The sounds and sights of wrestling could be heard throughout Durango High School, as four teams competed Wednesday afternoon in the Durango Quad tournament.
Durango went 1-2. The Demons first lost to Farmington, 34-30, before falling to Pagosa Springs, 40-30. Durango finished off the tournament by beating Mancos, 42-18.
Demons coach Jason Silva was pleased with how his team wrestled on Wednesday. Durango had won more matches against Farmington and Pagosa Springs, but didn’t have wrestlers at certain weights and therefore had to forfeit those matches.
“We had really good performances with Braxton Waddell at 175, Wyatt Bartel who actually went 1-2,” Silva said. “The two matches he lost to, they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the state in their classes and against Mancos, we bumped him up two weight classes and he still wrestled a really good competitive match.”
Ryan Dugan led the way once again for the Demons, as he won all three of his matches in the 120-pound division.
“He's put in a lot of work,” Silva said. “So he competes almost year-round, and it's showing.”
Against Farmington, Riley Belt won his match in the 144-pound division and Bartel took care of business in the 150-pound division. Waddell won an impressive match in the 175-pound division.
Durango won five of its nine matches against Pagosa Springs. Dugan was on form once again at 120 pounds, as were Asher Thiesson (126) and Riley Belt (150 pounds this time). Jacob Belt won his match in the 165-pound division.
The Demons cruised to victory against Mancos with Asher McKinnie (132) and Dylan Begay (150) scoring wins. Dugan, Thiesson, Belt and Waddell scored also points for the Demons.
“Ryan, Riley, Wyatt and Braxton are definitely kind of some of the team leaders,” Silva said. “We're a really young team. We really have two seniors on the team, one’s on varsity. So the future of the program is really bright. It's exciting to see these kids grow and mature and, and get better every week.”
Durango will return to the mat Jan. 6 for the Rocky Mountain Invite in Pagosa Springs.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
