Three boys, one girl take titles in Bayfield
Despite being just the first wrestling tournament of the 2025-26 grind, Bayfield’s Wolverine Classic might end up being looked at by the Ignacio Bobcats as the event where a special season was set in motion.
For after seven hours of wrestling and waiting, three of head coach Jordan Larsen’s men had qualified for the championship round. And when all was said and done, each had emerged as the best at his respective weight in helping IHS place sixth out of 15 scoring teams.
With seniors Aven Bourriague (120 pounds), Zane Pontine (157) and Lincoln deKay (165) leading the way, the ’Cats earned 80 points, ranking them behind Pagosa Springs (82.5), Bayfield (83), Olathe (89.5), Farmington (N.M.; 105) and Gunnison (127).
Bourriague went 5-for-5 on the day with three pins and didn’t allow a point to be scored against him until Monticello, Utah’s Diego Cortez did so in Bourriague’s fourth bout. Bourriague, however, proceeded to defeat Cortez by a 16-1 technical fall and advanced to challenge Center’s Michael Archuleta for first place. Forced to work the full six minutes, Bourriague nonetheless prevailed 6-1.
Pontine got underway building up a 12-3 lead on Pagosa Springs’ Trevor Faber, then pinning the Pirate 1:58 into the opening two-minute period to book his 100th varsity victory. He then pinned Center’s Jonas Valadez in 1:01 for No. 101, notched an 18-2 tech over Montezuma-Cortez’s Orion Martineau, and defeated Durango’s Mikael Hofman 18-1. Pit against BHS’ Coan Naranjo in the weight’s finale, Pontine completed his mission by building up a 7-0 lead and then pinning the Wolverine 1:03 into the second period.
deKay then stepped onto the center mat and completed a 4-0 run through his division by pinning BHS’ Jack Waters 19 ticks into the second period. None of deKay’s opponents managed to score against him; Farmington, New Mexico’s Aiden Lee fell behind 3-0 before being pinned 1:11 into the first period, PSHS’ Devin Gonzalez went down 7-0 before deKay made the stick just 48 seconds in, and Center’s Derriq Thompson lost via 15-0 tech in an elapsed 2:55.
At 132 pounds, Josh Kerrigan ended up 2-3 and in fourth at the weight after a 9-6 loss to Dolores’ Kenji Edwards. 175-pounder Phillip Velasquez went 0-4, but Zackariah Loudenburg went 2-2 at 215 with two pins.
144-pounder Dillon Brann won his first bout of the winter, pinning Center’s Elijah Garcia 1:21 into the second period, but then lost his next three by pin despite lasting into the third period of his last two bouts. And at 150, Norman Hackett went 0-4.
LADY ’CATS PLACE FOURTH
Larissa Espinosa went 2-0 at 235 pounds in the Classic’s nine-team girls’ tourney and placed first, helping Ignacio pile up a fourth-place 138 points. Olathe racked up a winning 187, besting Montezuma-Cortez’s 163 and Pagosa Springs’ 149.
Espinosa didn’t have to do too much; after building up a 3-0 lead on Kirtland (N.M.) Central’s Shayla Esplain, she secured a pin at 1:57 of the first period, and then won the first-place bout by forfeit over Center’s Janayah Martinez.
At 100 pounds, Madison Egger went 4-1 and pinned four foes, but placed second after being pinned by OHS’ Khloe Gonzales. IHS’ Amira Montoya wrestled at 120 pounds and also finished second; her 3-1 event record included three pins, but also a loss via pin courtesy M-CHS’ Paislee Mestas.
Lainee Bradley was runner-up at 125, going 4-1 with three pins and ultimately an 8-4 win over Antonito’s Eliza Garcia. Kodi Mae Rima went 2-1 at 130 and clinched second place with a pin, coming 1:32 into the first period, of M-CHS’ Tinley Philpott. At 140 pounds, runner-up Krysten Neil went 3-1 with two pins (one requiring only 11 seconds) and a forfeit.
Ireland Cates went 0-4 at 145, and lost her last bout – via pin, 1:40 into the third period – to teammate Eliska Prokopova, who posted a 2-2 tourney record and placed fifth (Cates finished seventh).