The Durango High School and Bayfield High School wrestling programs started the new year by traveling south to Rio Rancho, New Mexico, to battle in a massive high school wrestling tournament at Cleveland High School. Durango boys wrestling senior Ryan Dugan was the local bright spot, finishing second at 127 pounds.
At the Conflict at Cleveland, the Durango boys and girls wrestling teams competed and somehow, in a massive field for both squads, each team finished 28th. The boys finished 28th with 69 team points out of 73 schools. The girls were tied-28th with 49 team points.
Bayfield girls wrestling finished 44th with 34 team points and the boys finished 49th with 37 team points. Cleveland High School won the boys tournament with 260.5 team points and the girls tournament with 176 points.
Dugan finished second at 127 pounds after winning by technical fall in the first round over Jason Vannest from Mancos. He then pinned Ruidoso’s Trenton Hall in the second round and Manny Valdez from Belen in the third round.
In the quarterfinals, Dugan won 9-4 over Miyamura’s Gage Sellers and in the semifinals, Dugan won 10-4 over Israel Guevara from Cleveland.
Dugan’s run of wins finished when Elijah Sierra from Volcano Vista won 5-0 in the final. Dugan finished the tournament 14-2 overall. He was the only Durango boys wrestler to place.
Junior Hana Maletich finished eighth at 120 pounds as the only Durango girls wrestler to place. She pinned her first three opponents before she was pinned in the quarterfinals. Maletich then won her first consolation match 2-1 before she was pinned in her second consolation match. This put her in the seventh-place match where she was pinned.
Bayfield girls wrestler Leilani Ramos had a strong showing at 100 pounds and finished fourth. She pinned her first three opponents to advance to the semifinals. She was pinned by Pueblo Central’s Acelyn Duran (22-0 overall) in the semifinals. Ramos then pinned her opponents in the consolation semifinals before she was pinned in the third-place match by Alexis Birner from Cleveland.
None of the Bayfield boys wrestlers placed. Coan Naranjo was the closest at 145 pounds; he pinned his first two opponents before he was pinned in the third round. Naranjo then won his first two consolation matches by pin before he was pinned in his third consolation match.
bkelly@durangoherald.com