Snowflake’s JR Fox returned home a state champion after defeating all foes in the 285-pound weight class at the Division III state wrestling meet held last Thursday and Friday in Prescott Valley.
Snowflake placed 15th in the 43-team field with 32 points, which is pretty good with only three wrestlers competing. Show Low took the team title with 122 points. Yuma was second with 107, followed by Thunderbird in third with 105.5.
Fox, who wrapped up the season at 38-5 overall, pinned three of his four opponents to win the title. His first round win was by pin over Jake Wagner of Sunrise Mountain. Next was a pin over Nikolas Arnold of Florence in 1:02. Fox’s semifinal round was the closest, a 6-3 decision win over Oscar Vega of Yuma. In the title match Fox wasted no time pinning Dakota Richardson of Page in less than a minute to win the individual state crown.
Leon LeGrange placed fourth in the 220-lb. weight class, going 3-2 in five matches. He won his first round by major decision. He pinned his second round opponent from Moon Valley. In the semifinal round LeGrange took a 0-7 decision loss to Tarik Sutkovic of Thunderbird. He bounced back in the consolation semifinal with a tough 2-1 decision over Diego Huerta of Salpointe Catholic. In the third and fourth place match LeGrange lost an 8-3 decision to Isiah Jacobs of Combs. Overall, LeGrange posted a 41-8 season record.
Justin White was the third Lobo wrestler to qualify for the state meet, and he went 0-2, leaving his overall season record at 20-18.
