Coming off an up and down high school season, four members of the Mancos High School wrestling team competed at the Rocky Mountain National Wrestling Tournament in Denver on March 21.
Leading the way for the Bluejays was 130-pound freshman Kaleb Hargraves, who placed 4th in the rookie division for ages 13-15.
Mancos junior Andrew Morgan and sophomore Nick Valdez finished 2-2.
"Andrew really wrestled well," said Mancos head coach Grant Hobbs. "He had some goals that he didn't reach during the high school season and he's been working hard. Nick didn't get a whole lot of mat time during the high school season because of an injury and he's not in wrestling shape, but he did well at times."
Sophomore Bowen Strazza-Whalen finished the tournament with a 1-2 record and sophomore Austin Howerton finished 0-2.
"Bowen registered at the wrong weight and went against some big guys, but he got aggressive and won a match," said Hobbs. "Austin got tough draws, but he wrestled as well as I've seen him wrestle."
Bluejays assistant coach Deano Valdez competed in the open division of the tournament and took fourth place.
"He just wanted to show the kids that he was willing to wrestle," said Hobbs. "He did a good job and wrestled some good guys. He had never placed at Rocky Mountain Nationals."
With the Rocky Mountain National Tournament now behind them, members of the Mancos team will continue working out in preparation for the Aztec Warrior, which will take place April 25-26.
"This summer, we're going to keep working hard and we'll get into some camps and things," Hobbs said. "I want Mancos to be good at football too, so we'll work with the football program to work around their offseason workouts."
