The Holbrook Roadrunners placed second in the Section III wrestling tournament they hosted last week-end. St. Johns earned the team title with 302.5 points, followed by Holbrook with 223.5 and Round Valley with 178.5.
Theron Johns placed third for Holbrook in the 106-lb. division. “Theron wrestled well, only losing to the eventual champion Kyler Crosby from Joseph City,” said Holbrook Coach John Bokker. “Theron got his 31st win, which is the most by any freshman since I have been coaching here.”
At 113 lbs., Caleb McClellan placed fifth. “Caleb ran into a tough wrestler from Piñon,” said the coach. “He lost to him twice, but beat the rest of his opponents. Caleb will make some waves at state.”
Daniel Foster placed second at 120 lbs. “Daniel wrestled extremely well, defeating Daniel Nelson from Many Farms, who beat him earlier this year. Daniel has improved a lot since the beginning of the year. I can’t wait to see what he can accomplish with a little more experience,” said Coach Bokker.
Michael McMonigal wrestled for Holbrook at 126 lbs. “Michael lost to some tough opponents, but scored us some critical points. He is an extremely hard worker and will make big gains this off season for next year,” predicted the coach.
RJ Alvarado claimed the championship at 132 lbs. “RJ pinned his way to the finals, where he met Smiley Beecroft from Mogollon. Beecroft is a returning state champion and had only one loss on the year (to RJ). RJ was aggressive from start to finish and dominated the match. I am predicting this will be the finals match at state this year,” said Coach Bokker.
At 138 lbs., Drew Shumway placed fourth. “Drew had an extremely tough weight class. Some of his losses could have gone either way. I am looking forward to him upsetting some guys at state,” said the coach.
Shawn Gillespie placed sixth at 145 lbs. “Shawn had some exciting matches,” noted Coach Bokker. “Many of his matches came down to the wire and could have gone either way. He wrestled hard and scored major points for his team.”
At 152 lbs., Clayton Hunt earned second place. “Clayton dominated until finals, where he went head to head with the number one guy in the state at 152, Brock Crosby from St. Johns. He worked very hard this off season and all the hard work has paid off,” said the coach.
Ronald Justman took sixth place at 160 lbs. “Ron came out aggressive and looked very good,” said Coach Bokker. “He pinned some tough kids and helped our team out tremendously. Ron is a huge team player and stepped up when we needed him.”
James Self was second at 170 lbs. “This weight class did not have very many people, but they were all tough. James met Austin Davis from St. Johns, who is ranked number 1 at 170. He lost a close one 4-3. The next time they meet could have different results,” said the coach.
At 182 lbs., Shem Bowman placed third. “The top three in Shem’s weight class were very tough,” said Coach Bokker. He lost in the semis to Darrel Yazzie from Greyhills, but came back to take third. He is a team leader and a hard worker.”
Nikko Ferniza was fourth at 195 lbs. “Nikko defeated Carlton Robens from Greyhills, who beat him ear-lier in the year, and wrestled well. He scored crucial points for our team,” said the coach.
Reuben Kee earned the championship at 220 lbs. “Reuben wrestled some very tough wrestlers on his way to taking the sectional title. I was proud of how hard he worked and dominated his weight class. I look forward to him making an impact for Holbrook at state,” said the coach.
CJ Plumb was fourth in the heavyweight division. “CJ wrestled guys that outweighed him by more then 60 pounds and fared well. He showed a lot of heart and never backed down from anyone,” Coach Bokker noted. “I can’t wait to see what he can do when he gets some more experience.
The Division IV state meet is scheduled on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 9 and 10, at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott Valley.
