With each passing year, the Bluejays’ footprint grows larger on the state wrestling landscape.
Capping another successful season for Mancos grapplers, three Bluejays earned top-six finishes in the 2A state championships to bring back more hardware to Southwest Colorado.
Of the six Jays who took to the mats in Denver’s Ball Arena, sophomore Levi Martin entered one of the most heavily loaded weight divisions at 126 pounds. The defending 113-pound champion’s draw included last year's 120-pound winner, Lane Hunsberger of Cedaredge, along with Dolores Huerta Prep standout Daniel Apodaca.
Martin dominated his opening round to advance to the quarterfinals, where the road got bumpy. Yuma’s John Smith pushed Martin to an ultimate tiebreaker, before Martin escaped with a 3-2 win.
With Apodaca waiting in the semifinal round, Martin’s strong run took a different route, as Apodaca controlled the second period to build a 6-2 lead, before Martin tried to rally in the third. Apodaca held on for an 8-4 victory, sending Martin to the consolation bracket.
Unperturbed, Martin went back to winning ways again, topping Dillion Buford of Crowley County and Benny Gonzales of Rocky Ford to take home a third-place finish – the highest podium placement for any Mancos wrestler this year.
In his maiden voyage on the state stage, junior Ayden Mathews put together a run of his own. After dropping his opening match, Mathews put together a string of four consecutive victories, all by decision, to power his way to the third-place match in the 160-pound division.
Mathews’ victory over local rival Jamar Rankins of Nucla guaranteed him a podium finish, which he followed up with a tight 8-7 decision over Cade Blunt from Meeker. Mathews dropped the third-place match to Chris Deluca of Buena Vista but claimed fourth place overall.
Classmate Lane Greenlee (195) also took the long road to the podium, falling in his opening match before winning three consecutive matches, including a 13-2 major decision over Arthur Connelly of Nucla, to make the medal rounds. Greenlee dropped his final two matches to finish 3-3 in the tournament but came away with a sixth-place finish and a podium placement in his first state appearance.
A trio of other Bluejays, Dillon Eichner (106), Isaiah Martinez (113) and Cole Dainty-Guilfoyle (170), all posted records of 1-2 in the field and fell just short of podium finishes.
All six Bluejays will get another year of experience and have an opportunity to learn from their state appearances – the first trips for Mathews, Greenlee, Martinez, and Dainty-Guilfoyle – as they all return for the 2023 season.
As a team, the Bluejays finished just outside the top 10, claiming 48.5 points, while Wray claimed the 2A team title.
Bayfield senior Kobe Prior finished fifth in the Class 3A Division to bring home the only medal for the Wolverines. Teammate James Mars and Jordan Cundiff, Ignacio’s Tyler Barnes and Keaton McCoy, and Durango’s Tyler Woodworth and Jacob Fenberg all lost in the consolation third round Saturday to finish one win short of the podium. Keaton Pickering of Bayfield lost in the second consolation round.
In Unified matches, Cayle McCoy of Ignacio won the only match at 106 pounds, defeating Jayden Bailey of Dove Creek in a 7-3 decision.
