Cowboy wrestling opened their season as they have for the last couple of years. The varsity traveled to the Maverick Duals held at Colorado Mesa University and the JV competed in Olathe.
Head coach JC Watt and assistants Stryker Lane and Kurt Blunt coached the varsity at CMU and Carl Padilla led the team in Olathe.
“We saw some really good things this early in the season out of all of the kids,” commented Watt.
The varsity had open weights at 106, 113 and 165. Senior Reed Goedert filled the 120-pound weight class. Goedert went 1-4 in a difficult group of 4A and 5A schools.
At 126 pounds the Cowboys had their lone freshman, Koy Weber. Weber faced some tough and experienced opponents in his first-ever high school tournament and ended with a 2-3 record.
“I thought it was a good way to start the season off,” began Weber. “It definitely showed us some things we needed to work on and it really helped us get into better shape”. The 132-pound weight class was held by senior Coy Richardson in his first-ever varsity tournament. Richardson finished 3-2, with pins in all three of his wins.
Clay Crawford, who finished fifth in the state last year, competed at 138 pounds for the Cowboys. Crawford had the first tech fall of the year over Adyn Cassity from Palisade during his 4-1 day.
Junior Zeek Gianinetti finished the day 2-3 in what was another difficult weight class. As with all of the wrestlers who played football, Gianinetti had only had five practices before stepping out onto the mat for their first tournament.
The 150-pound weight class was filled by Tristan Rollins. Rollins was one of a handful of Cowboys who wrestled five matches with no forfeits. Rollins went 2-3 pinning a tough wrestler from Palisade.
Senior Tanner Goodwin wrestled at 157 lbs going 1-4. The 157-pound weight class was stacked with tough competition and a lot of mat time.
Cade Blunt, who took second last year at state, was the first of four undefeated wrestlers from the weekend. The Cowboy’s upper weight classes are stacked with ranked upperclassmen who dominated in the tournament. Blunt finished 5-0 pinning all but one opponent.
“We just have not had a lot of time in the wrestling room,” commented Watt.
“There some definite challenges as it was our first tournament and the football boys only had a week of practice, commented Weber. “Overall it was a good way to start the season and I will be looking forward to our next matches”.
The Cowboys went deep into the playoffs for football and the majority of the team only had five days of wrestling before hitting their first tournament.
“I think we just have an issue with conditioning but that will straighten itself out,” commented Watt.
Brendan Clatterbaugh at 190, Judd Harvey at 215 and Noah LeBlanc at 285 pinned their way through the day. These three Cowboys did not meet an opponent that took them into the second round.
“Starting at CMU was a great beginning to the season, a pretty easy season opener, but there were some tough matches,” commented LeBlanc. “Having minimal time in the room presented some challenges. We weren’t in tip-top shape yet, and all the moves were a little rusty. We have a great room full of good kids and coaches, I am super excited to get this show on the road,”
At the JV tournament in Olathe there were some really bright moments, according to Padilla.
“I thought they wrestled really well for their first competition and so few days in the wrestling room, the effort was there, they were poised and it was basically Meeker wrestling Meeker.
The Cowboys took three at 44 and 174, one at 190 and two at 120 pounds. They crowned two champions, Jake Blazon and Trevor Crooks; Dawson Richardson took second and Aiden Buckler took third.
“We still have some work to do, but to come out with so many medals I think they did great,” said Padilla.
The team will now travel together on a two-night road trip beginning with duals in Cedaredge against the Bruins and the Buena Vista Demons, two teams that have been historically tough, set to begin at 5 p.m. They then will compete at the first annual Western Slope Showdown in Montrose on Friday beginning at 10 a.m. and Saturday.
