By Raymundo Frasquillo
Morenci’s wrestlers head to the Thatcher Multi meet Tuesday, Jan. 16; with one regular season meet remaining in Globe Jan. 24, before the state-qualifying sectional meet Feb. 3.
“We were a little banged up (to start the week),” fifth-year Morenci head coach Casey Woodall said. He, too, had a noticeable limp as he hobbled onto the bus bound for Winslow Thursday after school.
“We did not wrestle to our capabilities (in Winslow),” Woodall said. “So we will go back to work and try to make a big push toward the end of the season in preparation for our sectional and state tournaments.”
Doc Wright Invitational (Jan. 12-13)
“Winslow runs a great tournament, 43 teams provided some great competition,” Woodall said.
Morenci joined 35 other Arizona teams, three from both New Mexico and Nevada, and one from both Colorado and Utah. The Wildcats had 13 entrants, minus 152, with two others also gaining experience.
Three Wildcats placed in the top four, senior Nicolas Carrasco (138, 5-1, 3 pins) second, junior Mark Roybal (145, 5-1, 3 pins) third, and senior Jacob Vierra (182, 5-2, 1 pin) fourth.
Carrasco pinned Colorado Dove Creek senior Austin Green in the first round first period, posted a second round 17-1 technical fall over Utah Monument Valley senior Matthew Atene, pinned Gilbert Campo Verde freshman Caden Calloway in the third round first period, decisioned Cottonwood Mingus Union junior Trent Miller 5-3 in the quarterfinals, decisioned Chandler Basha junior Dylan Quinn 3-1 in the semifinals, and was decisioned 2-6 by top seed New Mexico Farmington Piedra Vista senior was Rayburn in the finale.
Photo By Raymundo Frasquillo: Roybal drew a first round by, pinned Nevada Henderson SLAM Academy sophomore Kyler Alberto in the second round first period, pinned Queen Creek Casteel junior Timothy Mayhew in the third round second period.
Roybal drew a first round bye, pinned Nevada Henderson SLAM Academy sophomore Kyler Alberto in the second round first period, pinned Queen Creek Casteel junior Timothy Mayhew in the third round second period, decisioned New Mexico Aztec sophomore Bode Wooley 12-8 in the quarterfinals, was decisioned 2-5 by Mingus senior Lucas Svoboda in the semifinals, pinned Eagar Round Valley senior Mikey Mariscal in the consolation semifinal third period, and decisioned Wooley 7-6 for third place.
Photo By Raymundo Frasquillo: Vierra pinned Texas El Paso Coronado senior Chris Barnes in the second period during the first round.
Vierra pinned Texas El Paso Coronado senior Chris Barnes in the second period during the first round, decisioned Colorado Alamosa sophomore Austin Trujillo 9-2 in the quarterfinals, posted a 10-0 major decision over New Mexico La Cueva senior Derek Loidolt in the semifinal, and was decisioned 4-5 by Cleveland sophomore Gabe Garcia in the title bout.
Five other Wildcats were in the hunt for placements on the second day, but three were ousted in the consolation sixth round, one in the consolation fourth round, and one in the consolation third round. Freshman Marcus Morales (106, 2-2, 1 pin), sophomore Calvin Dunning (113, 3-2, 3 pins), and junior Ruben Casillas (126, 3-2, 2 pins) each succumbed in the consolation sixth round; junior Omar Ortega (285, 3-2, 2 pins) fell in the consolation fourth round; and junior Beau Wagner (195, 2-2, 2 pins) fell in the consolation third round.
Freshman Conrad Aguallo (120, 1-2), freshman Paul Daniel Moreno (120, 1-2), sophomore Carlos Bray (132, 0-2), sophomore Steven Roybal (160, 1-2, 1 pin), sophomore Michael Wirkus (170, 0-2), freshman Mark Martinez (170, 1-2, 1 pin), and freshman Joseph Hernandez (195, 1-2) were eliminated on the first day.
The Wildcats tied for 11th with Snowflake, both with 128.5 points, of 43 teams. Carrasco contributed a team-high 27.5 points, Mark Roybal 24, Vierra 18.5, Dunning 12, Morales 9, Casillas 9.5, Ortega and Wagner 7 apiece, Aguallo 6, Steven Roybal 3, Hernandez 2.
Show Low won the meet with 251.5 points and eight placers, two champions, a runner-up, one in third, two in fourth, one in fifth, and one in sixth place; Campo Verde was second (219.5) with eight placers (1 champion, 2 runners-up, 2 in 3rd, 2 in 4th, 1 in 6th); and Saint Johns third (209) with seven placers (1 champion, a 3rd, 2 in 4th, 3 in 5th).
Piedra Vista was fourth (196.5) with eight placers (2 champions, a 3rd, 3 in 5th, 2 in 6th), Aztec fifth (101) with five placers (2 champions, a runner-up, 2 in 6th), Casteel sixth (146.5) with four placers (a champion, a runner-up, a 4th, a 6th), Page seventh (146) with three placers (2 champions, a 5th), Scottsdale Horizon eighth (145) with three placers (a champion, runner-up, a 3rd), Mesa ninth (143) with four placers (a champion, a runner-up, a 5th, a 6th), and Basha 10th (130.5) with three placers (a runner-up, a 4th, a 6th).
Nevada Las Vegas Sierra Vista was 13th (118.5) with three placers (2 in 3rd, a 5th), Mingus 14th (110) with four placers (a runner-up, a 4th, 2 in 5th), Round Valley 15th (105) with two placers (2 in 5th), Peoria 16th (96.5) with two placers (a 3rd, a 4th), Flagstaff Coconino 17th (93.5) with two placers (a 3rd, a 6th), host Winslow 18th (87.5) with two placers (2 runners-up), Clark 19th (82) with one placer (a 6th), and Lakeside Blue Ridge 20th (76.5) with one placer (a champion).
Goodyear Millennium was 21st (72) with one placer (a 6th), Kayenta Monument Valley 22nd (66), Prescott 23rd (62.5), Chino Valley 24th (58.5), Joseph City 25th (58) with one placer (a runner-up), Payson 26th (56.5) with one placer (a 3rd), Chinle 27th (49) with one placer (a 4th), New Mexico Gallup 28th (45) with one placer (a 3rd), Fort Defiance Window Rock 29th (43), and Utah San Juan 30th (42).
Heber Mogollon and Surprise Valley Vista with one placer (a 6th) both tied for 31st (41), Holbrook 33rd (37) with one placer (a 4th), Tuba City 34th (34) with one placer (a runner-up), Miami and Prescott Valley Bradshaw Mountain both tied for 35th (31), Flagstaff 37th (29), Phoenix North Canyon 38th (23), SLAM Academy 39th (16.5), and Scottsdale Coronado 40th (16).
Dove Creek was 41st (15), Utah Monument Valley 42nd (14), and Pinion 43rd (9).
A total of 595 entrants competed for the top step in a double-elimination format of 64-man brackets. The 220-pound weight class had a full complement (64) while three classes, at 106, 113, and 170 each with the fewest (34). There were 61 at 195, 59 at 205, 42 at 138, 41 at 145, 40 at both 126 and 132, 38 at 160, 37 at 152, and 36 at both 120 and 182.
Silver Triangular (Jan. 10)
Official results of the Jan. 10 New Mexico Silver High Triangular were unavailable from the meet host. Silver hosted New Mexico Bayard Cobre and Morenci.
Saint Johns Dual (Jan. 9)
There were 13 Wildcats lined up for a dual with Saint Johns in Wildcat Memorial Gymnasium, on a night recognizing seniors.
The meet was decided on the final pairing, 285 pounds, sophomore Omar Ortega of Morenci verses John Holder of Saint Johns.
Ortega and Holder both scored three points to tie at the end of regulation, forcing an overtime period. There was no score by either competitor and the match went to a second extra period. A 3-point near fall by Holder allowed him to win the match 6-3, and the Redskins received three points, but the final result favored the host Wildcats 40-39.
A major decision would have tied the score 40-40, a technical fall would have given Saint Johns a 41-40 edge, and a pin would have given Saint Johns a 42-40 advantage.
Morenci led 40-36 heading into the final pairing; the difference was four points awarded for a 13-5 major decision. Morenci junior Ruben Casillas (126) defeated Preston Wilson by major decision.
Both Morenci and Saint Johns won six individual weight classes, earning six points for each. The Wildcats won three by first period pin, two by second period pin, and one by third period pin.
Senior Nicolas Carrasco (138) pinned Hank Scrubs, junior Mark Roybal (145) pinned Trevor Harris, and senior Gabriel Cabrera (160) pinned Chase Jarvis, in the first period; sophomore Calvin Dunning (113) pinned Peter Casey and senior Jacob Vierra (182) pinned Acer Wiltbank in the second period; and freshman Marcus Morales (106) pinned Gage Heap in the third period.
Saint Johns also had three first period pins and two second period pins plus a forfeit win for 36 points apiece.
Tanner Crosby (120) pinned Conrad Aguallo, Diego Hernandez (195) pinned sophomore Beau Wagner, and T.J. Heap (220) pinned freshman Joseph Hernandez, in the first period; Kaiden Smith pinned sophomore Carlos Bray and Mark Ballejos (170) pinned sophomore Steven Roybal in the second period; and Austin Oppen was awarded a forfeit win.
