Hosting the Coal Ridge Titans Thursday evening inside Jack Smith Gymnasium, the Rifle Bears wrestling team picked up an important 65-6 dual win over its neighbors east on I-70.
Rifle rode to the win on the back of seven forfeits against a shorthanded Coal Ridge squad, which fielded just five wrestlers on the evening.
RIfle’s Hunter Bercher (106), Caleb Gieselman (113), Justin Henderson (120), Bryan Soto (126), Conrad Demann (145), Pedro Guardado (182), and Alex Guardado (195) recorded wins by forfeit, accounting for 42 of Rifle’s 65 team points on the night.
In the five matches wreslted Thursday, Rifle’s Bryce Rowley opened up the battle with an 11-4 deicsion win over Kyler Jones, setting the stage for Cauy Smith’s win for Rifle oer Jared Richel in the 138-pound match. Smith pinned Richel midway through the first period, pushing Rifle out to a 33-0 lead.
At 160 pounds, Dillon Tiffany had the match of the night for the Bears, picking up an impressive 16-1 technical fall win over Coal Ridge’s Dominic Centeno, extending Rifle’s lead to 38-0 before Coal Ridge’s Colby Bilson came through for the Titans with a huge win by fall over Rifle’s Kyle Lang at 1:11 of the first period.
Jared Henderson picked up a 9-3 decision win for Rifle in the 220-pound match over Coal Ridge’s Kaden Lord, while Alejandro Robles closed out the big win for the Bears with a win by fall in just nine seconds over Coal Ridge’s Rafael Sanchez.
Rifle travels to the Vernal (UT) Tournament Friday morning, while Coal Ridge hits the road Saturday morning for the Western Duals in Gunnison at 9 a.m.
MEEKER 51, GRAND VALLEY 24
Taking on the Meeker Cowboys Thursday night inside ‘The Nest’ in Parachute, the Grand Valley Cardinals wrestling team dropped a 51-24 decision.
Against the Cowboys, Grand Valley forfeited four weight classes, giving up 24 points, while Meeker forfeited one weight class, giving up six points.
In matches wrestled, Grand Valley’s Derrick Medina opened the night with a 6-0 decision win over Meeker’s Ty Goedert, while Hector De La Cruz added a major decision (12-1) win for the Cardinals over Zach McCann.
Paul Wojclechowski kept it going for the Cardinals iwth a win by fall over Carter Strate in the 1:58 of the 132-pound match, while Hector Arzate won by technical fall (16-0) over Trinden Powell in the 138-pound match.
Tannen Kennedy picked up a legitimate win for the Cowboys in the 145-pound match by pinning Grand Valley’s Isaac Tigert in 3:53, while Cooper Main added another win for Meeker in the 152-pound match with a sudden victory (6-4) over Grand Valley’s Anthony Fladeland.
Meeker’s Jeremy Woodward and Colby Clatterbaught pinned Grand Valley’s Cristian Barragan and Brayden Harper in back-to-back matches before Ridge Williams closed out the night with a win by fall over Grand Valley’s Asa Grice in the 220-pound match.
Grand Valley travels to Gunnison Saturday for the Western Duals starting at 9 a.m., before then hitting the road Thursday, Jan. 17 for a dual against the Glenwood Springs Demons.