County Line Rivals place third in 13-team Kiowa Tournament
It was an early morning for the County Line Rivals and their dedicated band of supporters as they traveled to Kiowa. After a day full of highs, lows, and a few extra breaks, the Rivals finished third out of 13 teams and earned some individual hardware to boot.
Chris Scranton began the day for County Line at 120 pounds. Scranton fell to Jeremiah Nickle from Hanover by pin. He sat out round two as he drew a bye but suffered a loss against Darin Russell of Grandview Black and was eliminated from the tournament.
Samuel Adams came out strong at 126 pounds defeating Grayson Anderson from Grandview Black by pin. However, in round two, he found himself on the losing end of a pin by Coy Spitz of Lamar and dropped to the bottom of the bracket. This is where he met up with Michael Driscoll of Discovery Canyon. He was unable to get the win and was forced to hit the showers for the day.
Jonathan Burbank wrestled at 132 pounds for the Rivals. Off to a good start, he defeated Keeler Sparks of Kiowa by pin. Next, he met up with Damian Oden of Grandview Blue, where he fell by 13-6 decision. His next two matches gave him marks in the win column as he defeated Eddie Barrett of Granview Black and Alex Clossen of Calhan both by pin. His final round wasn’t as successful for Burbank as he fell to William Wood from Ellicott and was eliminated one round shy of a medal.
Aiden Michael had a star showing at 138 pounds going undefeated on the day. As the one seed in his bracket, Michael got a bye in round one. The next three matches ended in convincing pins for Michael. He defeate Angel Gomez of Gilpin County, Cody Murray of Byers, and Zeke Buker of Kiowa to earn a gold medal.
Sam Wollert was the 145-pound varsity wrestler for the Rivals. He began the day with a win by forfeit. Round two matched him against Greyson Yocum of Discovery Canyon. Wollert defeated Yocum by major decision 12-3. The next round he fell to Bradyn Tacha from Limon by a controversial pin call and dropped to the consolation side of the bracket. There he got a 7-0 win over Cauy Pennington of Kiowa and advanced to the consolation championship. In his final match of the day Talen Rice of Grandview Black pinned the Rival. He was awarded 4th place for his efforts.
Angel Soto Delgado was one of two JV wrestlers at 145 pounds for the Rivals. He began the day with a loss from Talen Rice of Grandview Black. In round two he was defeated by Greyson Yocum of Discovery Canyon and was eliminated from the tournament.
Christopher Torres was JV wrestler number two at 145 pounds. His first match wasn’t ideal, as he was pinned by Bradyn Tacha of Limon. Round two gave Torres some time to regroup as he drew a bye. He came back ready to go in round three against Cauy Pennington of Kiowa but wasn’t able to pull out the win and forced to watch the rest of the tournament from the stands.
Cade Zordel won his first match of the day at 152 by pin over Nathon Mahon of Discovery Canyon. He advanced to meet Wyatt Walts of Kiowa where he fell by pin. This moved Zordel to the consolation side of the bracket where he would win out to a 3rdplace finish. He defeated Winler Volmar by a 4-0 decision and Ty Leonard by pin, both from Discovery Canyon.
Zack Fowler wrestled in a round robin bracket for County Line at 160 pounds. He won his first match of the day against Bryan Perez of Lamar 7-4. However, he struggled the second half of the day losing to Caleb Rider of Grandview Blue, and Andrew Keegan of Discovery Canyon, both by pin. Ayden Emmons also from Discovery Canyon handed the Rival a 3-15 loss in his next round. Fowler’s final match of the day he was defeated by Zach Long from Grandview Black by pin.
Angel Medina spent his day at the 182-weight pound class in a 6-man round robin. He defeated Josh Pizzano of Lamar in round one. Medina fell victim to Jesus Reyes of Lamar by pin his second match of the day but didn’t let that stop him. He came back to earn another win over Matthew Brant of Ellicott with a pin in round three. He split his final two matches of the day falling to Chris Bollefer of Granview Blue and pinning Shannon Greer of Calhan. All his hard work earned Medina a 3rd place medal.
Dawson Roesch had another spectacular showing at 195 pounds. He defeated Daniel Mun of Discovery Canyon by pin to begin the day. The next opponents posed no problems as he pinned Petro Ivanusa from Grandview Blue and Marcus Vigil of Hanover. The Rival finished the day in a trying match with Pedro Gomez of Lamar. He came out on top pinning Gomez in 5:00 to earn another gold medal for his collection.
Jayce Bauer also had another dominate day at his 220-pound weight class. After earning himself a bye in round one, Bauer skated to the championship round defeating Gustavo Miranda of Lamar, and Ethan Dustrude of Calhan by fall. In the final round, he earned a 3-1 decision win over Braydn Cowen of Ellicott to win 1st place.
Chase Stolzenberger continues to be a bright spot for the Rivals at 285 pounds. He earned a tech fall win over Jake Owens of Grandview Blue in his first match of a three-man round robin bracket. Stolzenberger got caught in a pin by Chris Felan of Lamar in his second match, but his big win in round one earned him 2nd place on the day.
Each week seems to get better and better for this group of young men. Their hard work on the mats is paying off as the Rivals continue to finish towards the top of the team standings each weekend. They will continue their streak toward the Pepsi Center this weekend as they travel to Stratton on Saturday.
