The Pagosa Springs High School Lady Pirate wrestling team placed sixth out of 17 competing teams at the regional tournament held in Gunnison on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7 and 8, earning a total of 76.5 team points.
Moffat County claimed first place with a total of 177.5 points, Eagle took second place with 98.5 points and Rifle placed third with 82 points.
Four of the six Lady Pirate grapplers who competed in the regional tournament qualified to compete in the state tournament being held at the Ball Arena in Denver Thursday and Friday, Feb. 13 and 14.
“We’ve grown into that region,” coach Dan Janowsky said, noting that the Lady Pirates’ skills, confidence and maturity levels have risen throughout the season.
“They’re there, and they know it,” Janiowsky added, explaining the team is understanding the “game” of wrestling.
Laykyn Baxstrom is making her second trip to the state tournament in her high school wrestling career after claiming first place in the 190-pound weight class in last weekend’s regional tournament.
Baxstrom received a bye in the opening semifinal match, sending her directly to the first-place match, where she was able to pin her opponent in three minutes and 43 seconds.
Madisen Stretton placed second in the 106-pound weight class, qualifying for the state tournament.
Stretton received an opening-round bye, sending her to the quarterfinal match, where she defeated her opponent by a decision of 7-1. She then defeated her opponent in the semifinal match on an 8-0 major decision. Stretton lost the first-place match by a technical fall in 5:33.
Bella Jackson took third place in the 100-pound weight class, earning a spot in the state tournament.
Jackson’s opening-round match was a quarterfinal match in which she defeated her opponent by technical fall in 2:34. She then lost the semifinal match by technical fall in 4 minutes, sending her to the consolation semifinals. Jackson then pinned her opponent in 3:43 to advance to the third place match, where she won on a 9-1 major decision.
Kylie Matyniak earned third in the 130-pound weight class, also qualifying for state.
Matyniak received an opening-round bye, sending her to the quarterfinal match, which went to an overtime round, with Matyniak winning 2-0.
“Those are clutch matches,” Janowsky said, noting the Pirates had two overtime match wins.
“To pull off two clutch wins in overtime, I love to see our kids do that,” he said, explaining that to win those matches it often comes down to having “grit and some strategy.”
Audrina Smith placed fifth in the 135-pound weight class, “one round short of state qualifying,” Janowsky wrote in an email to The SUN.
Smith’s first-round match was a quarterfinal matchup in which she was pinned in 55 seconds. She then received a second-round bye, sending her to the consolation semis, where she was pinned in 43 seconds.
Smith then lost in the fourth-place match due to a no contest and received a bye in the fifth-place match.
Mackayla Beach competed in the 110-pound weight class and received an opening-round bye. Beach was then pinned in the second round in 1:13 and received another bye, sending her to round three of the consolation bracket. Beach lost her final match by pin in 55 seconds.
Janowsky commented that the Lady Pirates were confident and believed they were in a position to succeed going into the regional tournament, “and indeed they were.”
He explained that the Lady Pirates had just two days to prepare for the state finals, as they headed to Denver on Wednesday.
He mentioned the Lady Pirates are “all very eager for the tournament” and are “anxious to get on the mat and get to tussling.”
All state-qualifying wrestlers will compete in Denver in session one, beginning at noon today, and in session three starting at 8:30 a.m. Friday. Wrestlers who advance will compete in session four, starting on at 6 p.m. on Friday, and possibly Saturday, Feb. 15, at 9 a.m. Final matches are scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
clayton@pagosasun.com
