Earlier this season, Bayfield wrestling head coach Todd McMenimen singled out veterans Deegan Barnes and Keaton Pickering as individuals he expected to rise and lead the Wolverines.
“A lot of the leadership duties and everything will fall onto them,” he said, “similar to the way it worked in football this year, you know? Both are in the same boat; they’re taking on a lot of leadership roles and their focus is really good right now.”
That focus was put to a serious midseason test this Friday and Saturday in Florence.
Competing at the 2023 Mel Smith Husky Invitational, a meet with a reputation for being a preview of the state tournament, the senior Barnes and the junior Pickering both found their way to its podium, helping BHS split 18th place with Strasburg.
Barnes placed fourth at 165 pounds, going 4-2 with three pins before losing to Ordway-based Crowley County’s Skeater Baker (No. 3 in On The Mat’s Class 2A rankings) early in the third and last two-minute period. Pickering, meanwhile, received a first-round bye at 120 pounds, then won three consecutive matches by four or fewer points before losing 11-4 to Alamosa’s third-ranked (in 3A) Dempsey Gibbs in the finale.
Going 2-3 with two pins, heavyweight Jordan Cundiff also placed at the Mel Smith as the big junior ended up sixth after FHS’ Weston Sweigart pinned him 30 seconds into the fifth-place bout. All told, Bayfield (and SHS) amassed 71 team points as 35 crews overall recorded scores.
Promoted up a spot to No. 1 in OTM’s Class 3A rankings prior to the event, Eaton captured first with 210.5 points and No. 3 Brush followed with 164. Denver’s No. 2-ranked Mullen High piled up 143 points and earned third place over No. 8 AHS (136) and No. 10 Gilcrest Valley (131.5) – giving the Patriot League three squads in the standings’ top five.
Totaling 84 points, the hosting Huskies placed 12th overall.
Bayfield freshman 138-pounder Zayden Cundiff began his tournament beating Florence’s Gabriel Sullivan 10-3, but then lost 8-2 to CCHS’ second-ranked Dillon Buford. Cundiff, however, regrouped and defeated three consecutive opponents, two via pin, before losing to 3A Fort Morgan’s Ethan Schingle by pin 17 ticks into the second period.
Competing at 106, freshman Estevan Gonzales went 1-2 with a disqualification win over 3A Loveland Resurrection Christian’s Greyson Browning, and junior 144-pounder Jason Michaeli won one of his three matches, pinning Pagosa Springs’ Jacob Miller with only one tick left in the first period. Wrestling at 157 pounds, junior Dante Candelaria also ended up 1-2 with a 3-0 win over 3A La Junta’s Riggin Kinslow-Smart.
Wolverines Payton Montgomery (113), Logan Valencia (126), Reese Appenzeller (132), Noah Westbrook (150) and Caelan Ramos (175) each went 0-2 at the meet.
Up next, Bayfield will begin a busy weekend heading to Montezuma-Cortez on Thursday, Jan. 19, for an Intermountain League dual beginning at 5 p.m. IML nemesis PSHS will invade BHS Gymnasium the next evening at 5, and the Wolverines will then hit the Aztec Tiger Duals tournament on the 21st, with action commencing at 9 a.m.
