Gayle Zimmerman Photo
RANGELY | This last weekend the Rangely Panther wrestling team traveled to Soroco where they looked like a completely different team from the previous weekend. Friday the boys dueled both Saratoga and Soroco. None of the three teams had a full roster. Coaches moved teammates to try and get a match for everyone.
“Unfortunately we were unable to get two of my freshman a match, Colton Stevens at 113 and Sage Rhea at 145,” said head coach JC Chumacero.
First year wrestler and sophomore Alex Black (138) came away with his first two wins of his highschool career both by pin.
“I am extremely impressed with this young man, he is picking things up very fast and for him to get two pins in his first year of high school wrestling is impressive to me. We are excited to watch him continue to grow,” Chumacero said.
Sophomore Zane Varner came away with a close win against his senior Soroco opponent. Freshman Kasen Lebleu (152) was in a close battle with his Soroco opponent when a small mistake caught him and he fell by pin.
Sophomore Brent Cantrell (160) also came away with his first high school win by pin. Cantrell came out aggressive, “which is something we have been needing from him.”
Senior Del Garner (195) surprised his coaches and his team when he scored his first win by pin against his Saratoga opponent. Garner has suffered injuries in his high school career that have kept him from finishing a season. “He seemed unsure of himself before his match but came out firing on all cylinders, scoring an explosive takedown and pinning his opponent,” Chumacero said. “I think we have him convinced to stop doubting himself.”
Senior Dalton Dembowski got his first win of the season pinning his Saratoga opponent.
The Panthers ended the night with sophomore heavyweight Byron Mackay pinning his Soroco opponent by pin. “Singer of Soroco had a really good short fireman’s that almost got us caught but we had a game plan to eliminate any chance of that happening again the next day,” Chumacero said.
Due to weather, several teams couldn’t make it down for tournament competition and six teams faced off in round robin style tournament. Colton Stevens came up short of a win but improved from last weekend. “He is just young, and had some very tough opponents. He is continuing to improve,” Chumacero said.
Alex Black got another win and wrestled a couple of close matches, ending just one match away from his first high school medal. Sage Rhea and Zane Varner were in the same bracket with only one other Soroco opponent. Rhea came up short of a win but “looked good,” according to his coach. “He hasn’t had it easy thus far but I know he is hungry for a win and he loves to learn.”
Varner defeated his teammate by pin and his Soroco opponent for the second time. He earned his first high school gold medal and ended the weekend undefeated. LeBleu defeated two of his opponents, earning his first high school medal with a third place finish and avenging his Friday loss by pinning his regional foe in the third period. Cantrell came up short of a win Saturday but Chumacero said he “can see a huge swing in his confidence.” Garner earned a silver medal, his first high school medal. He won one by pin and fell to Hayden senior Hunter Planansky who was last year’s state runner-up. Dembowski “looked like a new wrestler” as he defeated two of his opponents and had a close match against North Park who ended up winning the weight. Dembowski also came home with a silver medal. Mackay faced his Soroco opponent three more times Saturday as they were the only two heavyweights. Mackay pinned him all three times to earn his first high school gold medal.
“Overall I am very impressed with how we wrestled,” Chumacero said. “We walked away the third place team only eight points away from the second place team. We wrestled with passion and had the urge to bring home wins. I hope to see this continue next weekend in West Grand with our last tournament before the Christmas break.”
Photos by Gayle Zimmerman
Special to the Herald Times
