Getting more matches in two days than many wrestlers do in two tournaments, Bayfield senior Colter McMenimen made his first seven at last weekend's Moon Valley Invitational count, and put himself in position to bring back an individual title from Phoenix, Arizona.
Prior to competing against Wacey Wood, of Snowflake, Ariz., McMenimen had been dominant, winning his first three tests by a 12-0 major decision and two pins. After a bye in the fourth round of pool-play grappling-seven people comprised a pool, and McMenimen's 145-pound division had four-the Wolverine resumed his run by tech-falling his next three foes by a combined 46-1 margin before 4A Glendale Raymond S. Kellis senior Jason Zuckerman had any success.despite losing 9-5 in the semifinals.
That left only Wood. Down 5-0 after one period, McMenimen made his move-a couple of them, actually-to close the gap to 5-3 with an escape and later a takedown before the Lobo junior managed a pin at 1:49 of the second.
Freshman 106-pounder Garrett Beebe and junior 132-pounder Taylor Winch also survived pool-play to reach the final brackets. Beebe ultimately took eighth after being pinned in 1:56 by 5A Mesa Dobson senior Tony Nguyen. Winch also departed in eighth after a being pinned in 48 seconds by 5A Mesa senior Rhett Tenney. Winch went 4-3 overall at the Invite, as did Beebe, with McMenimen finishing 7-1. The BHS traveling octet racked up 234 points and placed 22nd out of t31 teams.
Additionally for Bayfield, senior Blane Barnes went 3-2 at 195 pounds, receiving two byes en route, and was stopped short of placing. Heavyweight Sam Westbrook, a junior, received two byes and went 2-3 in actual matches but also went out with a final pool-play win, 7 to 4.
In the lower weights, BHS freshman Jake Sandrey drew two byes and finished 3-2 in his contested matches at 113. At 120 pounds and with a pair of byes, sophomore Cody Speece went 2-3 but did end his tourney with a sixth-round pool-play pin of Centennial's Trey Woodard 1:02 into the second period.
And at 152, junior Cash Snooks went 2-3 before drawing byes in the sixth and seventh pool-play rounds, but still went out on a good note with a pin, 33 seconds into the third period, of 5A Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor's Mariner Merrill in Round 5.
