Injury-plagued Red Devils go 5-3 at Juab wrestling tournament
by Jeff Richards
contributing writer
Dec 13, 2012 | 429 views | 0 0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Grand’s Austin Day (top) attempts to pin his Manti opponent during the Juab Winter Classic meet on Dec. 7. Photo by Michelle White
Grand’s Austin Day (top) attempts to pin his Manti opponent during the Juab Winter Classic meet on Dec. 7. Photo by Michelle White
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Despite injuries that sidelined several athletes, the Grand County High School wrestling team went 5-3 overall at last week’s Juab Winter Classic, a two-day invitational duals tournament held in Nephi.

The Red Devils started off on Friday, Dec. 7 with a 54-21 loss to host school Juab High, which dropped Grand into Pool C. The Red Devils then played the other seven schools within that pool in a round-robin tournament that lasted until Saturday afternoon.

According to Grand’s coach, Dennis Wells, the Red Devils won five of their seven round-robin games, defeating Summit Academy 54-24, and also beating Manti, Carbon, Springville, and Juan Diego, all by identical 42-36 scores. The Red Devils’ two defeats were a 39-35 loss to Uintah and a 60-18 loss to Panguitch.

Wrestling at 145 pounds, GCHS sophomore Ronnie Dolphin fractured his right arm during his second match on Friday, against Summit Academy, but still managed to beat his opponent on points, 8-7. Dolphin was unable to wrestle any additional matches, however, and finished with a 1-1 record at the tournament. His broken arm is expected to keep him out for the rest of the season, coach Wells said.

In addition, GCHS heavyweight wrestler Edgar Gomez, a junior, injured his knee in his fifth match, and was unable to wrestle in the team’s final three matches. Gomez went 4-1 overall, Wells said.

Two other Red Devil athletes didn’t compete at Juab at all due to injuries. Dexter Sheets, a 120-pound senior, was recuperating from a shoulder injury, but is expected to return to action soon, Wells said.

However, Jacob Francis, a 132-pound junior and former state finalist, is not so lucky, as his recent shoulder dislocation will require surgery and sideline him the remainder of the season.

“He’ll get it operated on Dec. 27 and will not wrestle the rest of the year,” Wells said.

Two GCHS wrestlers posted 7-1 win-loss records at the Juab tournament: 152-pound junior Trenton White and 120-pound junior Gage Lindquist. In addition, 195-pound Austin Day, also a junior, was 5-2 overall at Juab, while 138-pound senior Doyle Irvine was 4-4.

Winning three of five matches overall for Grand at the Juab tournament were Seth Holyoak, Matt Bridenbaker, Donavin Denton, Justin Moore, and Robert Allred.

GCHS sophomore Andrew Hugentobler, who was wrestling in the junior varsity division at 120 pounds, took fourth place overall in that JV tournament, Wells said.

This weekend, on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 14-15, the Red Devils will travel to Kayenta, Ariz., for an invitational tournament.

Grand’s first home match of the season will be a dual meet against the San Juan Broncos on Dec. 19.
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