Brendan Clatterbaugh (above), along with teammates Cade Blunt and Judd Harvey, have pinned everyone they’ve wrestled so far this year. | TIFFANY JEHOREK PHOTO
The Meeker Cowboys weekend of wrestling began Friday in Cedaredge in a dual meet against Buena Vista. With two known weights, the Cowboys defeated Buena Vista 48-36 before falling to Cedaredge 43-35.
“It was a good night of wrestling with solid performances across the board,” began assistant coach Stryker Lane. “Brendan Clatterbaugh’s first period pin over Buena Vista’s fourth ranked Haden Camp was the highlight of the evening.”
Friday’s dual meets were followed up on Saturday with the first tournament win of the season for the Cowboys at the Panther Invitational in Delta. Meeker finished the day with 202.5 team points. Moffat County came in second with 164 team points followed by Montrose, Cedaredge, and Alamosa to round out the top five.
“It was an impressive team performance,” commented Lane. “The lightweights (106-126 pounds) wrestled with determination and made significant improvements.”
Sophomore Dillon Hobbs (106 pounds) “wrestled with a lot of intensity and will start finding more wins as he grows into the weight class,” said Lane.
Sophomore Skylar Browning (113) was able to pick up his first win of the season; a hard fought overtime victory against a scrappy Olathe opponent.
“He will continue to improve as he gets more experience,” commented Lane.
Junior Reed Goedert (120) hasn’t wrestled since eighth grade and is knocking some of the rust off as he works through his weight descent plan to 113 pounds.
“Goedert picked up a solid victory over a Coal Ridge opponent and was one win away from placing before being eliminated from the tournament in a tough performance against the Buena Vista wrestler who pinned him the night before,” said Lane.
Sophomore Bow Muxlow (126) picked up a pin over an Olathe opponent before being eliminated from the tournament in his second loss to a top five ranked wrestler.
“The middle weights (132-165) looked tough and opened eyes across the state,” commented Lane.
Sophomore Clay Crawford (132) placed fourth. Crawford made it to the semifinals where he lost a controversial match to the number two ranked wrestler from Moffat County. He responded with a second period pin over the number three ranked wrestler from Grand Valley, before losing a tough match to a solid wrestler from Alamosa in the third place match.
Senior Trae Kennedy (138) “moved up two weight classes while weight descent plans are being resolved,” said Lane. “Despite giving up a significant weight advantage to his opponents, he was still able to place third.”
Senior Abe Maupin (144) “ turned in the performance of the weekend,” began Lane. “He won by major decision over the Montrose wrestler that pinned him last week. He pinned a ranked opponent from Alamosa in the semi finals and he put an exclamation mark on his performance by pinning another ranked wrestler from Moffat County in the finals, which put the team race out of reach.”
Senior Connor Blunt (165) placed second after pinning his first three opponents to make the finals.
“Blunt lost a closely contested match to the third ranked wrestler from Moffat County,” said Lane. “Connor is a tough competitor and this loss will make him even better.”
The upper weights (175-HWT) were dominant, winning by pin in eleven out of twelve matches. Sophomore Cade Blunt (175) pinned both of his opponents. Junior Clatterbaugh (190) also pinned all of his opponents. Junior Judd Harvey (215) was the third competitor to pin his way through the tournament.
“Harvey’s pin streak actually extends back to last season’s Center tournament,” commented Lane.
At heavyweight, senior Tanner Musser placed second. “He pinned his first three opponents before losing in a brave performance against one of the nation’s top heavyweights from Montrose,” said Lane.
Three JV wrestlers were able to compete in the Panther Invitational, and “they performed very well this weekend,” said Lane.
Sophomore Trevor Keys (165) was able to pick up a pin in a tough weight class. Junior Hayden Shults (215) placed third. At heavyweight, junior Noah Leblanc, in his first competition since tearing his ACL in 2020, placed fifth.
In Rifle on Saturday with coaches Carl Padilla and Trevor Grant, the rest of the JV took to the mats in a JV-only tournament. Sophomore Zeek Gianinetti placed second and freshman Aidan Tapia placed third. Freshman Tristan Rollins and junior Coy Richardson picked up two wins, and freshman Rylan Vierra won his first high school match.
“Dawson Richardson missed the first couple weeks of training and is wrestling his way back into shape,” commented Lane. “It was a very productive weekend for the entire team.”
“We are excited and know the boys will carry this momentum into the prestigious Warrior Classic, Dec. 16 and 17,” commented Lane. The JV will do the same when they compete at the Fruita JV tournament.”
Fun facts from the weekend:
- Maupin, Cade, and Clatterbaugh all won their first varsity tournament.
- Cade, Clatterbuagh, and Harvey have pinned everybody they have wrestled this year.
- The Cowboys picked up 21 pins in 40 matches at the Panther Invitational, the most pins by any team at the tournament.
By TIFFANY JEHOREK – Special to the Herald Times
