Buckaroos finish fifth in Hotchkiss

by Anna Fredericks
Contributing Writer
The Monticello High School wrestling team traveled to Hotchkiss, CO this past Saturday, January 17 to compete in the Fight at the Fork at North Fork High School.
The field of 29 teams provided a tough challenge for the Buckaroos, who stepped up and finished fifth overall among several top-ranked Colorado teams.
Reaching the top of the podium as champions at the end of the tournament were Landon Shumway at 138 pounds and John Leber at 150 pounds.
Shumway started the day with a big 17-2 technical fall win. He followed with a second-period fall and an exciting and physical 20-13 victory in the semifinal round.
In the finals Shumway stunned everyone when he immediately took his opponent down on the whistle and pinned him in only 14 seconds. The impressive finish was the fastest fall of the tournament.
John Leber made his way to a championship at 150 pounds with a dominant first-round 15-0 technical fall win. He earned a first-period fall in the second round.
In the semifinals, Leber left it all on the mat in an exciting 14-12 victory. In his final match he continued to dig deep in a physical and thrilling match, earning a 15-10 victory.
Leber notched the third-quickest time for fastest technical fall in the tournament, earning that mark in 1:16.
Arturo Gutierrez earned a strong second-place finish. Gutierrez dominated his opponents through four rounds, winning one by fall in the first period and three matches by technical fall, 15-0, 18-0, and 11-1.
Through four rounds, he only allowed a single point scored against him. Gutierrez finished the tournament with the most technical falls in the least amount of time with three in nine minutes, and the fastest tech fall of the day at 1:06.
Diego Cortez finished with an impressive third place medal at 120 pounds. After an early loss, Cortez fought back to run the table, winning three matches by fall and two by technical fall, 17-0 and 18-3 to finish the day on the podium.
Buckaroos Evan Carpenter, Noah Dilts and Bryson Adair each earned two wins by fall at the tournament. Adair and Dilts each went deep into the tournament and were beaten out only one win from the medal round.
Hayden Peterson earned a first-period win by fall and Miles Coleman earned a win by fall in the second period. Also wrestling hard for the Buckaroos were Christian Hunt, JJ Atwood, and Zamian Lopez.
This week the Buckaroos will hold their senior night quad at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 21. They will host Whitehorse, Monument Valley-Kayenta, and Dolores.
Monticello will finish a busy week and close out their regular season in Ignacio, CO this Saturday, January 24 at the Butch Melton Invitational.