The Holbrook Roadrunners tied for third place at the Pat Kenny Invitational wrestling tournament they hosted over the weekend. Fourteen teams competed in the two-day tournament won by Combs of San Tan Valley with a team score of 203 points. Mountain Ridge, coached by Holbrook alum Cory Whitten, finished second with 195 points. Holbrook and Mesquite tied for third and fourth with 162 points each, followed by Winslow in fifth with 107 and Chinle in sixth with 94.
Outstanding wrestler awards went to Xavier Rico (106 lbs.) from Combs for the Lightweights, Nathan Suwn (160 lbs.) of Mountain Ridge for the Middleweights and Nick Young (195 lbs.) of Mesquite for the Heavyweight division. Hopi High School received the Sportsmanship Award.
In the 106 weight class, Xavier Rico of Combs took first; Colton Labrant of Mountain Ridge, second; CJ Blum of Mesquite, third; Myron Hudson of Monument Valley, fourth; ReShawn Cabitit of Chinle, fifth; and Riley Burton of Mancos, Colo., sixth.
At 113, Blane Foster of Winslow took first; Kohl Potts of Holbrook, second; Alej Altaha of Alchesay third; Keanu Yazzie of Combs, fourth; Alden Begay of Red Mesa, fifth; and Sonny Silas of Hopi, sixth.
At 120, Adrian Arviso of Mesquite took first; Adam Laban of Hopi, second; Rudy Archuleta of Mancos, third; Quincy Foster of Winslow, fourth; Dominick Spencer of Holbrook, fifth; and Jordan Gurr of Combs, sixth.
At 126, Ted Rico of Combs took first; Theron Johns of Holbrook, second; Zach Roving of Mesquite, third; Jacob Heys of Mountain Ridge, fourth; Joey Devoe of Mountain Ridge, fifth; and Kyle Secakuku of Hopi, sixth.
At 132, Mathew Oleson of Mountain Ridge took first; Tyler Kelley of Combs, second; Zachary Ute of Chinle, third; Brayden Garcia of Winslow, fourth; Nick Thomas of Mesquite, fifth; and Sam Plumb of Holbrook, sixth.
At 138, Jarod Breeser of Mountain Ridge took first; Darnell Eskeets of Valley Sanders, second; Ramon Curley of Ganado, third; Noah Barela of Holbrook, fourth; Dalton Lupton of Combs, fifth; and Clay Nez of Greyhills, sixth.
At 145, James Ramirez of Holbrook took first; Dallas Wormley of Combs, second; Rodney Nez of Chinle third; Carson Jeffrey of Mountain Ridge, fourth; Zach Pollard of Winslow, fifth; and Riley Spencer of Mesquite.
At 152, Ryan Fischer of Mountain Ridge took first; Clayton Bryant of Monument Valley, second; Fide Quirarte of Combs, third; Hunter Freberg of Mountain Ridge, fourth; Andrew Morgan of Mancos, fifth; and Justin Richards of Holbrook, sixth.
At 160, Nathan Suwn of Mountain Ridge took first; Colin Friday of Red Mesa, second; Kurtis Messina of Mesquite, third; Sheldon Pearson of Combs, fourth; Preston Greenwood of Winslow, fifth; and Mac Stump of Holbrook, sixth.
At 170, Kyle Flake of Combs took first; Shane McGraw of Holbrook, second; Brandon Kaufman of Mountain Ridge, third; Tyler Smith of Mesquite, fourth; Stefan Tracey of Chinle, fifth; and Damon Avelar of Winslow, sixth.
At 182, Sonny Begody of Winslow took first; Isiah Towne of Chinle, second; Henu Quelle of Mesquite, third; Logan Tsinijinnie of Holbrook, fourth; Isiah Nash of Combs, fifth; and Grant Pashona of Hopi, sixth.
At 195, Nick Young of Mesquite placed first; Robert Romo of Holbrook, second; Zhealon Tso of Ganado, third; Danny Lee of Chinle, fourth; Abieyzion Honwytewa of Hopi, fifth; and Jake Green of Combs, sixth.
At 220, Parker Reiser of Mountain Ridge placed first; Juan Laquin of Combs, second; Trenton Peterson of Ganado, third; Ahli Foster of Winslow, fourth; Andrew Hawkins of Mesquite, fifth; and Warner Brown of Chinle, sixth.
At heavyweight, Roy Lopez of Mesquite placed first; Mathew Hutka of Mountain Ridge, second; Riley Bourgeous of Combs, third; Zach McLaws of Holbrook, fourth; Clayton Yellowhair of Chinle, fifth; and Jevon Aguero of Shonto, sixth.
The Holbrook wrestlers fared well, earning praise from Coach John Bokker.
“Going in, we knew we had a young team and did not know what to expect. I just wanted them to wrestle hard and do their best,” said the coach. “I was proud of the way we wrestled and think we are on the right track. The season is young and we still have a lot of improvement to make.
“There were some exciting matches for finals. Theron Johns lost a hard fought match to two-time state champion Ted Rico from Combs 9-7, and James Ramirez defeated Dallas Wormly from Combs, who took fourth in state last year, by a score of 4-1.
“We also had three sophomores, Kohl Potts, Shane McGraw and Robert Romo, take second place.
“The hard work in the off season is paying off for many of these guys.”
For the tournament, Kohl Potts was 6-1; Dominick Spencer, 8-1; Theron Johns, 8-1; Sam Plumb, 4-5; Noah Barela, 6-3; James Ramirez, 8-0; Justin Richards, 6-4; Mac Stump, 5-4; Shane McGraw, 7-1; Logan Tsinijinnie, 5-3; Robert Romo, 8-2; Sheron Yazzie, 1-5; and Zach McLaws, 3-4.
On Wednesday prior to the Pat Kenny tournament Holbrook competed in a three-way meet at Coconino, where the Roadrunners were beaten by the Panthers, 51-27, and fought to a 39-39 tie with Flagstaff.
