Continuing his quest for a state championship in his junior year, Colter McMenimen made quick work of the Class 3A Region 4 tournament.
A pair of Bayfield Wolverines qualified Saturday for the Class 3A state tournament at the regional meet in Colorado Springs. Along with McMenimen, Ryan Nava will make the trip to Denver.
McMenimen took first place at 138 pounds, improving his record to 34-1 this season. He earned an 11-0 major decision against Monte Vista’s Jacob Nance in the semifinals before taking on Centauri’s Shane Wilson (37-9) in the final.
“Colter’s final match was tough. Shane is a very solid wrestler with impeccable positioning,” said BHS head coach and Colter’s dad, Todd McMenimen. “Colter struggled to open up and score on his shots because his position was so good.”
McMenimen finally scored with an escape point in the second round, and he took a 1-0 lead into the third round. Wilson decided to start the third round neutral, and neither boy could secure a takedown. With time running out, Wilson desperately clinched with McMenimen, who slipped a headlock and earned a late takedown to secure a 3-0 decision victory.
“It was a solid defensive battle. There is no reason those two won’t see each other in the finals next week at state,” coach McMenimen said. “It is a good finish for Colter with him getting back to the shape he was in before his injury this year.”
McMenimen placed third at state as a sophomore, and he set lofty goals for this season.
“He is a determined kid who will push and work toward it. When he sets his mind to something, he is tough to stop,” coach McMenimen said. “We hope to carry it out this week and obtain his goals.”
Nava (27-5) took second place at 120 pounds for the Wolverines. The freshman earned an 8-3 decision victory against Florence’s Chance Boehm in the semifinals before being pinned in the final match by Alamosa’s Tel Kelley.
“He got beat by a good kid,” coach McMenimen said of Nava. “He caught Ryan with some scramble moves that were just absolutely ideal mat-wrestling moves. Once he had Ryan tied up and locked down every which way, it was over.”
Todd McMenimen sees a lot of similarities between Nava this year and where Colter McMenimen was a year ago.
“Ryan is in a good spot. He is sitting where Colter was last year when he was second coming out of regionals. He is going to surprise at state and end up on the podium, no doubt about it,” coach McMenimen said.
The Wolverines finished in ninth place as a team at the meet. They finished with 58.5 team points. Centauri was the top team at the tournament, scoring 228.5 points. Monte Vista placed second with 181 team points.
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