Bulldogs place second at Doc Wright Tourney

By Sam Conner

Winslow Mail

The Mesa Jackrabbits successfully defended their Doc Wright Invitational Wrestling Tournament title in Winslow on Friday and Saturday, but the host Winslow Bulldogs treated local fans to their best showing in years with a second place finish. Mesa is a 5A powerhouse team that amassed eight individual championships in 13 weight classes and placed in every classification but one.

Mesa finished with 337 points to 208 for second place Winslow. Holbrook was third with 159 points. Mogollon was fourth with 132 points and Gilbert finished fifth with 120 1/2 points.

Justin Powell gave Winslow its only individual championship by winning all four of his matches in the 215-pound division.

Enrique Vigil (103) and Anthony Martinez (140) finished second in their weight divisions. Both won three matches and lost one.

Daniel Bailon (135) finished third in his division. He won four matches and lost one.

Tommy Taylor (130) finished fourth in his division. He won three matches and lost two.

Victor Martinez (152), John Gonzales (160) and David Young (275) finished fifth in their divisions. All three won three matches and lost two.

Justin Garcia (125) and Joseph Larsen (189) finished sixth in their divisions. Garcia won three and lost three. Larson won two and lost three.

Mesa dominated the individual champion list with eight first place winners. Jackrabbits who won their divisions included Joe Taylor (103), Anthony Robles (112), Cesar Meraz (135), Alex Pacheco (140), Jacob Langkilde (145), Joe Ray Beruman (152), Gabriel Lopez (171) and Anthony Jay (189).

Bo Mortensen (130) of Snowflake won his weight division for his third straight such Doc Wright championship. Other individual champions included Marcos Serna of Holbrook (119), Shane Fredrick of Page (125), Brennen Spratte of Lake Havasu (160) and Matt Guyer of Mohave (275).

The tournament saw 26 schools field teams, including a number of schools from Nevada and New Mexico.