Four MHS wrestlers place at Hotchkiss

MEEKER I With only five varsity wrestlers, Meeker was not in the team race in the Hotchkiss Invitational, yet four of the five returned with medals.
“It’s tough to accomplish anything team-wise, but we did well with what we had,” head coach Joe Gutierrez said.
Freshmen Cody Pfau and JR Crawford each won two matches and finished fifth and sixth in the 103- and 171-pound brackets, respectively.
“For our freshmen to go in and win a couple of matches and bring home a high school medal, that’s pretty good,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said the tournament featured five returning state champions and nine runner-ups from three different divisions.
Senior Mark Papez placed sixth at 215 and junior Caleb Dodds finished fourth in the heavyweight division. Sophomore Collin Cochran did not place in the 189-pound bracket, which Gutierrez described as a “tough bracket.”
“Mark and Caleb looked good for not wrestling for so long,” Gutierrez said of the high school newcomers. “Caleb wrestled well, scoring 12 team points for us, and I think it was a big confidence builder for him.”
Freshmen Logan Piper and sophomore Ethan Overton wrestled in the JV tournament, where Piper won a match in the 145-pound bracket.
“We found out a lot of things we need to work on,” Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez hopes to have senior Pat Love and sophomore Justin Hardy in the lineup for the Delta tournament this Saturday.
Gutierrez wanted to thank the Ruckman family for their hospitality in Grand Junction last Friday.