Robert Allred of Grand applies a hold to his Monticello opponent on Jan. 30. Allred won his match on points, 8-6. Photo by Jeff Richards
According to head coach Dennis Wells, the Red Devils had only nine wrestlers compete in the tournament.
Grand had three wrestlers advance as far as the semifinals on Saturday, with Gage Lindquist and Trenton White each finishing third in the tournament and heavyweight Edgar Gomez placing fourth, Wells said.
“Edgar was behind Manti in the semifinals, 1-0 and got pinned,” Wells said, adding that Gomez also lost his next match by pin, to a Payson opponent.
In the 113-pound category, Lindquist won both of his Friday matches on points, but narrowly lost 6-4 to Millard in Saturday’s semifinal. He bounced back to pin his final opponent – from Payson – to take third place overall.
White entered the tournament as a No. 1 seed in the 152-pound category and pinned both of his opponents on Friday. He lost on points, 9-7, in the semifinals to Payson on Saturday but came back to pin an opponent from Millard and secure third place in the tournament.
The other six Red Devil wrestlers all lost at least one match on Friday. The losses dropped those wrestlers into the consolation brackets on Saturday, where each eventually was eliminated from the competition.
Wrestling at 120 pounds, Dexter Sheets lost his first-round match on points, 6-5, getting taken down with three seconds left in the final round. He rebounded to win his next match by pin, Wells said.
Freshman Seth Holyoak, wrestling at 126 pounds, also split his first two matches on Friday, losing the first by pin and winning the second by pin.
Austin Day, wrestling at 182 pounds, first took on a junior varsity opponent from Millard, pinning him in 37 seconds. But Day was pinned in a varsity match against Millard, dropping him into the consolation bracket.
At 145 pounds, Ronnie Dolphin returned to the mat for Grand after being out almost two months with a broken arm. Dolphin won his first match against Juab, scoring a five-point move in the final minute of the match to win on points, 20-15. Dolphin lost in the second round to an opponent from Monticello.
Also for Grand, Andrew Hugentobler and Jaydan Olsen competed in the 113-pound category. Although both lost their matches on Friday, they wrestled well, according to assistant coach Ron Dolphin.
“Andrew was extremely tough in both of his matches, and Jaydan was just coming back from an injury and did well on his return,” Dolphin said.
Earlier in the week, the Red Devils lost their final home match of the season, falling to the Monticello Buckaroos on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Monticello dominated the Red Devils in the dual meet to win 52-15.
Only three of Grand’s varsity wrestlers won their individual matches against Monticello. Robert Allred scored the first win for the Red Devils, beating his opponent in the 132-pound category on points, 8-6. The win gave Grand three team points, making the score 22-3 in favor of Monticello. Later, White, competing for Grand in the 152-pound category, pinned his man in the first round, earning six additional points for the team. Grand’s final wrestler of the night, heavyweight Edgar Gomez, won his match by forfeit.
Grand did win two junior varsity matches against the Buckaroos, with 113-pound Lindquist and 126-pound Shawn Fugal each pinning their respective opponents.
Grand’s two seniors on the wrestling squad, Sheets and White, were recognized prior to the match, as were senior team managers Amanda Sheets, Jordan Dolphin, and Mikenzee Nelson.
This weekend, Feb. 8 and 9, Grand’s wrestling team is scheduled to compete at the 2A Divisional meet in Richfield, which will determine the final qualifying teams and rankings for the state 2A tournament. The 2A event is scheduled for the following weekend, Feb. 15 and 16, at Utah Valley University in Orem.