MEEKER | Middle school wrestling starts while high school wrestling is winding its season up. One week after five Meeker High School wrestlers competed in the state tournament, more than 20 Barone Middle School wrestlers opened the season in Hayden. BMS entered 23 young Cowboys into the tournament and 15 placed in the top four, including seven champions and one outstanding wrestler: Kelton Turner.
“As a team, we finished second behind Moffat County,” BMS coach Todd Morris said. “I thought we were going to catch them in the consolation rounds because we had a lot of pins there. We had 37 pins throughout the day and Kelton (Turner) was named the outstanding wrestler for the tournament.”
Turner won the 150-pound bracket, while Trae Kennedy (85), Ty Goedert (90), Connor Blunt (115), Trindan Powell (135), Zach Eskelson (160) and Parker Pontine at heavyweight all won individual titles.
“Trinden (Powell) had never wrestled prior to this year and he looked like a veteran,” Coach Morris said. “He wrestled smart and looked tough.”
Tanner Musser finished second, while Kaden Franklin, Liam Deming, Tyson Portwood and Zagar Brown were all consolation champs.
Caleb Nielson, Robert Foster and Dalton Portwood all placed fourth.
Chakwah Brink, Rowdy Rosendahl, Carson Burks, Hampton Hightower, Damick Chintala, Porter Hossack, Elijah LeBlanc and Dagen Dade did not place, although most of them won at least one match.
“I was amazed by how well all of the kids wrestled, win or lose,” Morris said. “Coach (Chris) Selle and myself saw a huge improvement in the boys from when we started just three weeks ago practicing. We still have some things to work on.
The Barone Middle School wrestlers will host Rangely and Craig in duals today starting at 5:30 p.m.
