FARMINGTON – The wrestling teams from Montezuma-Cortez and Dolores High Schools faced off against tough competition in a series of duals at the Clash at the Coliseum meet at the McGee Park Coliseum on Saturday. The boys competed in a dual pool play format, while the girls competed in a 16-person bracket.
The meet consisted of 18 teams from Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico and both the Panthers and the Bears competed in Pool B.
The Panthers finished fifth in Pool B, with standout performances from juniors Bodie Stiegelmeyer and Rusty Snyder, sophomore Keaton Curleyhair, and senior Ashton Orr leading the team’s efforts.
M-CHS gained key points from several forfeits in matches against West Las Vegas, Aztec Orange, and others, which boosted their overall scores. However, they also finished strong in several rounds, securing victories over Valley High School (Arizona) 34-12, Aztec Orange 36-18, Dolores 32-18, and Ignacio 33-12.
Stiegelmeyer (6-9) had an impressive performance in the 107-pound division, winning six out of eight matches, including a perfect 5-0 run in his final matches. Notable victories included falls over Johnaven Robles of Socorro High (New Mexico) in 0:47, Montrose’s Urijah Tonar in 1:32, and Aztec’s Izra Sanchez in 1:05. He also earned a dominant 17-0 technical fall over Tyren Bahe of Valley High School (Arizona).
Snyder (21-8) started strong in the 145-pound division with two early victories before suffering a loss to Zachary Katz of St. Pius X (New Mexico). However, he bounced back with a perfect 5-0 streak to finish the competition. Snyder earned a 13-3 major decision over Nico Ulibarri of West Las Vegas (New Mexico), a key competitor from one of the toughest leagues in New Mexico, and won by fall over Montrose’s Kyle Rodriguez.
Curleyhair (10-14) also went on a 5-0 streak in the 121-pound weight class after losing to Lonnie Aragon of West Las Vegas in the second round. Key victories for Curleyhair included a fall over Matthias Marquez of St. Pius X in 1:32, a 16-0 technical fall over Aztec’s Cole Warman, and a 17-2 technical fall over Dolores’ Devlin Powell. He also scored a 9-2 decision over Ignacio’s Joshua Kerrigan.
Orr (9-10), who is competing in wrestling for the first time during his senior year, was consistently strong throughout in the 139-pound class, winning five of eight matches by pinfall. His victories included a fall over West Las Vegas’ Xavier Vallejos in 0:52 and a 19-3 technical fall over Dolores’ Kenji Edwards.
Montezuma-Cortez boys head coach, Ryan Daves, mentioned that his main focus is on individual growth, and that dual meet tournaments like Clash at the Coliseum are valuable for his young roster to gain more experience.
“They can take multiple losses in these tournaments and still keep wrestling,” he said. "I just want each athlete to improve and get better every week. We're peaking at the right time with regionals just around the corner.”
The girls competed in a 16-person bracket and finished ninth overall alongside Chinle High (Arizona), with freshmen CeJae Snyder (24-6) and Paislee Mestas (15-14) leading their team with Snyder finishing fourth and Mestas finishing sixth in the 114-pound weight division.
Snyder started strong with victories by pinfall in the first three rounds against Juliette Hicks of Farmington, Isabella Timmerman of Piedra Vista in 3:30, and Emily Saiz of Aztec in 2:40. However, Snyder's tournament ended with a loss in the third-place match when she was defeated by Isabella Timmerman of Piedra Vista, losing by a 6-3 decision.
Mestas faced a tough start to the tournament, losing her first two matches by fall. She was pinned by Brielle Lucero of Farmington in 2:47, followed by another fall loss to Maile Maldonado of Academy (New Mexico) in 1:23. However, Mestas bounced back in the third round, earning a fall victory over Shailyn Yazzie of Shiprock in 2:59. In the consolation bracket, Mestas secured another win by fall, pinning Juliette Hicks of Farmington in just 0:28. Mestas' tournament came to an end in the fifth place match, where she was pinned by Emily Saiz of Aztec in 1:28.
Daves said he is also impressed with the inaugural season of the girls team.
“For a first-year program, we’re doing very well,” he said. “They’re ranked top 12 in the state of Colorado and we’re making great progress.”
The Panthers will host Bayfield in a dual on Jan. 21 before heading to Page, Arizona, for the Sand Devil Classic on Jan. 24-25. They will wrap up the month with a crossover dual on Jan. 30 before heading into regionals on Feb. 7.
The Bears endured a tough bracket in Pool B and struggled against West Las Vegas. St. Pius X, and Socorro, but were led by several key individual performances.
Kenji Edwards competed in the 139-pound bracket and delivered an impressive win over Xavier Vallejos of West Las Vegas with a pin in 2:38.
Nathan Hill (152 pounds) pinned Aztec’s Marques Paul in 42 seconds and secured another fall over Kason VanLandingham from Socorro in 1:38.
Mason Hill (133 pounds) contributed to Dolores with several forfeit wins and a pin over Cash Rogers of Montezuma-Cortez in 4:40.
Zaiden Hanson (127 pounds) fought hard, securing a tie-breaker victory over Ayden Platero of Aztec Orange with a 16-14 win.
River Wickstrom (160 pounds) earned a quick fall over TJ Maldonado from St. Pius X in just 45 seconds.
Dolores will compete in the San Juan Basin League tournament on Thursday, followed by the tournament in Ignacio on Saturday, before heading into regionals on Feb. 7.
