Two Blazers place in Douglas

Erick Starkey
Posted 1/10/18

Jacob Wamboldt took second at 285 pounds and Nycholas Melchor finished third at 106 pounds as the duo led the Torrington Trailblazers to an 11th-place finish at the Shane Shatto Memorial Tournament over the weekend.

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Two Blazers place in Douglas

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DOUGLAS – Jacob Wamboldt took second at 285 pounds and Nycholas Melchor finished third at 106 pounds as the duo led the Torrington Trailblazers to an 11th-place finish at the Shane Shatto Memorial Tournament over the weekend.

“I thought we had a few wrestlers do extremely well this weekend,” coach Doyle Meyer said. “Some guys really stepped up to the plate big time.”

Heavyweight Wamboldt started the weekend with a bye, before rattling off three-straight wins, beginning with a pin in the second period over Hunter Pope (Buffalo). His next two wins also came via pin in the second period, besting Jacob Sabus (Pueblo West) and Trevon Smith (Natrona County). In the title match, Wamboldt went the distance, but lost by a 3-1 decision against D.J. Schneibel (Rugby).

“It’s really exciting, but not that unexpected,” Meyer said of Wamboldt, who was in the lineup for the first time this winter. “I knew the skill and talent was there, it was just getting him back into the lineup.”

At 106 pounds, Melchor started the weekend with a bye, before competing in six matches, winning his first by a 6-0 decision over Cheyenne East’s Kane Mihalek. Lander’s Brady Carey bested Melchor by a 9-0 major decision in the quarterfinals.

Once in the consolation bracket, Melchor went on a winning streak. He pinned Saratoga’s Justin Shotwell in the first period and Cheyenne Central’s Isaac Lopez in the second period. In the consolation semi-finals, Melchor pinned Austin Ireland (Thermopolis) at the 4:48 mark to advance to the third-place match. Melchor pinned Kelly Walsh’s Gavin Mancini in the second period to capture third.

Senior Chase Dominguez reached the fifth-round of the consolation bracket at 160 pounds. After a bye, Dominguez won by a 4-3 decision over Ozzy Fernau (Chadron) followed by a loss via pin in the third period against Alliance’s Lane Applegarth. Dominguez rebounded with a win by pin in the third against Allience’s Richard Alford. The Blazers’ weekend was ended by a 2-0 decision loss against Luke Nathan (Kelly Walsh).

Josh Kingsley (170), who was one of several wrestlers to drop a weight class this week, also reached the fifth round of the consolation bracket. He had a bye and won his first match by a 4-3 decision over Rawlins’ Weston Bezold. Natrona County’s Brett Brenton pinned Kingsley in the second period, dropping the Blazer to the consolation bracket, where he picked up a 1-0 decision win over Alliance’s Jayce Bauer. In the fifth round of the lower bracket, Kingsley lost by a 17-5 major decision against Ian Arnold (Glenrock).

“When we lose 5-6 pounds, we find that we are one of the biggest, if not the biggest, and one of the strongest, if not the strongest, in the weight class,” Meyer said of several guys dropping in weight class.”

At 152 pounds, Casey Britton went 2-2, including an 8-4 loss in the opening round against Thermopolis’ Cullen Becher. After getting a bye in the lower bracket, Britton pinned his teammate in Nathan Davis in the second period, followed by a pin in the second against Cheyenne Central’s Hayden George. Britton was defeated by a 5-2 decision against Alliance’s Braydon Wilson, ending his weekend.

Quentin Meyer competed at 120 pounds for the Blazers. He had an opening bye, before falling by a pin in the second period against Amos Solano (Cheyenne East). Another bye welcomed Meyer in the lower bracket, before he snagged a 13-0 major decision against Kelly Walsh’s Issac Price. He then lost to Sheridan’s Hunter Goodwin by an 8-5 decision.

Tristen Kingsley (138) also went 1-2. He had a bye and then won his first match by a 4-2 decision against Brylie Skilling (Campbell County). Kingsley then lost his next two matches, falling by 19-3 technical fall against Analu Benabise (Kelly Walsh) and pin in the second period against Jackson Hesford (Cheyenne East).

After receiving an opening round bye at 145 pounds, Jacob Polkowske snagged a 4-0 decision win against Wheatland’s Seth DeWitt, before losing to Thunder Basin’s Trevor Jeffries by a 16-0 major decision. Once in the consolation bracket, Polkowske lost by a 7-6 decision against Alan Baker (Newcastle-Upton).

Also at 145 pounds, Brett Posten lost his first match via pin in the second period against Riverton’s Peyton Rees. After a bye in the lower bracket, Posten picked up a pin in the third period over Douglas’ Cody Blair, before losing to Brenden Clem (Sheridan) by pin in the second period.

Brandon Bennick joined Wamboldt in the heavyweight division, posting a 1-2 record. Following an opening round bye, Bennick pinned Glenrock’s Elias Orozco at the 3:18 mark. In the quarterfinals, the Blazer was pinned in the second period by Douglas’ Dallas Wik. Bennick lost by a pin in the first period against Alliance’s Nathan Lauder, ending Bennick’s weekend.

Pake Haun competed at 132 pounds for the Blazers, securing an opening round bye. After his bye, Haun lost via a second-round pin against Thunder Basin’s Warren Carr, before losing by an 11-0 major decision against Ridge Briggs (Riverton).

Davis joined Britton at 152 pounds, earning an opening round bye. His first match was a 16-0 technical fall against Sheridan’s Chance Quarterman. Davis lost to fellow teammate Britton by pin in the second period.

Jakob Brott had a first-round bye, before going the distance against Alliance’s Matthew Escamilla, falling in an 11-4 decision. Another bye greeted Brott in the lower bracket, before he suffered a 14-6 major decision loss against Thunder Basin’s Jonathan Ramirez.

The Blazers finished with 80 team points, tying Rugby for 11th place. Thunder Basin took the top spot with 170.5 points, followed closely by Cheyenne East’s 168 points. Natrona County rounded out the top-three with 157.5 points.

“It’s a marathon and not a sprint,” Meyer said. “Every week we take what we get and improve. This week we looked tougher than we have in the past.”

In the JV ranks, seven Blazers placed, led by Riley Grubb’s first-place finish. Gabe Mitchell and Cody Pierce took second in their respective weight classes, while D.J. Mackey took fourth. Sebastian Doucette finished sixth in his weight class, with Riley Duffield and Tyler Juma snagging eighth-place finishes.

“It’s exciting because the guys who have been doing good at JV can move right into the varsity level and compete,” Meyer said.

The Blazers competed in a dual against Cheyenne Central on Tuesday after the press deadline. They return to action Saturday at home for the Blazer Duals, kicking off at 9 a.m.