Moffat County boys wrestling faces tight contests before regional tournament

Andy Bockelman/Craig Press
The Moffat County boys wrestling team toughened themselves up ahead of regionals with some of their most challenging opponents, suffering a close loss on Jan. 31 before taking fourth overall in a difficult slate of matchups on Saturday, Feb. 4, in Rawlins, Wyoming.
The Bulldogs took a 39-33 loss Jan. 31 in Meeker, with both teams providing a test of temerity for the other.
Though the Cowboys took the group victory, Moffat grapplers gave as good as they got, with pins for Blake Tupa (113 pounds), Kaden Hixson (126), Kaeden Martinez (138), and Blake Hill (175). At the 120-pound weight class, Noah Duran also took an 11-7 decision in the varsity rounds, while Haven Carr and Keegan Herod earned falls in exhibition bouts.
The Bulldogs closed out their regular season Saturday with another road event. The boys faced a lineup of Wyoming schools with different weight classes at the Rumble in Rawlins, taking fourth place overall.
MoCo started with a 52-30 win over Torrington and a 48-21 victory over the Lyman/West Grand group. The Bulldogs struggled later in the day with team losses of 45-28 to Evanston, 42-27 to Rawlins, and 54-28 to Pinedale.
Martinez and Michael Voloshin (170) each went undefeated at the Rumble, while Hixson, Eli Fredrickson (152), Billy Lawton (182), Hill and Cyrus Goldsmith (220) each suffered only one loss.
Moffat County now moves on to this weekend’s 3A Region 2 Tournament hosted by Glenwood Springs. Among the teams the boys are expected to face are Alamosa and Gunnison — both top 10 3A teams, according to On the Mat rankings — as well as Basalt, Bayfield, Coal Ridge, Delta, Grand Valley, La Junta, Montezuma Cortez, Pagosa Springs, Rifle, Salida and Steamboat Springs.

Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism
Readers around Craig and Moffat County make the Craig Press’ work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.