After both teams found themselves at a perfect 4-0 following pool play at Saturday’s 10-team Rumble in the Rockies wrestling tournament inside Jack Smith Gymnasium at Rifle High School, the Rifle Bears and Glenwood Springs Demons found themselves pitted against each other in the tournament championship.
Rifle emerged victorious Saturday in the battle between the two rivals, taking down the Demons 51-29 on the mat to claim supremecy at the Rumble in the Rockies.
In the championship match, Glenwood started fast by picking up a forfeit win in the 160-pound match as Sawyer McKenney was unopposed in the weight class. Rifle quickly turned it around though as Kyle Lang pinned Glenwood’s Tucker Porter in one minute, 58 seconds in the 170-pound match, evening things up at 6-6.
Glenwood’s Amos Wilson put the Demons back on top at 12-6 with a win by fall in 1:44 of the 182-pound match over Rifle’s Pedro Guardado, but Alex Guardado tied it back up at 12-12 in the 195-pound match, pinning Glenwood’s Spencer Cloud in 3:50. Rifle started to pull away from there as Jared Henderson won by forfeit in the 220-pound weight class, while Alejandro Robles pinned Glenwood’s Bryce Wheeler in 1:48 of the 285-pound weight class, making it 24-12 Rifle midway through the match.
Glenwood freshman Ray Rosenmerkel claimed a forfeit win in the 106-pound weight class to make it 24-18, but Rifle answered right back with a forfeit win in the 113-pound weight class as Caleb Gieselman claimed victory, making it a 30-18 match in favor of Rifle.
In the 120-pound match, Glenwood freshman Dakotah Aguirre picked up a forfeit win to pull Glenwood to within six points at 30-24, but Rifle’s Bryce Rowley stretched the lead again at 126 pounds, pinning Glenwood’s Max Burrell in 3:14 to make it a 36-24 match. Burrell cost Glenwood a team point with an unsportsmanlike penalty, dropping the score to 36-23.
Following the 126-pound match, Glenwood senior Mathew Flores picked up a huge win over Rifle’s Cauy Smith in the 132-pound match, pinning the Rifle wrestler in 3:15, making it a 36-29 match in favor of Rifle.
That would be it for Glenwood though as Talon Cordova defeated Glenwood’s Joaquin Garcia via decision (4-2), while Conrad Demann pinned Glenwood’s Joshua Sanchez in 1:20 of the 145-pound match, making it 46-29 Rifle. Dillon Tiffany then pinned Glenwood’s Caden Howe in the 152-pound match in 1:27, closing out the 51-29 win for the Bears.
Prior to the championship match, Rifle defeated Grand Valley 53-6, Battle Mountain 54-12, Steamboat Springs 52-9, and Grand Junction 42-18. Glenwood defeated Moffat County 39-25, Rangely 60-7, Coal Ridge 71-0, and Basalt 54-24 to reach the championship match.
Team scores and stats for Grand Valley and Coal Ridge were unavailable at the time of press.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Glenwood Springs 47, Steamboat Springs 19
On the road for a 4A Western Slope League battle with the Steamboat Springs Sailors Saturday afternoon, the Glenwood Springs Demons girls basketball team cruised to a 47-19 win, allowing veteran head coach Rhonda Moser to get a number of reserves key playing time midway through the season.
In the 28-point Demon win, junior guard Hadley Yellico came off the bench for Glenwood to lead the Demons in scoring with 13 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the win. Along with Yellico’s big night, senior Emily Worline – the leading girls 3-point shooter in 4A – chipped in with 9 points, hitting two 3-pointers in the win.
Senior guard Ashley Barragan added 7 points for the Demons, while Michelle Marshall and Ximena Gutierrez added 6 points each.
Glenwood (8-7, 4-0 4A WSL) hosts Battle Mountain Friday night for another 4A WSL battle, starting at 6 p.m.
Grand Junction 46, Rifle 20
A rough first quarter did in the Rifle Bears girls basketball team Saturday on the road at Grand Junction High School in a non-league matchup against the Tigers, as the Bears fell behind the Tigers 16-4 after one quarter of play on the way to a 46-20 loss.
Against the Tigers, senior Masi Smith led the Bears with 9 of the 20 points, hitting one 3-pointer in the loss. Freshman Jamie Caron added 4 points, while Sage Allen added 3 points via a 3-pointer for the Bears. April Quinones and Mackenzie Elizardo added 2 points each in the losing effort for the Bears.
Rifle (2-10, 2-1 4A WSL) hosts the Summit Tigers Tuesday night for another 4A WSL battle at 6 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Glenwood Springs 54, Steamboat Springs 51
Glenwood senior guard Chano Gonzalez caught fire in the third quarter Saturday on the road against the Steamboat Springs Sailors, pouring in 14 points on four 3-pointers, helping the Demons pick up a huge 54-51 win over the Sailors in 4A Western Slope League play.
“It was an incredible game,” said Fred Heisel, Glenwood’s head coach. “Chano blew up in the third. Both teams played extremely hard; I’m so proud of these boys.”
Along with Gonzalez’s big third quarter, senior guard Angel Garcia had a steady night, pouring in 15 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the winning effort, as the senior backcourt of Gonzalez and Garcia combined for 33 points on the day.
As a team, Glenwood Springs hit eight 3-pointers on the day, while Steamboat Springs hit five, all by Aden Knaus, who scored 19 points on the day. That wasn’t the best performance by the Sailors though. Senior Mac Riniker poured in a game-high 23 points, scoring 8 points in the first quarter, 6 points in the second quarter, and 4 points each in the third and fourth quarters. Just two other players scored for Steamboat though, leading to the 3-point loss to the Demons.
Glenwood (11-4, 4-0 4A WSL) hosts Battle Mountain Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in a key 4A WSL matchup.
Grand Valley 47, Aspen 45
Hosting the Aspen Skiers Saturday in a 3A Western Slope League matchup inside ‘The Nest’ in Parachute, the Grand Valley Cardinals boys basketball team pulled out a late 2-point win over the Skiers, 47-45, to move to 2-0 in league play.
Against the Skiers, senior guard Wade Wiese led the Cardinals with a game-high 16 points, hitting four 3-pointers in the win. Along with Wiese, senior Angel Garcia added 10 points for Grand Valley, going 6-for-8 from the free throw line. Emilio Garcia and Kade Paulson added 6 and 5 points each for the Cardinals.
For Aspen, Noah Hollander led the way with 14 points, 8 of which came in the first quarter.
Grand Valley (7-4, 2-0 3A WSL) travels to Delta Thursday night before hosting Coal Ridge Friday night in a rivalry matchup at 7 p.m.
HOCKEY
Crested Butte 7, Glenwood Springs 2
Looking to bounce back from a 4-3 loss to Standley Lake on the road Thursday, the Glenwood Springs Demons varsity hockey team dropped a 7-2 decision to Crested Butte Saturday night in Jorgenson.
Against Crested Butte, the Demons fell behind 3-0 in the second period after a scoreless first as the scored three unanswered goals in the second period. Glenwood bounced back in the third period though as Devlin Powell got the Demons on the board on an even strenght goal off of an assist from Colter Strautman to make it 3-1 early in the third period, before Dylan Webster made it 3-2 on another even strength goal.
That would be it for the Demons though as Crested Butte reeled off four straight goals to cap off the 7-2 win.
The Demons were outshot 40-28 by Crested Butte, and went 0-for-4 on the powerplay. Glenwood also took 19 penalty minutes on eight infractions in the loss. In net, Hunter Hadsock stopped 33 of 40 shots on goal.
Glenwood (4-8) hosts Summit Saturday, Jan. 26 at the Eagle Ice Rink at 5 p.m.