Most of Bayfield High School’s 15 wrestlers this season fall between 120 pounds and 140 pounds.
Second-year head coach Todd McMenimen’s dilemma will be figuring out who to wrestle at which position, which creates inherent competition in the wrestling room.
“It’s gonna make the kids in the room a lot tougher,” McMenimen said Friday, the night before his team’s home and season opener, the Wolverine Classic.
The Wolverines will need that toughness, too.
Eight of their wrestlers this year were competing at the junior high level last season. That team had a successful year, but high school wrestling is a different animal.
BHS seniors Clay Crawford and Michael Goodman understand.
Crawford took a year off from the mats but is back, and McMenimen wants him to be a similar leader as he was on the football team.
“I hope he brings the same attitude and energy to the room,” McMenimen said.
He also brings back two juniors, including Blaine Barnes and Colter McMenimen, his son and a bronze medalist at last year’s state meet.
Barnes sat out last season for medical reasons.
“He’s got some pretty big expectations for himself, set some lofty goals for himself,” coach McMenimen said of his son.
Of the three sophomores on the BHS roster, only Taylor Winch wrestled last season. He placed fifth at regionals, missing state by one place.
“He wrestled his best tournament at regionals, showed what he was capable of,” coach McMenimen said.
The Wolverines’ first competition will begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at BHS.
The Wolverines only will field seven wrestlers at its home tournament, partly because of academic issues.
“Because of the weights we’ve got and where kids are gonna fall, I don’t see us pushing for a regional title or anything like that,” McMenimen said. “But I see a lot of individual success to be had amongst the kids.”
The Wolverines will face Dove Creek, Ignacio and Pagosa Springs on Saturday in what will be the opening competition of the season for the Bobcats and first-year head coach Cody Haga as well.
Haga graduated from IHS in 2007 and was a four-time state qualifier. His younger brother, Casey Haga, also was a multiple state qualifier for the Bobcats in the Class 2A ranks.
“I think the boys appreciate the high energy level and the intensity younger coaches bring to the room for them,” he said.
IHS is facing an opposite problem from BHS: The Bobcats have a large pool of 23 athletes out this year, even though many of them are young.
Because of that inexperience, Haga wants his squad to focus more on attitude and hard work than results.
“Win or loss, I don’t really care,” said Haga, who replaces five-year veteran Bob Overturf at the helm of the Bobcats’ wrestling program. “I just want my boys to fight hard and not give up.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
