Mancos favored to win SJBL Duals

Mancos favored to win SJBL Duals

Jan. 25, 2001

BY JIM THOMAS
Journal Sports Editor

They may be the odds-on favorite to win the San Juan Basin League wrestling title. The league duals are set for today, Jan. 25, in Nucla. The first match should get under way around 5 p.m.

The Blue Jays, who should be back at full strength after missing four wrestlers from the Paonia Tournament last weekend, Jan. 20., are the favorites along with the Mustangs.

"It really is a matter of who has the most wrestlers and can fill weights by this time of the season. Of course, we will have to wrestle well to win it," Mancos High School wrestling coach Travis Bryant said.

"We should have everyone back and be in the heat of things. I did not have four wrestlers at Paonia because of various reasons," he added.

Dolores County is in the middle of a rebuilding year after losing most of their wrestlers to graduation a year ago. Dolores will take only four wrestlers to Nucla as the Bears are low with numbers right now. Norwood, which has not even fielded a team recently, has a good team this year. Nucla is loaded with seniors and but has had some players missing lately for various reasons. Telluride does not have a wrestling program.

The Blue Jays are coming off a fifth-place performance at Paonia.

Brandon Baumgardner, 103 pounds, came in second in the under division. Anthony Mestas placed fourth at 112. Daniel Wilson grabbed third in 119. Jeremy Muniz and Scott Koppenhafer won titles at 130 and 135, respectively. Cody Montoya, 140, came in fourth and Philip Wilson, 160, took second.

Dolores coach Bill Kralicek will only take four wrestlers to the league duals.

"Right now we are down to four because a couple of personal problems," he said. "We can’t look at the team score because we won’t be in it. Individually, we want to win as many matches as we can because it will count towards seeding at regionals. I wish, like last year when we shuffled in some and finished second, that we could do that this year."

The Bears are coming off a sixth-place finish out of 11 teams Jan. 11 at the Paonia Tournament despite the lack of numbers. Shawn Everett, 140, came in fourth. Tyler Hicks, 215, also placed fourth. Derek Thompson, heavyweight, won.

"Going to the Paonia Tournament was good because we got a good look at some of those northern teams from our region," Kralicek added.

The Bears traveled to the Grand County Tournament in Moab, Utah, last Saturday, Jan. 20. Dolores took only four wrestlers but all of them placed. Everett came in second after losing 6-11 decision in the finals. Casey Garvin, 171, won with a pin for third place. Hicks came in second after losing a close decision. Thompson ran his record to an impressive 16-0 after winning in the championship match with a pin.

Dolores County had two champions at the Grand County Tournament. Kyle Riddell, 103, defeated Casey Eldridge of Montrose 12-2. Casey Spitzer, 119, defeated Mike Ivie of Ducheine, Utah, 7-0 and was named the Outstanding Wrestler for the Lower Weights. In the sub-103 weight class (a lot of 103s), David Hannay came in fourth. Randy Curtis, 130, and Kyle Krafka, 215, both placed fourth.

"As for the team title at the league duals, we have no chance this year," Shane Baughman, DCHS head coach, noted. "We will just focus on individuals. I think Kyle and Casey should do well. We will hope for some surprise wins for the others."

Montezuma-Cortez High School wrestlers traveled to the Rifle Tournament last weekend.

"It was like a mini regional tournament," MCHS head coach Mike Allison reported. "The field was very good. The kids did a good job. It had a different format this year with teams competing in duals. The winners then came out and the teams placed."

Moffat County won the team title and was followed by Rifle, Delta, Montrose, Cortez, Pueblo Centennial, Steamboat Springs, and Summit.

Individually for the Panthers, they had six wrestlers make the medal round. Cole Allison, 171, came in first. He pinned Brandon Dante of Moffat County in 1:23 and was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament. Tyler Gray, 119, was decisioned 1-9 by Moffat County’s Kyle Koster. Richard Yake, 103, won by fall in 36 seconds over Rifle’s Rodney Long. Jared Carver, 140, was decisioned 3-4 by Ryan Linscome of Moffat County and he settled for fourth. Dan O’Neal, 160, lost 3-6 to Gaven Madsen of Montrose for fourth. Ryan Gray, 189, lost by fall in 2:28 to Cody Hudson of Delta for fourth.

They will return to Southwestern League dual action as the Panthers travel to take on Central of Grand Junction at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, and then travel to Fruita at 10 a.m. and Delta at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 27.