Panthers looking for yet another dual match victory

Panthers looking for yet another dual match victory

Dec. 21, 2000

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

Montezuma-Cortez High School already is showing that it has a pretty good varsity dual team.

The Panthers had a good dual team a year ago and they are every bit as good this year, if not better.

They will visit Ignacio in a dual at 6 p.m. today. The Panthers, so far this season, own a 49-16 dual win over Shiprock and a 53-25 dual win over Bayfield.

MCHS is coming off a dual win 48-36 against Grand County at Moab, Utah, on Dec. 14. The Panthers then competed the next two days at the 24th annual Warrior Classic in Grand Junction at Mesa State College. It is the largest pre-holiday tournament in the Southwest United States. It features some of the best high school wrestlers from all divisions from Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. The Panthers finished 17th out of 30 teams in that tournament last weekend, Dec. 15-16.

Against the Red Devils, the Panthers were open at two weights (130 and 275) because of injuries. Tyler Gray was injured at 125 so Cade Fox dropped from 130. At heavyweight, Elias Lehi did not wrestle because of nursing a shoulder injury. So the Panthers gave up 12 points.

Richard Yake, 103, opened the match with an easy win by taking down his opponent and pinning him 59 seconds. Ryan Maestas, 112, lost quickly by fall (31 seconds) to Moab’s Matt Keough. Lyle Benally, who has been wrestling so sound at 119, dominated his match and won by pin in 2:39. Cade Fox, 125, won by fall in 2:31 over Moab’s Shawn Bull.

Jared Carver, 135, continues to look impressive with a couple takedowns and near fall before pinning in 2:40. Nick Martinez, 140, also is looking good. He won easily with a pin in 33 seconds. P.J. James, 145, had no problems winning in 39 seconds. Freshman Kyle Archibeque, wrestling with the varsity for the first time this season at 152, won by fall in 5:02 over Moab’s Chad Bishoff.

Dan O’Neal, 160, led 6-2 after the first period. He started on the bottom, and scored on a reversal. O’Neal then put Moab’s Sam Francis’ shoulders to the mat in 2:17. Cole Allison, 171, took Moab’s Jacob Adams down and it was all over in 36 seconds. Cortez’ Ryan Gray, 189, came up too high early in the third period and was pinned in 4:56. Panther Michael LeCompt, 215, made several escapes in the first period but he couldn’t escape the clutches of Adam Zmerzlikar who pinned him in 2:50.

"We do have a pretty good dual team, better than I thought we would be at this point in the season," MCHS head coach Mike Allison said. "Had we not given up those points, you could have probably added 12 more points to our score. I was pleased with our effort."

The Panthers then traveled to Grand Junction after the match to get ready for the Warrior.

"Some cases with the Warrior we showed very good and in other cases we did not. We need to learn to wrestler smarter. When we can do that our technique will get better and better," Coach Allison said.

Several kids, Lyle Benally and Richard Yake, and Cole showed they could wrestler with anybody.

"We just need to step up and win those big ones," he added. "Plus Jared Carver, Nick Martinez, and Danny O’Neal also wrestled well and showed they can do some things. They just have to believe more in themselves. But they still have got to get the job done and that’s the bottom line."

Going into the Champion Quarterfinals, the Panthers still had three wrestlers in Carver, Martinez and Allison still alive. But only Allison, who won by fall in that round, advanced into the championship semifinals. Allison by fall again but was not able to win the finals (he won at 160 pounds a year ago) as Tanner Linscomb from Thunder Bird of Phoenix, stayed on his feet and decisioned him 8-2. It was the first match Allison has lost since losing at State two years ago (he won 160 pounds last Feburary with a 41-0 record).

"There were 10 Warrior Classic champions returning from last year and only four of those repeated. In Cole’s match, Linscomb (two-time Arizona state champ) stayed on his feet. He decided he didn’t want to wrestle us (Cole) on the mat. I can’t take anything away from him because he (Linscomb) wrestled smart and took us out of our style. He wrestled a very smart match and he won," coach Allison noted.

Benally and Carver both advanced throught the tournament before falling in the championship semi consolations. Martinez lost in the consolation quarters.

Moffat County won the team title 181.5 points followed by West Jordan (Utah) with 151.5. Taking third place was Thunder Bird with 135.5. Roosevelt (Denver) came in fourth with 128 with Alamosa taking fifth at 126. The Southwestern Colorado was well represented as Grand Junction High finished 11th, Fruita-Monument 15th, MCHS 17th, Palisade 18th, and Central of Grand Junction 24th.

Dolores County competed for this last time in 2000 at the annual Bloomfield, N.M., Invitational last weekend. But only one Bulldog placed.

Kyle Riddell finished in second place at 112 pounds. He was decisioned 4-6 in the finals.

"He really wrestled well," DCHS head coach Shane Baughman commented. "He wrestled a good guy in the finals (from San Juan High). It was a close match all the way."

Casey Spitzer, 125, went 3-2 but did not place. That was a disappointment for Baughman.

"I think Casey realizes he needs to be at 119. He will be at that weight in January," he said.

Randy Curtis, 130, went 0-2.

Because Baughman has such a young team this season, dominated by freshman, he wrestled several of his youngsters on the junior varsity side. Vern Hassell, 135, placed second while Kyle Krafka, 215, came in third.

This was the last match of the 2000 part of the season.

"We have a long way to go. But the good news is that our young guys are not discouraged," he added.