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Dec. 1, 2001 BY JIM THOMAS Big. The Dolores High School varsity wrestling team, under head coach Bill Kralicek, will be "strong" in the upper weights. "That definitely is where we have the most wrestlers and where our strength lies. We had quite a few kids come out (16) and most of them are big. That is unusual for high school wrestling. That is why there are so many middle weight classes," he added. "Wrestling is a demanding sport. We had a few signup and then drop out before we even got started. I was right up front with them. They have to not only watch their weight but be willing to work hard in the wrestling room," he said. In fact, DHS veteran wrestlers are mainly from the upper weights. The Bears this year are led by Class 2A State Tournament heavyweight and undefeated champ Derek Thompson. An all-around athlete, Thompson should dominate again and is a likely choice to defend his title. Besides Thompson, other State qualifiers from a year ago include Casey Garvin, Colter Dunagan, Tyler Hicks, and Shawn Everett. All of them range from 152 to 215. Three newcomers to the team this season are also big kids. Two of them — Sean Boone and Dakota Cervenka — are at 160. Chris Patterson is a heavyweight. The lighter weight guys are Brian Lemon at 119 and Brian Swigart at 125. "That is where we are the weakest in our lineup. We just don’t have any lightweight kids out. In fact, we don’t have any in the middle," he noted. Kralicek said the Class AA San Juan Basin League will be strong as ever. He said Mancos, Dolores County, and Nucla will all have good teams. The league is always well represented among the top 10 teams when the State Tournament draws to a close. Dolores will have a tournament-oriented schedule this year with no duals, except for the league duals on Feb. 7 at Norwood. The Bears open the season all day today, Dec. 1, at the large Kirtland-Central Tournament in Kirtland, N.M. Kralicek said it should be a good tournament this year. A total of 12 teams from New Mexico, six from Colorado, four from Utah, and two from Arizona have been invited. Sargent is on tap Dec. 8. The Bears will go to another large New Mexico tournament at Bloomfield on Dec. 14-15 which closes the 2001 part of the season. Following the holidays, the Bears return to action at the Pagosa Springs Tournament on Jan. 12. They travel to the Grand County Tournament at Moab, Utah, on Jan. 19. The Ignacio Tournament is set for Jan. 26. The annual Terry Rockwell Memorial (Dolores Tournament) is scheduled for Feb. 7. Regionals will be held Feb. 15-16 at Palisade High School. State is set for the Pepsi Center in Denver Feb. 21-23. |
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