DELTA COUNTY – Daemon Christner said he wouldn’t trade his Bayfield High School boys wrestling experience for anything.
Though ultimately denied fourth place at 150 pounds Saturday afternoon, Christner proudly capped his career pinning Thornton-based Skyview’s Juan Rodriguez to not only depart Delta H.S. and the 2026 Class 3A-Region III Championships a winner, but help the BHS boys return to La Plata County with an eighth-place team finish.
All told, three of head coach Adam Mars’ men are heading to state, with the Wolverines totaling 82.5 points at regionals and ending up ultimately tying Basalt. Both bunches, however, ended up 35.5 points behind seventh-place Parachute Grand Valley. Alamosa, meanwhile, captured first by piling up an overwhelming 297.5 points – leaving runner-up Delta (158.5) and third-place Denver Mullen (153.5) far behind. Skyview ended up with 144 points, and Gilcrest-based Valley (124) finished fifth.
Though the capable Christner won’t be sporting his singlet inside Ball Arena in Denver, three teammates will as each adds to his own Wolverine legacy. Senior Reese Appenzeller qualified for the 2025-26 campaign’s grand finale by ending up fourth at 144 pounds after a second tourney loss to fellow Intermountain Leaguer Rusty Snyder of Montezuma-Cortez.
But by way of having dominated Craig-based Moffat County’s Kaison Martinez by 15-1 major decision before losing again to Snyder, Appenzeller’s state spot was secured by a tourney-ending no-contest win over Martinez.
Senior 175-pounder Justin Westbrook went 3-1 and earned third place after beating DHS’ Ben Morfitt by a 15-3 major. Westbrook’s first regional win also came – via a 12-8 decision – at Morfitt’s expense, and he also defeated Alamosa’s Alexis Chavez 2-1 but was pinned in 0:40 by Mullen’s Isaak Chavez.
Finally, junior Connor Martindale ended up Bayfield’s only representative vying for a title beneath the darkened gym’s spotlight and seized the moment. Pitted against DHS’ Braylon Davis, Martindale built up a 5-2 lead through two minutes, then overcame a three-point Davis maneuver early in the second period to score a go-ahead escape point plus three points for taking Davis down to his own mat.
Martindale then pinned the Panther 57 seconds into the period, and then humorously rode an imaginary steed off the mat and, effectively, to the Mile High City after going 4-0 at Region III with three pins and a 19-3 technical-fall rout of Basalt’s Graham Rose.
Additionally, for Bayfield, Diego Cuddie went 1-3 at 106 and placed sixth after losing by medical forfeit to Delta’s Jenesis Naranjo.
GOING HARD IN HOTCHKISS: Four of Roy Westbrook’s Wolverines girls wrestlers were also in action on Friday and Saturday and just roughly 21 miles to the east at North Fork High School in Hotchkiss. Three of them left the Class 4A-Region III Championships looking forward to grappling inside Ball Arena.
Jade Kehoe went a runner-up 2-1 at 140 pounds with a first-round 15-0 tech of Ignacio’s Ireland Cates, then pinned NFHS’ Danika Queen 36 ticks into the second period before losing via pin against Meeker’s Gracie Varner. Elly Coey ended up 4-1 for the tourney but settled for third at 120 after pinning Nucla’s Kynnlie McCabe (whom she’d previously defeated via 12-1 major decision).
Violet Christner went 2-2 and placed fourth at 100 pounds by beating Meeker’s Adailin Valenzuela.
In the regional’s final team standings, Bayfield ended up placing 12th after scoring 51.5 points.
The state championships will get underway at noon Thursday with 2A/3A boys preliminary/quarterfinal action along with the 4A girls prelims/quarters – meaning Bayfield’s half-dozen representatives will be active almost immediately.
