MEEKER | Last Thursday, the Meeker Cowboys boys wrestling team traveled to Glenwood Springs for a tri-dual competition against Glenwood Springs High School and Eagle Valley High School.
The Cowboys began the triangular by facing host Glenwood Springs. Glenwood Springs claimed the first two victories of the night through forfeits, taking an early 12-0 lead. Meeker’s Wyatt Ross (165 pounds) earned the Cowboys’ first win via forfeit, narrowing the score to 12-6. A double forfeit at 175 pounds was followed by Cade Blunt’s victory over Eleazar Armendariz Mellin at 190 pounds, bringing the score to 11-12.
Another double forfeit occurred at 215 pounds before Andy Garcia of Glenwood Springs picked up a win by forfeit at 285 pounds, making the score 11-18.
At 106 pounds, Glenwood’s Carlos Landeros secured another forfeit win to extend the lead to 11-24. Meeker responded with Cody Richardson’s win at 113 pounds over Eli Cuc, cutting the deficit to 17-24. Holt Harvey followed with a win over Glenwood’s Diego Ostorga at 120 pounds, bringing the Cowboys within one point at 23-24.
Ichiro Echavarria of Glenwood earned a forfeit win at 126 pounds, extending their lead to 23-30. However, the Cowboys closed the dual with a series of victories. Koy Weber, Clay Crawford, and Cooper Maupin each won their matches, securing a 38-30 final score for Meeker.
In the second dual, the Cowboys faced Eagle Valley High School. Starting at 144 pounds, Cooper Maupin earned a forfeit win, giving Meeker a 6-0 lead. Eagle Valley capitalized on forfeits at the next two weights to take a 6-12 lead.
At 165 pounds, Eagle Valley’s Ricky Avendano defeated Wyatt Ross, extending their lead to 6-18. Meeker’s Cade Blunt responded with a forfeit win at 175 pounds, narrowing the score to 12-18.
Double forfeits at 190 and 285 pounds left the score unchanged. In the 215-pound match, Eagle Valley’s Bennett Maloley earned a forfeit win, increasing their lead to 12-24.
Christian Pena of Eagle Valley defeated Eli Rundberg at 113 pounds, making it 12-28. Meeker’s Holton Harvey answered with a victory over Dylan Anderson at 120 pounds, cutting the deficit to 18-28. Joshua Quinn of Eagle Valley picked up another forfeit win at 126 pounds, pushing the score to 18-34.
Koy Weber and Clay Crawford closed the dual with wins for Meeker, but the Cowboys fell short, losing 29-34.
Head Coach Stryker Lane reflected on the night:
“The duals went well. We only lost three matches total. Unfortunately, we dealt with a lot of illness this last week,” Lane said.
On Saturday, the Cowboys competed in the Fight at the Fork Tournament in North Fork, bringing eight wrestlers and placing five. Senior Cade Blunt earned first place, with Clay Crawford and Koy Weber finishing second, Eli Rundberg fourth, and Holton Harvey sixth. Meeker placed 10th out of 22 teams with a score of 98.5 points.
Coach Lane spoke about the tournament and the team’s preparation for upcoming events:
“The kids that could, battled through it at North Fork. This week we will get back on our training plan to be ready for regionals in a couple of weeks,” Lane said.
This week, the Cowboys will travel to Delta for a dual on Wednesday night and to Parachute for the Cardinal Invitational on Saturday.
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