Cowboys at home Friday

MEEKER I The Cowboy wrestling team will host its only home dual meets Friday against the Hayden Tigers and Moffat County Bulldogs, starting at 6 p.m.
Filling only seven of 14 weights makes it challenging to win a dual meet, but the Cowboys came close last week at Coal Ridge, losing 30-29.
“We both had open slots,” head coach Joe Gutierrez said of the close dual against the Titans, where Meeker won five of seven matches wrestled, four by pin.
Freshman Logan Piper (152), sophomores Justin Hardy (160), Collin Cochran (189) and junior Caleb Dodds (285) all pinned their Coal Ridge opponents. Sophomore Ethan Overton (171) won 14-0, while freshman Cody Pfau (103) and senior Tony Bartucco (140), both lost.
“Everyone went out and wrestled tough,” Gutierrez said. “It was a chance for us to see a different 3A school.”
Gutierrez was hoping to see more 2A schools last Saturday in the Paonia tournament, but due to the weather and bad roads, at least a half dozen teams did not attend.
“The tournament ran smooth and we wrestled some good matches,” Gutierrez said of the Paonia tournament.
Pfau pinned her first opponent and won 16-6 in the semifinals before losing to the seventh-ranked 103-pounder from Fowler to finish second.
Dodds and Hardy both pinned their opponents in the consolation championships to place third in their respective brackets. Cochran and Bartucco each recorded two pins and finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
The Cowboys will wrestle the Tigers first on Friday, followed by the 4A Bulldogs, who are coached by Gutierrez’s oldest brother, Roman.
“It’­ll be fun,” the younger Gutierrez said of the matchup.