Meeker, Meeker Sports, Milestones, School, Sports

Roman Gutierrez inducted into wrestling hall of fame; Watt and Shelton honored

phmkwrestling romanMEEKER I “It says a lot about Meeker’s wrestling program,” J.C. Watt said about the honors banquet, where Watt and four-time state champion T.J. Shelton were honored and Meeker High School alumni Roman Gutierrez was inducted into the Colorado Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Watt was unable to attend the banquet but Shelton accepted the Colorado High School Coach of the Year 2A-3A for him. Watt, also a Meeker alumni, two-time state champion and a member of the 1990 championship team; coached Meeker to its eighth Colorado State Wrestling title, beating long-time nemesis Rocky Ford by one point. Watt also coached Shelton, Meeker’s first and Colorado’s 19th four-time state champion.
Shelton was honored as the Co-High School 2A/3A Wrestler of the Year, a honor he shared with four-time finalist and three-time state champion Bo Pipher of Paonia.
Shelton is a multi-sport athlete: an all-state football player, a 100-meter dash state champion and a three-time state runner-up, once in the 100- and twice in the 200-meter, as well as a four-time state wrestling champion, which was capped off with a team title his senior year.
Shelton is also an honors student, the senior class president and he will attend and wrestle at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden in the fall.
Gutierrez, a 1975 graduate of Meeker High School mentioned he never won an individual state title but he gave credit to his former coach, the late Bill Turner, for encouraging him to go out for the sport as a sophomore in high school and getting him into Western State College, where he went on to become a four-time national qualifier, two-time Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference champion and two-time NAIA All-American.
Gutierrez was inducted into the Colorado Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, in Stillwater, Okla., with a Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award and in his acceptance speech, he was again grateful to his high school coach he said, “told me I would make a good teacher and coach, then after graduation he got me the job in Craig and well, the rest is history.”
Gutierrez made history by winning Moffat County’s first state team championship in 1985, followed by four more; 1994, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Gutierrez was named 3A and 4A Coach of the Year each of those years and Colorado Coach of the Year in 2002.
In 2001, the Bulldogs scored 3,084 team points, the most by a team in Colorado history, they also set the record with 531 individual wins, while his teams won 28 dual meets in 2001 and 2005, the most in state history. After 31 years at Moffat County, Gutierrez coached the Bulldogs to 15 league titles, 11 regional titles, five state titles, several top four finishes and 443 dual meets, the most by any coach in Colorado’s wrestling history.
Gutierrez thanked his family, including his wife, three daughters, seven of eight grandkids, brothers, sisters, former coaches and wrestlers who attended the banquet, along with his high school coach’s wife, Ann Turner.
“I’m glad Annie was here, because coach Turner was my hero,” Gutierrez said of the man, who was and continues to be a major influence on Meeker’s wrestling program.

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It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
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Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line.  The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale.
Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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A crew from the Flat Tops Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation joined forces last summer to remove obsolete fences to improve habitat for wildlife. Read the full story and the foundation’s update from their 30th Anniversary meeting in this week’s edition and online at ht1885.com.
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