Roundup: Antelope’s Jaime loses in finals
Yuma Catholic’s Molina, Blomquist, Cheung all take 3rd place
PRESCOTT VALLEY — He came one point shy of a title, but Antelope senior wrestler Brandon Jaime and coach Rocky Jaime are still proud of the outcome.
Brandon Jaime had a narrow 4-3 defeat against Benson’s Clayson Goodwin in the 195-pound final of the Division IV State Wrestling Tournament at the Prescott Valley Event Center on Saturday.
“He’s a really good wrestler, so I knew I was going to have a hard time,” Brandon Jaime said after the loss.
“It was a tough match,” Rocky Jaime said. “We knew the kid, once he gets the lead, he kind of just holds back a little bit. But he tends to wrestle off his heels; we coached Brandon on that. He almost pulled it out in the end.”
Goodwin had a 4-0 lead initially, but the Antelope senior — who placed sixth at last year’s tournament — chipped away at that lead by getting a point on three different occasions.
The Rams have not had a state champion since Johnny Salcido won his second straight in 2011.
YC gets 3 in 3rd place
After a morning that saw semifinal losses for Yuma Catholic 132-pounder Austin Blomquist and 170-pounder Richard Molina, the three YC wrestlers still alive (those two plus 182-pounder Sam Cheung) rallied and closed out the D-IV tournament strong during the medal rounds.
Blomquist and Molina both won their consolation semifinal. Cheung, who lost in the quarterfinals as a 1-seed on Friday, had to win three bouts to get to the third-place match. All three seniors took third. “They deserved it,” Yuma Catholic coach Derek Beck said. “They worked hard for a really long time, four years, so I’m happy for them.”
Molina’s win marks the third year in a row he has achieved state placement. Blomquist now has two topthree finishes after losing in the finals a year ago.
Cheung’s third-place finish is his first state medal. He also avenged his quarterfinal loss to Pima’s Dillon Jones by beating Jones in that third-place match.
“He’s had hard times at state before, so I’m really happy for him,” Beck said. “There’s not a better kid in the world than Sam; (he’s) just a class act.”