The effort and heart his wrestlers displayed during the 15th annual Wolverine Classic on Saturday in Bayfield impressed Bayfield High School head coach Todd McMenimen.
He would have liked to see a few more wins as a result, though.
The Wolverines finished third out of four teams at the tournament with a 1-2 record.
“We’re real green. I told them afterwards, I’m really not disappointed in how we wrestled,” McMenimen said. “I expected a few more wins out of it today then we ended up getting, but the effort is there.”
They beat Center and lost to Ignacio and Pagosa Springs.
Pagosa Springs won the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record, and IHS finished second at 2-1.
“My whole team impressed me. I’m tickled to death with all of them,” IHS second-year head coach Cody Haga said. “They all put the time in. They all put in the same effort. They all deserve to win. That’s what it boils down to.”
IHS junior Tyler Beebe stood out for the Bobcats, winning the outstanding wrestler award for the lower weights.
He finished 3-0 in the tournament with a pin and one victory by forfeit.
“It was a different experience going from a lighter weight to a heavier weight,” said Beebe, son of Kyle Beebe and Carrie Bonnie, who competed at 132 pounds Saturday. “It’s a rush. I had fun.”
Ignacio’s returning state runner-up, sophomore Stocker Robbins, won his only match of the day via pin and picked up two forfeits at 113 pounds.
Ethan Appenzeller and Lorenzo Peña also finished 3-0 for IHS, at 138 pounds and 145 pounds, respectively.
Timmy Plehinger was 2-1 for the Bobcats at 160 pounds, and Isaac Peña finished 2-1, with his only loss coming to Bayfield’s Colter McMenimen at 145 pounds.
It ended up being Colter McMenimen’s last match of the day. He sat out the rest of the tournament with dizziness. McMenimen suffered a concussion recently, and the coaching staff wanted to lean toward caution.
As for the rest of the Wolverines, Cody Speece was the only one to finish 3-0 with a major decision and three forfeits.
Garrett Beebee, Gus Roberts, Joey Sandrey and Sam Westbrook all went 2-1 with a win and a forfeit victory each for BHS.
Westbrook is in his first year of high school wrestling after spending time away from the sport since peewees.
“Before the match, it was pretty nerve-wrecking. Once I started, it came back to me like I’d been doing it all along,” said Westbrook, son of Kirstin and Mark Westbrook. “People told me I have a lot of heart.”
The Wolverines and Bobcats next wrestle at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Dove Creek tournament in Dove Creek.
“The heart’s there, the drive’s there, they’re going hard in the room. We just don’t understand where our hips need to be, and we get ourselves out of position,” Todd McMenimen said. “That and over-exuberance some of the time. Those things, the only way you can take care of that is mat time.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
