Basketball Sports

Wrestlers ready to host Melton meet


Ignacio’s Aven Bourriague (top) and Dillon Brann warm up prior to the Bobcats wrestling against both Bayfield and Durango Tuesday evening, Jan. 14, at DHS. IHS lost to both the Wolverines and Demons, but the boys would close out the week having wrestled 14 duals (of varying sizes and numbers of bouts) in preparation to host the SJBL Championships on the 23rd, then the Butch Melton Memorial Invitational on the 25th.
Photo Credit: Joel Priest | Special to the Drum

Closing out an intense week of dual-style competition, Ignacio Wrestling traveled to Farmington, N.M., on the 17th and 18th of January to test themselves at the 2025 Clash at the Coliseum.

Joined by 17 other teams at McGee Park Memorial Coliseum for the Aztec, N.M.-hosted event, the Bobcats went 3-6 overall and placed 12th after losing 28-18 to Albuquerque, N.M., Academy.

Wrestling at 139 pounds, Dillon Brann pinned his opponent 48 seconds into the second period, Zane Pontine won by forfeit at 152 and Lincoln deKay won by pin at 160 in 1:52. The Chargers, however, took three weights via forfeit, took the 127-pound bout via 11-2 major decision over Joshua Kerrigan, and the 133-pound bout via pin over Cameron Bell.

Arriving at the spectacle having lost to both 3A Bayfield (40-17) and 4A Durango (50-10) on the 14th at the annual Riverside Rumble triangular (a.k.a. the La Plata County Duals) – hosted this season by DHS – Ignacio started the Clash losing 54-14 to Montrose. A 36-21 loss to Socorro, N.M., then followed, and the Bobcats then lost 53-9 to West Las Vegas, N.M.

IHS then fell 52-17 to Albuquerque St. Pius X before at last logging a win, 30-18 over Sanders, Ariz., Valley. In that dual, only one actual bout took place, with Kerrigan pinning Tyler Mitchell in 45 seconds. Otherwise, Bell (133 pounds), Brann (139), Pontine (152) and deKay (160) all won by forfeit, while SHS did likewise at 189 pounds, 215 and 114.

Ignacio then defeated Aztec’s ‘Orange’ squad 28-24 with Brann winning via technical fall, Pontine via pin in 0:26, deKay via technical fall, Kerrigan via pin in an elapsed 3:20, and Bell via forfeit.

More success then came IHS’ way as the Bobcats bettered 2A San Juan Basin League rival Dolores 20-12. Pontine pinned Nathan Hill just before the second two-minute period expired, deKay defeated River Wickstrom by 15-0 technical fall, and Brann outlasted Kenji Edwards 18-11. Kerrigan, meanwhile, won at both 127 (7-6 over Zaiden Hanson) and 133 (6-4 over Mason Hill) pounds.

Montezuma-Cortez then finally slowed Ignacio’s roll, 33-12, as only Pontine (pin of Parker Conrad 50 ticks into the second period) and deKay (forfeit) were victorious.

The ’Cats will host the 2025 Butch Melton Memorial Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 25, with action set to begin at 9 a.m. Results from the IHS-hosted SJBL Championships on the 23rd were unavailable at press time.

LADIES IN THE MIX

Making their appearance on Day 2 of the Clash for the bracket-style girls’ tourney, IHS’ Lady Bobcats earned 25 points and placed 11th overall. AHS racked up 138.5 points and narrowly held off both Farmington (135) and Farmington Piedra Vista (131.5) in the battle for first.

Not at full strength personnel-wise, Ignacio nevertheless entered three wrestlers and returned with three top-six placers. Larissa Espinosa went 2-2 at 235 pounds and finished in third place after pinning PVHS’ Victoria Martinez in 1:51. 138-pounder Krysten Neil finished 1-3 but in fourth place, and Marlene Martinez-Perez ended up sixth at the same weight despite going 0-3.

ADDITIONAL RESULTS

Ignacio’s boys also traveled to Dove Creek on Thursday, Jan. 16, for a scheduled quad against the SJBL rival Bulldogs plus Dolores and Moab, Utah, Grand County. And things went pretty well for the ’Cats.

Against DCHS, Ignacio won 24-18 with Kerrigan pinning Cael Beanland at 126 pounds, and Brann, Pontine and deKay each winning by forfeit. IHS also defeated GCHS 6-5, with Pontine pinning Cooper Swasey but deKay losing via technical fall to Austin Paris. The Bobcats would lose to Dolores, however, by a 12-6 margin; Hanson pinned Bell at 132 and Darren Hicks did likewise to Brann at 144, but deKay pinned Kale Gates in 65 seconds.

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