As good as the results were for the Dove Creek wrestling team, they could have been better.
Matching up against sixteen schools at the Screaming Eagle Tournament in Paonia on Jan. 25, the Bulldogs finished seventh as a team, yet could have finished higher absent a few costly slipups.
Leading the way for the Bulldogs with a second place finish was 132-pound junior Chance Randolph, who, after winning his first three matches of the tournament, lost in the finals to a top-ranked wrestler from Paonia.
Also climbing the podium for the Bulldogs was 126-pound sophomore Case Baughman, who, after getting caught in a Sanders Cradle while leading in the semis, came back to finish third in the tournament.
Other placers for the Bulldogs included 106-pound freshman Collin Hobbs (third), 138-pound senior Nick Jones (fourth), and 195-pound junior Tyler Knuckles (fifth).
Like Baughman, Jones was leading his semi-final match when he was caught in a cradle and pinned.
“We need to clean some things up,” said Bulldogs head coach Shane Baughman, discussing his team’s costly pin-losses. “When we’re ahead in matches, we can’t let our guard down. I think they did that a little bit.”
Also wrestling for the Bulldogs, Tommy Fury finished the tournament 1-2 and Wyatt Applin retired due to injury.
Next on the Bulldogs schedule is a dual match against Grand County (Utah) on Jan. 29.