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Hayden wrestling seniors dominate at home triangular

It all came down to Steamboat Springs High School wrestler Cole Muhme and Hayden High School sophomore Owen Miller.

Steamboat led 36-33 in the dual versus Hayden, with the 113-pound wrestlers the only ones left on the mat.

Muhme used a quick takedown to get an early 2-0 lead. He was in charge the rest of the way until he pinned Miller with 24 seconds left in the second period. His win secured the 42-33 victory for Steamboat Springs at Hayden High School on Friday night.



“Cole was aggressive and he had good transitions from takedowns to turns,” said Steamboat head coach Jordan Bonifas. “He looked happy to be out there.”

Despite the loss, Tigers wrestlers won five of the eight matches against the Sailors, most by pin, a stat that head coach Matt Linsacum much prefers to focus on. Hayden also won 42-24 over Soroco and North Park, who combined to make a full team.



“We don’t ever look at the scoreboard like that, we look at head-to-head,” he said. “It’s deceiving.”

Earlier, in Hayden’s dual versus Soroco and North Park, Tigers senior Kyler Campbell had the most dominant victory. He accumulated a 15-1 advantage over Soroco freshman Teagan Herold with takedowns and near falls. He kept allowing Herold to escape so he could have another go at a take down.

“I wanted to work some of my moves and then when I got close to (earning a technical fall), I went for the pin for more points for my team,” said Campbell. “I usually don’t work some of those moves. When I have that opportunity, it does help. Now I know how to do it in a live match.”

Finally, just over halfway through the second period, Campbell flipped Herold and pinned him to end the match. Campbell made quick work of Steamboat’s Jacob Skolnick, pinning the Sailor in 1:32.

Hayden junior Dylan Zimmerman did the same thing in his match against Steamboat’s Owen Kirby, earning takedown after takedown before winning by technical fall, or a 15-point advantage, at the end of the second period.

“When we know that maybe their opponent is not at the same caliber as them and we don’t want them to go out and pin, we do that for conditioning reasons because we know they’re not going to get a conditioning if they just go out and pin,” Linsacum said. “We let those kids work just to get their heart rate up so it’s not a lost night. That’s the only time we’ll do that.”

Hayden freshman Kalob Moore pins North Park freshman Quinten Fletcher at the Routt County Triangular in Hayden on Friday.

Campbell and fellow senior Wyatt Murphy were the only Hayden wrestlers to pick up a pair of wins on Friday night. Murphy pinned Soroco sophomore Gavyn Salberg in the first round and got Steamboat’s Brody Bosick on his back in the second round.

Kody Logan was one of two Soroco wrestlers to earn a win on Friday night as he defeated Steamboat’s Ivan Reynolds by fall in two minutes and 29 seconds. Reynolds did put up a fight in the first period, though, taking down Logan to begin the match.

“Ivan came out and took down Logan who is an absolute stud,” said Bonifas. “The confidence is completely different.”

Reeves Kirby was the only Sailor to win twice Friday, earning first-round pins against both his opponents. Steamboat defeated Soroco-North Park 42-25.

Despite all the domination, the most exciting moment of the night came during a 40-second match in which Sailors senior Ivan Reynolds pinned Hayden junior Israel Santos.

Reynolds earned an instant takedown, but Santos, a first-year wrestler, countered and got his body on top of Reynolds. His teammates roared from their corner of the gym, cheering him on. Santos worked his weight over the Sailor, but Reynolds wriggled free.

His reversal prompted the Sailors corner to erupt into cheers. With all wrestlers standing, the 195-pound competition ended in Reynolds’ victory.

“That was almost awesome,” said Murphy from the sidelines.


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