Buckaroo wrestlers earn wins over several teams at Dave Smith Memorial Duals

by Anna Fredericks
Contributing Writer
The Monticello Buckaroo wrestlers took their annual trip to the Dave Smith Memorial Duals Tournament in Price, UT this past Friday and Saturday, December 12-13.
The Buckaroos took 11 wrestlers to the event, including three in the junior varsity tournament and one wrestling for another team due to having more than one wrestler in a weight on the team.
The young Bucks wrestled hard in ten duals over the two-day tournament. They defeated Juan Diego 42-18, Maple Mountain (2) 40-29, Carbon (2) 38-30, and American Leadership Academy 36-30.
Monticello came close against Dolores, CO but ultimately suffered a 35-30 loss. They were also defeated by Duchesne, Emery, Union, Maple Mountain, and Carbon.
Leading the way for the Buckaroos was John Leber who was nearly perfect, finishing the weekend 8-1. Leber had a very strong performance, earning five wins by fall and three by technical fall.
Also wrestling very well for Monticello were Arturo Gutierrez and Diego Cortez, who both finished 8-2.
Gutierrez had four big wins by fall and three impressive technical fall wins in addition to an exciting 7-6 victory. Cortez earned six strong wins by fall, a big 11-4 win and a thrilling 8-7 victory.
Landon Shumway put six big wins up for the Buckaroos, earning three by fall, one by technical fall, and one by 24-15 major decision. Shumway was also up 7-0 in a match when his opponent injury defaulted.
Miles Coleman put three wins in the books with two falls and a 9-6 victory. Also earning varsity wins for Monticello were Evan Carpenter with a fall, Zamian Lopez with a fall, and JJ Atwood with two wins by fall. Bryson Adair earned two wins by fall wrestling for Juan Diego.
In the junior varsity tournament, Hayden Peterson won two matches by fall, with Atwood and Christian Hunt each earning a win by fall.
This week the team will travel to Dolores, CO on Wednesday, December 17, then to Fort Defiance, AZ to compete in the Veterans Memorial Tournament at Window Rock High School Friday and Saturday, December 19-20.
That will close out the 2025 portion of the Buckarooos’ season. They’ll hit the mats again on January 7 when they travel to wrestle in Cortez.