Senior wrestlers honored

Bradley is hopeful that the success of the girls varsity squad this year will inspire younger wrestlers thinking of joining the team.

On the boys side, the Rifle Bears got an early 18-0 lead after three consecutive pins. Basalt’s Dayton Schenk pinned Rifle’s Alex Murchinson to stop the Bear’s momentum, before a pin by Samuelson gave the Longhorns hope and got the crowd going. Muñoz then won by forfeit, evening up the dual 18-18.

Pins for Rifle’s Ayden Piatt and Basalt’s Towler Scott kept the dual even, and Roaney Requeno pinned Rifle’s Tucker Collier to give Basalt a 30-24 lead with four matches to go. The only match of the dual that went all three periods saw Rifle’s Gavin Nash win a 14-2 decision over Basalt’s Ivan Babonoyaba. Rifle’s Jordan Irwin then pinned Bronze Urfrig of Roaring Fork High School, earning a 34-30 lead for the Bears.

Rifle’s Trety Trouskie and Parker Miller both pinned their opponents to seal a 46-30 victory for their team.

Following the duals, several wrestlers got the chance to compete in exhibition matches, which included pins for Basalt’s Membreno and Luca Shafer.

The evening was a testament to the cooperative work done by Basalt Athletic Director Jason Santo and Roaring Fork Athletic Director Crista Barlow, as well as Coach Ryan Bradley, who had a vision for celebrating their senior wrestlers and brought the community together to pull it off. When asked what his senior wrestlers mean to the program, Coach Bradley did not hold back. “Brady and José give a lot of hope to the young wrestlers who are taking their lumps that if they work hard and learn to wrestle they can compete at a high level.”