Finding consistency on the mat is a focus for the Durango High School wrestling team this season, and after a pair of losses in duals at home Wednesday and Thursday, the Demons’ search for consistency continues.
Durango hosted Pagosa Springs for a dual Wednesday night at DHS and were shut out 77-0, then on Thursday, the Demons were topped by Montezuma-Cortez 37-27 at DHS. And while the scores of the dual imply the Demons had a better night against the Panthers, they lacked the intensity and focus they showed against the Pirates 24 hours earlier.
“Honestly, I was more proud of our performance (Wednesday) night in that bigger loss. I felt we wrestled tougher (Wednesday) night than we did tonight,” DHS head coach Leo Garand said. “They (Cortez) are a really young team just like we are, but I felt like overall we didn’t rise to the challenge. I feel like we wrestled much tougher and with more intensity against Pagosa than we did tonight.”
Thursday night, Cortez needed to get out to a quick start on the Demons, as the Panthers had to give Durango a 12-point cushion with two more forfeited matches than the Demons had. The Panthers got that hot start with wins in the first four matches of the night – including a 6-4 overtime win for Anthony Abeyta at 126 pounds – to build a 19-0 advantage.
“We’ve been having some good rivalries with Durango,” Cortez head coach Shad Bellmire. “We wanted to come out with teeth showing and try to get some momentum and stay with the momentum. That was our whole game plan coming out. If we got on top, we just wanted to keep rolling and rolling and see if we could roll all the way through all of our other matches.”
The Demons got back in the dual when Alex Finniseth earned a 15-1 major decision at 145 pounds, and Jordan Belt picked up a technical fall 16-1 at 160 pounds, along with wins via forfeit at 138 and 170 pounds that cut the Panthers’ lead to 25-21 with two matches remaining on the night.
At 182 pounds, Kerwin Tom of Cortez scored a pin 20 seconds into the third period, then John Vestal clinched the victory for the Panthers with a pin in 33 seconds at 195 pounds.
Durango earned a win by forfeit at 220 pounds.
There were double forfeits in the 113 and 285 weight classes.
During Wednesday night’s dual, Pagosa Springs won nine of the 10 matches wrestled by fall.
Pagosa Springs head coach Dan Janowsky said he was pleased with the overall performance of the Pirates, and praised the work of Trevor Bryant (160) and Dalton Lucero (170) for setting the tone for the night with their wins.
Bryant’s match was the first of the night and he earned a victory by fall in the first round. Lucero’s win was the only one for the Pirates that wasn’t a pin, as he fought off Durango’s Kaleb McMunn for an 11-7 victory.
Against the Pirates, Durango forfeited at 113, 138 and 152 pounds, and there was a double forfeit at the 285 pounds.
The Demons will have a couple of weeks to regroup after the losses and will next wrestle at the Rocky Mountain Invitational hosted by Pagosa Springs on Jan. 6. During the break for the Demons, Garand said the biggest focus for the team will be finding the intensity they lacked against Cortez.
“We’ve got to go out with more aggression and intensity. That’s where we’re really lacking,” Garand said. “Cortez has a bunch of underclassmen like us, but they came out with more intensity and wrestled more aggressively. To be successful in this sport you have to be aggressive. You can’t go out and feel people out. You have to go out and take them on.”
kschneider@durangoherald.com
