BMS wrestlers qualify 14 for state tourney

MEEKER I Twenty-two Barone Middle School wrestlers used their first day of spring break last Saturday to wrestle in the state qualifying regional tournament in Fruita. Fourteen of them placed in the top eight, qualifying them to wrestle in Denver this weekend. The Meeker team finished second to Craig by eight points.
“Taking 14 to the state tournament is pretty exciting,” head coach Lee Overton said. “We were so close to first this year but we are getting consistent.” Meeker placed second last year too, to Paonia.
The young Cowboys advanced five wrestlers to the championship match and four won titles.
“It’s a tough tournament, there are no classifications like high school, they throw them all together,” Overton said of the competition. “To get five kids in the finals and walk away with four champs is awesome.”
The middle school regional and state tournament are not sponsored by the school so some sixth-graders were allowed to wrestle and one of them started the ball rolling.
Sixth-grader Jacob Pelloni wrestled in his first middle school tournament and won the 70-pound bracket. According to his coaches, seventh-grader Sheridan Harvey wrestled the best he has this year and dominated the 85-pound bracket, pinning his opponent in the championship match.
Eighth-graders Devon Pontine and T.J. Shelton both won their weight classes, 145 and 152 respectively. Pontine was the only wrestler to place (fourth) at last year’s state tournament.
Seventh-grader Dillon Frantz wrestled in the championship match but finished second in the 135-pound bracket. Robby Jensen, Chase Rule and Noah Overton all qualified with fifth-place finishes. Tommy Chitwood, Jake Nielsen, Caleb Bradford, Brett McGruder and Jake Smith also placed in the top eight and will all wrestle in the state meet, which starts this Friday in Denver.
Garrett Frantz, Cody and Cole Purcell, Tell Blanke, Josh Cochran, Cody Nielsen, Jacob Henderson, Hunter Garcia and Tyler Pollock all wrestled in the regional tournament but did not qualify for the state meet.
“They all wrestled well, as they did all season,” Overton said.