Based on the number of students that attend Dove Creek High School (125), one might expect the Bulldogs’ wrestling team to finish somewhere in the middle of the pack at the annual Dawg-Fight Tournament.
After all, varsity teams from Farmington High School (1,200 students), Kirtland High School (400 students) and several schools traveled to attend the event.
In no way intimidated by their competition however, the Bulldogs wrestled tough throughout the Dec. 14 tournament, finishing second to Aztec High School in the 15-team showdown.
Leading the way for Dove Creek were sophomore Case Baughman (126 pounds) and junior Chance Randolph (132 pounds), each of whom pinned their way through to the top of the podium.
“Case and Chance looked dominant,” Bulldogs’ head coach Shane Baughman said of his standout wrestlers, who currently sport 10-0 records on the year.
Also wrestling well for the Bulldogs, yet falling just short of a first-place finish, senior Nick Jones (138 pounds) and senior Tommy Fury (182 pounds) finished second overall.
Junior Tyler Knuckles (195 pounds) rounded out the Bulldogs’ placers, finishing third with a 4-1 record.
“I thought they wrestled pretty good,” said Shane Baughman, evaluating his team’s performance. “With Tyler and Tommy wrestling as well as they did, that put us in a good spot.”
Next up for the Bulldogs is the Panther Tournament, which will be held in Farmington on Dec. 21.
“The biggest thing that we need to improve on is wrestling on our feet,” said Baughman. “We’ve got to learn how to win those tight matches.”
