The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate boys’ wrestling team had a strong weekend coming out of the break, winning two duals on Friday and placing second in their home tournament on Saturday.
“The past weekend was special for the Pagosa Springs High School wrestling program, with action on 4 mats in Pagosa’s home gym, starting at 12:00 noon on Friday and concluding late Saturday afternoon,” coach Dan Janowsky wrote in an email to The SUN.
The boys started the weekend off on Friday, Jan. 9, with duals against Sargent and Durango. The Pirates won both, defeating Sargent 65-12 and defeating Durango 39-34.
On Saturday, Jan. 10, 18 teams from southern Colorado, northern New Mexico and southeast Utah gathered to kick off the boys’ Rocky Mountain Invitational. The lead changed hands amongst the top five teams throughout the day. Going into the finals, the Pirates were sitting in fourth place, but the Pirates won nine matches in the finals to take second place behind Rocky Ford.
The Pirates had two individual champions, three wrestlers place third and four wrestlers place fifth. In total, the Pirates had 11 wrestlers place in the tournament.
Colton Lucero continued his winning ways, going 3-0 in the tournament and 5-0 on the weekend.
Lucero was the champion of the 157-pound bracket, earning 25.5 points for the Pirates. He pinned his first opponent in two minutes and 33 seconds and advanced to semifinals, where he once again pinned his opponent, this time after 1:42 to advance to the championship. Lucero took first place by defeating his opponent via a 19-2 technical fall after 4:09.
Eric Smith was the other Pirate to be crowned champion of his bracket. Wrestling at 132 pounds, Smith went 4-0 at the tournament and earned 28 points with his first-place finish.
Smith pinned his first opponent after 3:10, pinned his second opponent after 4:43 and won his semifinal match via a 8-7 decision to advance to the first-place match. He defeated his opponent by pinning him after 5:11.
“Eric Smith was rewarded with his steady improvement, winning four matches on the day with no losses and earning his first varsity championship at 132 pounds,” Janowsky highlights.
Wrestling at 144 pounds, Asher McKennie took third place in his bracket with a 4-1 record at the tournament and scored 18 points.
McKennie lost his first match by a 14-10 decision, but bounced back and won four straight. He pinned his first opponent in the consolation bracket in 21 seconds, pinned his next opponent after 1:37, advanced to the third-place match with a 9-3 decision win in the consolation semifinals and claimed third place by defeating his opponent via a 5-3 decision.
Jimmy Elledge also placed third for the Pirates, scoring 20 points while wrestling at 215 pounds.
Elledge won his first match via a 4-1 decision, but lost in the semifinals after being pinned in 2:19. He pinned his next two opponents, the first in the consolation semifinals after 3:31 and the second to take third place after 4:12.
Hunter Martinez was the final Pirate wrestler to take third at the tournament. Wrestling at 285 pounds, Martinez went 3-1 and scored 17.5 points.
Martinez pinned his first opponent after 2:38, but lost his next match after being pinned in 2:40. He won the consolation semifinal match via a 15-0 technical fall after 3:40 to advance to the third-place match, which he won by pinning his opponent after 4:10.
Wrestling at 150 pounds, Hudson Mazur placed fifth and scored 14.5 team points.
Mazur pinned his first opponent after 3:03, was pinned in his second match after 1:55, won his third match by a 21-1 technical fall and won his fourth match after pinning his opponent after 3:39. Mazur lost in the consolation semifinals on a 7-4 decision, but came back to win the fifth-place match with a 15-13 decision.
Wrestling at 165 pounds, Devin Gonzalez placed fifth and scored 15 points.
Gonzalez won his first match, pinning his opponent after 1:37, but lost in the semifinals after being pinned in 5:33. Gonzalez was pinned after 2:31 in the consolation semifinals, but bounced back and pinned his opponent after 3:38 to take fifth place.
Wrestling at 175 pounds, Ryker Hanson placed fifth and scored 15 points.
Hanson lost his quarterfinal match to start the tournament, being pinned in 3:17. He received a bye and then won his next match by pinning his opponent in 54 seconds to advance to the consolation semifinals. Hanson lost his semifinal matchup, getting pinned after 3:36, but he bounced back to pin his final opponent after 2:53 and take fifth.
Wrestling at 190 pounds, Ty Garcia placed fifth and scored nine team points.
Garcia was pinned in his first match after 1:47, received a bye and then lost via a 11-2 major decision in the consolation semifinals. Garcia bounced back and pinned his opponent after 3:53 to take fifth.
Wrestling at 106 pounds, Garrett Elliot placed sixth and scored 11 points.
Elliot won his first two matches, pinning his first opponent after 2:29 and his second opponent after 54 seconds. He then was pinned after 5:31 in the semifinals, pinned after 1:34 in the consolation semifinals and lost the fifth-place match via a 15-14 decision.
Wrestling at 138 pounds, Stetson Osborn placed sixth and scored 10 team points.
Osborn pinned his first opponent after 1:51, but lost in the quarterfinals after being pinned in 1:16. Osborn bounced back, winning his next two matches, the first by a pin after 2:59 and the second via a 13-12 decision. Osborn then was pinned after 3:52 in the consolation semifinals and lost on a 18-7 major decision in the fifth-place match.
Wrestling at 126 pounds, Johnny Baker placed eighth and scored seven team points.
Baker won his first match, pinning his opponent after 1:05. He then lost his second match via a 17-2 technical fall. Baker received a bye in the second round of the consolation bracket, then dropped his next two matches, the first via a 8-6 decision and the second via a pin after 2:09.
Wrestling at 132 pounds, Noah Bellina did not place. Bellina went 0-2, losing via a 18-3 technical fall in the first round and getting pinned after 2:56 in the second round.
Wrestling at 138 pounds, Mark Ray did not place. Ray was pinned in 38 seconds in his first match and lost via a technical fall score of 15-0 in his second match.
Wrestling at 138 pounds, Gage Sams did not place. Sams lost his first match after being pinned in 2:52. He came back to win his second match via a 15-0 technical fall, but lost his third match via a 26-9 technical fall.
Wrestling at 144 pounds, Gabe Ramirez did not place. Ramirez was pinned in his first match after 3:30 and was pinned in his second match after 2:08.
Wrestling at 144 pounds, Vinny Fish did not place. Fish was pinned in his first match after 2:45, but he came back to pin fellow teammate Ramirez after 2:08. Fish then lost in the second round of the consolation bracket after being pinned in 2:15.
The Pirates will head to Farmington, N.M., for the Clash at the Coliseum on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 16-17. Action will begin at 9 a.m. both days.
jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com
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