There's no "I" in 'team,' but there definitely is in "win."
And also Winch-as in Bayfield senior Taylor Winch, whose work at Pagosa Springs' 2016 Rocky Mountain Invitational was exactly the type illustrating the Wolverines' resolve to finish atop the meet's standings or as close to that peak as possible.
After taking a quarterfinals loss at 138 pounds, Winch reeled off three consecutive consolation-bracket wins. The last was an 11-10 defeat of Monte Vista sophomore Mario Dominguez-to cap a 4-1 tourney record.just as teammate Jake Sandrey had done at 132.
Beaten in the quarters by the weight's eventual champion, Sandrey's RMI run finished the way it began, with a technical fall. Aztec junior Brandon Trennepohl succumbed 15-0, and Sandrey exited having also scored fifth-place points for the event's fifth-place team. Denver-based Sheridan freshman Diego Madrigal went down, 16-zip, starting the day.
In the first On The Mat rankings of 2016, Sheridan had checked in at #4 in Class 3A, and the Rams did the billing justice by building up a title-taking 163.5 points. Aztec, with semi-retired former BHS mastermind Herb Stinson still assisting Monte Maxwell, was a close second with 161.5. Second-ranked (in 2A) La Jara Centauri wasn't far behind with 158.5.
A consensus #3 in Utah's Class 1A since the season's start, Monticello took fourth with 155 and Bayfield then followed with 143 points.
BHS junior heavyweight Sam Westbrook won the final points of the day, administering an unplanned schooling to Monticello's Parker Knudsen.
Facing the Buckaroo junior in the division's championship, Westbrook cut what was expected to be another grinder between the two well short. He pinned Knudsen in only 1 minute, 38 seconds-and finished a first-place (the Wolverines' only individual championship) romp with four falls in as many bouts.
Sophomore Garrett Beebe was on track to equal that feat with two in his first two tries at 126 pounds, until MHS super-soph Brayson Wilcox glued Beebe down in the second period of their semifinal encounter. Beebe took third place as Jose Duran, a MVHS senior, defaulted after hurting an elbow in the other semi-final.
Junior Ryan Nava had little trouble in his 145-pound division semi, dealing Monticello junior Shandon Bradford a 9-3 defeat, then ran out of time in a 7-5 finals loss to Aztec sophomore Austin Littlefield and finished 3-1 at the invitational.
Junior Tyler Conner went a non-placing 0-2 at 152 pounds, as did freshman Colby Baker at 106 and sophomore Dakota Ehart at 220, but junior Macoy Michaeli went 2-1 at 160 and contributed third-place points to BHS' cause after defeating AHS senior Josh Snow 10-6.
After a first-round bye, senior Cash Snooks went 1-2 at 170 pounds and ended up with fourth place. Junior Cody Speece took sixth place at 113 after his 3-2 event showing was unluckily finalized by a 9-5 loss to PSHS freshman James Thomas.
Up next for Bayfield will be tomorrow's Rob Mickel Memorial Invitational in Salida. Results from last night's 3A/2A Intermountain League home dual versus Monte Vista were unavailable at press time.
2016 ROCKY MOUNTAIN INVITATIONAL FINAL STANDINGS: 1.Denver Sheridan 163.5, 2.Aztec (N.M.) 161.5, 3.La Jara Centauri 158.5, 4.Monticello (UT) 155, 5.BAYFIELD 143, 6.Pagosa Springs 139.5, 7.Bloomfield (N.M.) 134.5, 8.IGNACIO 122, 9.Monte Vista 121, 10.Del Norte 112.5, 11.Taos (N.M.) 75, 12.Durango 71, 13.Center 39, 14.Mancos 8.
