Dove Creek hosted its annual Dawg Fight wrestling tournament on Saturday and had several teams from the Four Corners compete.
Mancos had six wrestlers finish first and placed second as a team behind San Juan, Utah. Bayfield was right behind Mancos, crowning four champions and finishing third as a team. Ignacio, Dolores and Dove Creek also had wrestlers reach the podium.
Leading Bayfield were champions Keaton Pickering at 120 pounds, James Mars (138), Deegan Barnes (152) and Kobe Prior (170).
Pickering won his first match by technical fall and then pinned his next two opponents. In the final round, Pickering scored a 7-4 decision over Brandon Vannest of Mancos.
Mars, meanwhile, pinned the four opponents he faced in the first period to take first.
Barnes pinned three foes and scored a major decision in the first four rounds. In the fifth round, Barnes scored a tight, 7-4 decision over Tyson Beanland of Dove Creek.
Prior won his first three matches by fall to set up a championship bout with Tyler Barnes of Ignacio, who also pinned his first three opponents. In the final, however, Prior prevailed by an 18-8 major decision to finish first.
Several other Wolverines scored some wins to reach the podium. Mars Hunter pinned two opponents to place fourth at 106, Darron Boling went 2-1 at 113 to finish second, and Cael Blount pinned two foes to place fourth at 132. Also at 132, Caden Krueger pinned three foes, including Blount, to place third. Jordan Cundiff also picked up one win at 285 to place fifth.
Mancos, meanwhile, had six champs, three in third and another in fourth. Dillon Eichner pinned five wrestlers to win the 106-pound bracket. Isaiah Martinez won three matches by fall to take first at 113. Trevor Paquin also won three matches by pin to win the 126-pound weight. At 132, Levi Martin scored three falls, a technical fall and a major decision to finish first. Ayden Mathews won four matches by fall and a fifth by technical fall to win the 160-pound bracket. Lane Greenlee pinned his five opponents to win the 182-pound bracket. Mancos’ Vannest placed fourth at 120, Quinton Martinez placed third at 126, Ethan Oster took third at 138, and Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle placed third at 170.
Ignacio had six wrestlers compete and they all finished in fifth or better. Cayle McCoy placed fifth at 106, John Nossaman finished fifth at 152, John Riepel placed fourth at 160, Barnes finished second at 170, and Jeremy Roderick finished third at 285.
Ethen Robson led Dolores with a first-place finish at 195. Braden Schmittel (160) and Gabriel Allred (182) both finished third for the Bears.
Dove Creek, meanwhile, had two wrestlers place third to lead the team, including Jessy Gore at 113 and Tyson Beanland at 152.
San Juan (Utah) won the tournament with 165 points, followed by Mancos (163), Bayfield (124.5), Shiprock (70), Ignacio (41), Dolores (33), Dove Creek (21.5), Whitehorse Utah (18) and Monument Valley Utah (6).
