by David Tesitor
CENTER — The Trinidad Miners failed to win their fifth tournament of the season as they finished a distant ninth behind some of the toughest schools in 3A. In the process however, the Miners crowned one champion and had a second place finish.
Claiming another championship was Eddie Bowman who is undefeated at 35-0. He wrestled the biggest match of the season last weekend facing Levi Martin of Mancos whose 34-3 record made him the number one wrestler in the state. All eyes were on the mat as the pair squared off. Bowman, ranked third, sent notice that the kid from the southern part of the state should not be ignored. When the new rankings come out today, it would be interesting to see if Tim Yount of ‘On The Mat’ ranking services moves Bowman atop the best in the state. Bowman took all three periods to get the win, wrestling a defensive game against Martin. The match was tied at three as the first period ended as both competitors sized up their opponent. This was when Bowman took the offensive by scoring a takedown midway through the second to take the lead 5-3. He was later given a warning for stalling, followed by a one point caution given to Martin. That was where the period ended. In the third, both wrestlers could not gain the advantage as the final buzzer was sounded, giving Bowman the win.
Jake Armijo (27-2) placed 2nd in the tournament. Armijo, who is the number four wrestler in the state entering the tournament making the finals. In all three matches, he had little trouble as he pinned his first three opponents. As he entered the finals, he was also tasked with facing the number one wrestler in the state at the 3A level. Drew Johnson of Salida, with a record of 33-0 won by fall over Armijo in 55 seconds. It was the fastest pin against Armijo this season.
The last placer was AJ Bowman whose record is 23-9. He placed in 5th position. His day didn’t start off well as he lost his first quarterfinal match against Riley Neumeyer of Eagle Crest by fall in a time of 5:15 minutes. The loss sent Bowman to the consolation rounds where he faced elimination with any loss. On note, there was a local matchup in round three as Bowman met Tobin Parker of La Veta where he won a 5-3 decision. After a loss in the consolation semifinal to Blake Terrberry of West Grand by pin in 1:35, Bowman then won by fall over Oscar Gonzalez (Byers) to take fifth.
Other Miners who did not place included: Ashten Torres, Ari Ochoa, Jose Garcia, Eric Martinez, Lawrence Bowman, Matthew Garduno, Adrian Montoya, Charles Garcia and Cisco Duran.
Valley Classic Results for John Mall
It was a tough afternoon for the John Mall Panthers as only two wrestlers placed. At 132 pounds, Bernard Espinoza (32-8) placed 3rd. He won his first match against another local, over Kaaden Crovo of La Veta by pin in 3:35. He went on to pin Tristan Davidsen (Byers) in the quarterfinal with a time of 3:23. Espinoza then wrestled Levi Martin (Mancos) in the semifinal. Martin won by major decision over Espinoza by the score of 11-3.
In the consolation semifinal, Espinoza won a 9-0 major decision over Diego Hernandez, and for third, Espinoza won by fall over Peyton Armstrong (North Fork) in 4:51 minutes.
The final Panther to place was Isaiah Cosby. Crosby placed 4th. With an easy pin against Dakota Rael (Sierra Grande/Centennial) in 42 seconds, Crosby faced the number nine wrestler at 2A, Gabe Schubarth (Limon) whose 19-2 record gave Crosby one of his toughest matches of the tournament Schubarth pinned Crosby in 44 seconds. Needing to win and stay alive, Crosby won the next three matches. Entering a chance at third, Crosby was pinned by Colten Vannest (Mancos) in 52 seconds.
Other wrestlers who competed but did not place included, Aiden Trujillo, Josiah Espinoza, Giovonni Aldretti and Jacob Cordova.
Results for La Veta
Wrestling at 157 pounds, Brayden Nix (24-5) placed 5th at the classic as the only Redhawk to place. Nix is ranked sixth in the state. Nix easily defeated his first two opponents before meeting David Arellano (Buena Vista) whose record of 24-1 and ranked number two in the state won by fall over Nix with a time of 1:49 minutes. This would be the last time the pair meet this season as both wrestlers are in separate Regionals in two weeks. Nix lost his consolation semifinal to Jeremiah Baumgardner of Monte Vista by pin as time expired in the first period. He then won over Chase Ripley (Olathe) by pin.
Other Redhawks who competed but did not place included; Daniel Villalobos-Owens, Kaaden Crovo, Connor Palmer, Jessey Montunnas and Tobin Parker.
