Cowboy wrestlers finish fifth in West Grand tournament

MEEKER — Five Meeker High School wrestlers placed in the top four to give the Cowboys a fifth-place finish in last Saturday’s West Grand tournament in Kremmling.
“Everyone looked good, I think we took another step up,” Coach Joe Gutierrez said of his team’s most recent performance and the rebuilding of the wrestling program.
Seniors Matt Moody and Jared Doll both advanced to the championship match but finished second.
“They both looked real good,” Gutierrez said of the two seniors. “Jared is running the legs better and both had tough matches in the finals but it’s nothing we can’t fix.”
Moody moved down a weight last week from 119 to 112 and Doll continues to wrestle at 135. Moody was ranked second at 119 by On the Mat Rankings and Doll was ranked fifth in the state in his weight class.
Seniors Andrew Lawrence and Aaron Webster also wrestled well, both finishing third at 171 and 189, respectively.
“Aaron had a heck of a match against Letlow (Coy Letlow of Hayden),” Gutierrez said of the match, which ended 14-13 in Letlow’s favor. “It was two big horses getting after each other.”
Junior Patrick Love finished fourth in the 152-pound bracket. Freshmen Ean Barrow (125) and Collin Cochran (171) were both one match away from placing. Christopher Ruckman, Ethan Overton and William Begaye also wrestled but did not place.
“We’ll start putting the hammer down after the first of the year,” Gutierrez said.
The Cowboys will wrestle in the Tournament of Champions in Vernal after returning from Christmas vacation.