The Bayfield High School wrestling team took fifth place out of 14 teams at the Pagosa Springs Tournament on Saturday as senior Sam Westbrook won at the 285-weight class. The Wolverines took home seven total medals on the day.
“I was very impressed with how we wreslted,” Bayfield head coach Neil Barnes said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald. “There were a lot of improvements. We were down on conditioning with the break and the three snow days, but I was very pleased.”
Bayfield’s Ryan Nava took runner up in the 145-weight class, Garrett Beebe took sixth at the 113-weight class, Macoy Michaeli took third in 160, Cash Snooks took fourth at 170, Taylor Winch took fifth at 138, Jake Sandrey took fifth at 132 and Cody Speece took sixth at 113.
For the Ignacio High School wrestling team, the Bobcats finished fourth overall with two tournament champions. Both Lorenzo Peña and Ethan Appenzellar went 4-0 on the day, and both remain undefeated on the season. Peña won at 160 and Appenzeller won at 138.
Stocker Robbins and Timmy Plehinger both took third place in their respective weight classes. Robbins wrestled at 113 and Plehinger at 152.
Tyler Beebe took seventh at 132, Dalton Mickey took sixth at 145, Mark Kempinski also took seventh at 170 and Mikey Cruz took seventh at 285.
“I thought we wrestled really well,” Ignacio head coach Jordan Larsen said. “I thought a couple of individuals showed a lot of heart.”
Durango finished 12th at the Pagosa Springs Tournament, but head coach Leo Garand is proud of the progress his team is showing.
“I noticed a lot of fundamental mistakes early in the season so we’ve been working on technique and drills for much of the season so far,” Garand said. “We’re starting to turn the corner with our techniques and I can tell that the guys are getting more and more confident even in the matches they lose.”
The best showing for the Demons came at 160 where Cole Gustavson advanced all the way to the championship match only to lose by a decision to undefeated Ignacio wrestler Lorenzo Peña.
Sophomore Manasseh Brockus defeated Bloomfield senior Angel Rivera winning a 6-0 decision to take third place at 195 pounds.
After losing his first match, David Etz ran off three consecutive wins and beat Aztec’s Jared O’Toole to win the fifth place match at 220. Tristian Martinez finished in sixth place at 126 and Cameron Jacobs won the seventh place match at 120 against Cosme Cordova of Center.
Though they both finished 0-2, Garand was also pleased with the performances of Kaleb McMunn and Ty Thorsheim who have missed much of the season.
“Caleb brings a lot of energy, a solid work ethic and a great attitude to the team so we’re happy to have him back,” Garand said. “Ty Thorsheim hasn’t wrestled since middle school and he went up against the eventual champion at 138. Ty didn’t care who he went up against and he was fearless out there. I was so proud of his effort and it was an inspiration to me and the rest of the guys.”
The Demons will be back on the mat at 6 p.m. Thursday for a home dual against Montezuma-Cortez. Thursday is also Alumni Night for DHS wrestling.
“This program has a storied history and we’d like to connect with the guys who laid the foundation here,” said Garand. “I’m a firm believer in giving back and we want to recognize the alums who made this a significant program, thank them and present them with a token of gratitude.”
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