Criminals squeak by to stay unbeaten
After big win over Peoria, Yuma High tops Gila Ridge by 2
Yuma High’s most important matchup of the day was its first, against sectionand state-rival Peoria, but it was the Criminals vs. Gila Ridge that ended up the most exciting.
It took the Criminals, who went 3-0 on the day to improve their record to 17-0 this season, until the final bout at 106 pounds to put away the Hawks and win the Gila Ridge Multi on Wednesday.
Levi Martin won with an 18-3 technical fall over Gila Ridge’s Garrett Salyi to give the Criminals a 3230 victory.
“It was a good match,” Yuma High coach Jeff Welsing said. “We didn’t wrestle very well. We got lucky to come out of there with a win. I don’t know if I got them too fired up for the section match beforehand.”
Welsing later added: “Being 17-0 is never a bad thing. We’ll take it. Obviously a tough tournament coming up this weekend. We did what we needed to do.”
That section match was the contest with Peoria that Yuma High won 50-15 to start the day. Peoria won the Criminals’ section a year ago, and finished sixth at the Division III State Tournament where Yuma High placed second.
The junior-heavy Panthers returned many of their state-placers, including 220-pounder Ethan Macias, who Yuma High’s Shane Garcia beat with a 4-3 decision.
But following the matchup with the Panthers,
Welsing feels the Criminals came out flat against the Hawks, who jumped out to a 21-9 lead after the 145-pound match.
Gila Ridge went on to take two post-regulation wins. At 170, Justin Rhoades took a 7-6 decision in triple overtime, and heavyweight Koby Fike beat Oscar Vega, 3-1, in overtime.
“Those were huge,” Gila Ridge coach Dave King said. “Our secret tonight, our gameplan tonight, was to win close matches. They both pulled it out. Rhoades, that just took a bunch of guts. That was a great overtime win.”
A year ago, the Hawks and Criminals competed against each other, with the Criminals winning all four by 25 points or more.
The two-point deficit Wednesday is an indication of an improved Gila Ridge team that returned its three state placers in D-II from state in February.
“It shows that we’re growing a little bit,” King said. “It’s definitely a lot closer than it was last year.”
Gila Ridge also beat Peoria, by a score of 42-31, to finish in second place. The Hawks and Criminals both topped San Luis by more than 70.
Peoria’s 46-21 win over San Luis sent the Sidewinders home with an 0-3 mark on the day.
“We’re struggling right now,” San Luis coach Albert Escalante said. “The kids, little by little, are improving. It’s all about technique.”
Escalante said it can be difficult to be optimistic during a difficult season like the team is having so far, but he wants to “keep (the wrestlers) positive, keep their heads up, keep them going. Hopefully, they don’t give up on us, and we’re not giving up on them.”
The wrestlers who went 3-0 Wednesday were 106-pounder Martin, 120 Jonathan Ruiz, 132 Jose Bugarin, 152 Erick Cervantes, 182 Jacob Sanchez and 220 Garcia for Yuma High; and 126 Lance Allen, 138 freshman Isaiah Portwood, 145 Frank Widman and heavyweight Fike for Gila Ridge.