With what ended up being a four-man division comprised of three sophomores and a freshman, it's perhaps a good thing heavyweight Sam Westbrook wasn't at last Saturday's Dove Creek 'Dawg Fight' as the carnage could have been disastrous.
Absent with leave (an ACT exam the reason), the highly-rated Bayfield senior showed mercy to a degree, allowing Farmington sophomore Dante Norberto-a non-placing 2-2 at last winter's NMAA Class 5A State Championships-to enjoy a 3-0 run to first place, helping the Scorpions rack up a winning 161 points in the process.
But led by senior Ryan Nava, down to his expected weight of 145 pounds, the Wolverines still managed to amass a second-place score of 108 with individual titles also coming from senior Macoy Michaeli at 170 and junior Jake Sandrey at 138.
Locked in against FHS junior Traedan Allison, sixth place at 138 in the aforementioned 5A Championships last season, Nava gutted out a painful 5-4 win via a two-point takedown inside the final five regulation seconds.
5-for-5 at his weight, Michaeli clinched his title with a first-period (0:28) pin of 2A Ignacio's Cesar Pedregon, and Sandrey was also 5-0 after pinning FHS' Jake Linnens in 41 seconds.
Junior Garrett Beebe (4-1 at 138, losing only to Sandrey by 4-1 decision) and sophomore Daniel Westbrook (3-1 at 182) scored second-place points for Bayfield at their respective weights, while senior Cody Speece (4-1 at 120) finished third at his by defeating Montezuma-Cortez's Stevie Fuentes 8-4.
Sophomore Colby Baker placed fourth at 106 pounds, as did freshman John Foutz at 170. Senior Chris Kane (152) and junior Lane Grimwood (160) each placed fifth, while sophomore Nate Howell (145) and freshman Shane Moore (152) each finished eighth.
Up next, the Wolverines will wrap up the pre-holiday portion of their 2016-17 schedule at this Saturday's Piedra Vista Panther Classic, hosted by PVHS in Farmington and set to start at 9 a.m
