3 Cowboys win first match

MEEKER I Last week the Meeker Cowboy wrestling team traveled to Paonia for a dual meet Friday and the Screamin’ Eagle tournament Saturday last.
“The highlight Friday was Isaac Robertson and Matt Frantz getting their first wins of the year and the highlight Saturday was Calvin (Shepherd) getting his first win of the season,” Meeker head wrestling coach J.C. Watt said. “That completed everybody having a win this season and it was a big deal for all of them. Everybody was happy and happy for them.”
Watt said Robertson and Shepherd pinned their opponents and Frantz won by technical fall (15 points).
“Matt just kept putting him in the cradle and scoring points, it was great,” Watt said.
Four Cowboys placed but none won a championship in the tournament featuring 2A teams and a few larger schools’ JV teams.
“It was tougher than our region will be with teams from Ignacio and Fowler there,” Watt said of the competition at the Screamin’ Eagle tournament. “Everybody wrestled hard and I felt like we were competitive,” Watt said.
Senior Justin Hardy returned to the lineup this week and advanced to the finals with two wins but forfeited the championship match at 170 because of an injured hamstring.
Watt said there were 35 wrestlers, including three from Meeker in the 106-pound bracket, which were split into an A and B bracket.
Meeker’s Kylloe Goedert won four matches and finished third in the B-bracket, the same bracket Shepherd earned his first pin in.
Anthony Watt (132), Willis Begaye (145) and Ethan Overton (195) all won at least two matches and each finished fifth in their respective weights.
J.C. Henderson (125) also won two matches in his bracket but did not place, nor did Lathrop Hughes, although he did win his match in the dual meet Friday.
The Cowboys were missing varsity wrestlers Sebastian Clarke and J.R. Crawford because of illness.
Meeker will wrestle a dual meet in Hayden tonight at 5:30 p.m., then in the Grand Junction JV tournament this coming Saturday.