More matches ended with wrestler’s hands being raised without having to compete for a single second Monday night than those with two boys going toe-to-toe.
Durango High School hosted Dolores and Mancos for a wrestling triangular meet inside the DHS auxilary gym. While Durango fielded a lineup with 12 of a possible 14 wrestlers, Dolores had enough athletes to fill only seven weight classes, and Mancos had five open positions.
It all led to two easy wins for the Demons, who beat Dolores 56-6 and Mancos 50-15 to win the meet.
“Any mat time is great for our kids. I really appreciate Dolores and Mancos coming out and giving us matches,” DHS head coach John Gurule said. “We came out and wrestled extremely aggressive and hard, and I couldn’t be more proud of my kids.”
Against Dolores, Devon Pound (113), Tristan Martinez (120), Matthew Lavengood (126) and Hunter Hall (132) all picked up wins via pin. Patrick Cunnion (182) earned a 15-0 technical fall win against Kellen Gatzke, and Cole Gustavson (145) earned a narrow 5-3 minor decision over Guy Wallace. Gustavson hung on at the buzzer, as Wallace secured a double-leg takedown. But the referee wiped it off the board, saying the final buzzer sounded before the takedown was complete.
For Cunnion, getting a home match was sweet relief after he sat out the first few weeks of the season with a football injury. He made his season debut Saturday at the Mesa Duals in Grand Junction, going 5-0.
“I’m so happy to be back after such a long wait. The waiting finally has paid off,” said Cunnion, son of Kelly and Peter Cunnion. “I knew I wanted to go out there and work my moves and work on my cardio and keep getting my feel for wrestling.”
The Bears’ only win against Durango came at 160 pounds, with Riley Syra pinning Fernando Garcia. It was one of two wins on the night for Syra.
The matches against Mancos were decidedly more competitive for Durango. Cameron Jacobs (106) opened with a second-period pin of Riley Burton after he led 8-0 after one period.
At 113 pounds, Martinez lost a spirited match against Mancos’ Rudy Arhuleta, who survived with a 4-2 decision. Archuleta led 4-0, but Martinez scored a late takedown to make it interesting. Archuleta wouldn’t be turned over, though, as he hung on to win by two points.
Hall won his second match of the night just as easily as he won the first, this time earning a 15-0 technical fall win against Mancos’ Kaleb Hargraves in the first period at 132 pounds. The win gave DHS a 29-3 team lead.
Gustavson then backed up his decision win against Dolores with a first-period pin of Mancos’ Axel Bonde.
“It was tough. Both the guys I faced were really tough. I prepared really well in practice this week, and it helped me come out on top of those two matches,” said Gustavson, son of Catherine and Dan Gustavson. “I was tired after that first match and kind of wanted to get off the mat.”
Henry Dorr (152) got to wrestle his only match of the night against the Jays’ Andrew Morgan. Dorr jumped out with an early takedown and scored four takedowns and a reversal en route to a 10-5 decision, giving DHS a 38-3 lead.
Mancos’ Cameron Fury answered with a first-period pin against Garcia at 160, dropping Garcia to 0-2 on the night.
Dolores won three of the four matches wrestled against Mancos for a 36-21 win. Rudy Archuleta (120) took an 8-3 decision against Tristan Medina for the Blue Jays’ lone win. Pins came for Logan Fuller (132), Guy Wallace (145) and Syra (160). Syra beat Cameron Fury with his pin with 1 second to go in the second period to give Mancos six points.
The two wins for DHS followed up a 2-3 record at the Mesa Duals last Saturday in Grand Junction. Cunnion and Lavengood both went 5-0, and Gustavson was 4-1 at that meet.
DHS will hit the road again Friday for a dual at Delta before Delta’s tournament Saturday.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
