Picking up a pair of forfeits and a major-decision victory, Bayfield's Cody Speece was one of the Wolverines' bright spots at last Saturday's season-opening Wolverine Classic inside BHS Gymnasium.
The team, however, did not fare so well, beating 2A Center but losing to 2A Ignacio and 3A Intermountain League familiar Pagosa Springs and ending up in third place.
The Pirates claimed first with a 51-29 win over BHS, a 42-23 win over CHS and a close 42-34 win over IHS, which took second place.
Sam Westbrook, Joey Sandrey, Gus Roberts and Garrett Beebe all went 2-1 with a win and a forfeit victory each for BHS, while senior Colter McMenimen's day was cut short for precautionary reasons after a victory over IHS senior Iaasic Peña.
The Wolverines will next wrestle at 10 a.m. tomorrow at the Dove Creek 'Dawg Fight,' and next weekend, Dec. 19-20, at the Moon Valley Invitational in Phoenix, Ariz.
REVAMPED REGION: When the postseason arrives-and it will be faster than anyone would expect-Bayfield will find itself grappling against opponents often unseen during the regular season, except at larger-sized tournaments.
Several former Class 4A programs made the move down into 3A this year, and BHS will see a few-including preseason #8-ranked Delta-when it competes at the 3A-Region IV Championships in February 2015. Also in the meet's mix will be:
Olathe, Basalt, New Castle Coal Ridge, Gypsum Eagle Valley, Parachute Grand Valley, Gunnison, Craig Moffat County, Montezuma-Cortez, Pagosa Springs, Rifle and Steamboat Springs. Seventh in 3A's preseason rankings, but an odd inclusion to the region geographically, is far-off Sterling.
RANKINGS CHECK: In the first On The Mat individual rankings of the season, a pair of local prep wrestlers were afforded top-four status. Ignacio sophomore Stocker Robbins, who won his only match at the Classic, checked in at #2 at 113 pounds in 2A, while McMenimen was #4 at 145 in 3A.
