVs will battle at 5 p.m.; DCHS vs. Shiprock at 6:30; Dolores vs. Shiprock at 8 p.m. and Dolores vs. DHS JVs at 8:45 p.m. The times are approximately but Dolores coach Bill Kralicek said the matches should start about on time or be a little later.

DHS also competed at Paonia and placed three wrestlers. Shawn Everett came in first place with a 3-0 meet record at 145. Colter Dunagan came in third at 3-1 at 189. Derek Thompson captured first at heavyweight with a thrilling 1-0 win over Fred Spor of Norwood in the finals. Defending 2A heavyweight champ Thompson is now 12-0 on the season and he has not lost a match since he was a sophomore.

Mancos High School wrestlers competed Friday evening and all day Saturday, Jan. 11-12, at the annual Navajo Nation Tournament at Shiprock (N.M.) High School.

"It was mediocre for us as a team," a slightly disheartened MHS head coach Travis Bryant reported. "We did have several individuals who did an oustanding job for us, though. I guess we came out flat is the only way I say what happened. This might have been a mid-season low for us, but we will come back."

One of the few bright spots was the performance of Scott Koppenhafer. He captured the tourney title at 140 pounds with a 4-0 record. He was chosen Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament. Bryant said, "Kop is coming into his own. He is doing an excellent job."

Another bright spot was 103-pounder Vince Bazile who also went undefeated (4-0) and won his weight class. Bryant said that Bazile really "excelled the whole tournament."

Anthony Maestas captured third place at 119. Chase Davis, who has been coming along and had some very close matches, came in sixth at 125. Kelly Mitchell took third at 145. Victor Rosales, 160, grabbed sixth.

As far as the team competition finished, Chinle, Ariz., took first place going away. Kirtland-Central came in second, host Shiprock third, Farmington JVs fourth, and Mancos fifth. A total of 18 teams participated.

It only gets tougher from here on out.

Grand County Tournament in Moab, Utah, is next on the agenda on Saturday, Jan. 19.

"This will be a tough one. Monticello will be there (2001 Utah Class 3A state team champ) plus a lot of schools from our region. I know Nucla, Norwood, Dolores, and Dolores County are all going to be there," Bryant reported.