<\/p>\n
Despite gifting the hometown side 24 points via forfeits, the Mancos wrestlers knew that with five weight classes mutually uncontested, there was still a mathematical chance at victory at Ignacio High School on Dec. 20.<\/p>\n
That was all they needed to know.<\/p>\n
Starting the San Juan Basin League dual off at 120 pounds, Bluejay freshman Trevor Paquin quickly took care of business with a 51-second pin of Ignacio freshman Isaac Welker, officially giving the guests a 6-0 lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, our 120-pounder \u2013 Trevor \u2013 it\u2019s his first year wrestling. That kid works hard in the wrestling room, and it\u2019s starting to show for him,\u201d said head coach Travis White. \u201cThat\u2019s a nice thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
All but ending the affair 100 pounds later, junior Nic Dan, heavily taped right elbow and all, ably matched the aggressive pace set by Jeremy Roderick and reined in the eager freshman for a pin in 57 seconds.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s pretty much at full strength now,\u201d White said. \u201cSo that\u2019s why he\u2019s back out there with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHis first matches were last week \u2013 and that kid is putting in a lot of hard work to get back on the mat. He\u2019s a big, strong kid, wrestled for us at the beginning of the year last year, wasn\u2019t able to finish the season, but \u2026 very fast and I think he\u2019s going to do real well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ignacio heavyweight Randy Herrera then stepped onto the mat to receive his forfeit and the event\u2019s last six points (neither team sent out a 106- or 113-pounder, just as at 132, 152 and 170), finalizing a 37-12 victory. However, the Jays came closer than the scoreboard showed \u2013 the promise White wanted to see, with only one meet left in 2018.<\/p>\n
Mancos had threatened to steal a victory at 126, but Ignacio\u2019s Hunter Robbins survived sophomore Ty Everett\u2019s 2-0 lead with a takedown during the first one-minute overtime period. And at 160, sophomore Colt Fury caught Ignacio standout Dustin Sanchez off his game early, taking a 2-1 lead after two regulation minutes, before the senior racked up eight unanswered points in the second period en route to a 13-3 major decision putting the Cats ahead 19-6 at the time.<\/p>\n
Bobcat Tyler Barnes\u2019 70-second pin of junior Andrew Ruatti at 145 proved the victors\u2019 most drama-free performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that our focus maybe isn\u2019t where it was a week ago, but that\u2019s to be expected right before (winter) break,\u201d Ignacio head coach Jordan Larsen said. \u201cBut other than that, I thought it was a good performance tonight overall.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re working hard in the room, but I\u2019m looking forward to getting a little break \u2013 along with the boys \u2013 and coming back strong right after Christmas!\u201d<\/p>\n
That would seemingly hold true for both San Juan Basin League crews.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a really young group, you know? We only have two juniors, no seniors \u2013 we\u2019ve got guys who\u2019ve wrestled a lot of matches, but they\u2019re very young also \u2013 so to us it\u2019s about improving one match at a time, growing for that regional tournament and that final push for State,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s really what we\u2019re looking for. For them to mature as wrestlers and learn a little more about the sport, get a little more physical and figure out what that high school wrestling\u2019s really about.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jays were to close out the 2018 half of their schedule on Dec. 22 in Farmington at Piedra Vista\u2019s dual-style Panther Classic, and are slated to begin 2019 at Pagosa Springs\u2019 Rocky Mountain Invitational on Jan. 12.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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