Four Mingus Union High School wrestlers made it through preliminary matches Friday, Jan. 15, to high consolation-round finishes Saturday, Jan. 16, to help the Marauders finish 25th at the Doc Wright Invitational.
Senior Ethan Kim and sophomore Nicholas Doerksen combined for eight second-day wins to go deep into the consolation bracket at Winslow High School.
Senior Trey Pettijohn was also “on fire,” according to his head coach, Tim McKeever, despite getting pinned in the second round of both the 152-pound championship and consolation brackets.
“We’re pretty much where we need to be right now going into the end of our season and getting ready for sectionals,” McKeever said. “Besides a few minor mistakes, I’m stoked.”
Prior to their Division III, Section I tournament at Bradshaw Mountain High School in Prescott Valley, the Marauders host two dual meets beginning Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 4 p.m. against Chinle and Coconino high schools.
“We’re not a great dualing team because we’re not a full team,” said McKeever, who sent nine Marauders to Winslow after entering just six Jan. 12 in a five-team meet at Camp Verde High School, going 2-1. “We give up too many forfeits.
“We have some tough teams coming in, so the only thing I’m concerned about are the individuals.”
Kim, just 10-7 heading into Doc Wright but with a fourth-place finish from the Mile High Invitational to his name, pinned Flagstaff High School junior Billy Betoney in 3:38 for the lone MUHS win in the championship bracket.
He would also pin 182-pound wrestlers from Valley Vista High School and Piedra Vista, N.M., before getting pinned in 2:51 by the Mile High champion wrestler from Amphitheater High School, a powerhouse Tucson wrestling program.
“Ethan Kim wrestled really good — they all did,” McKeever said. “We sent five guys to Mile High and still finished pretty darn well. I’m happy with the guys that we have.”
After getting pinned in two-and-a-half minutes in the second round of the championship bracket, Doerksen pinned a Monument Valley High School 145-pounder in 2:12 to start the consolation bracket, then won 10-6 before bowing out on points to Valley Vista High School.
“Nick was one away from placing at Mile High,” McKeever said. “We didn’t have any of our guys seeded because of the caliber of teams coming in.”
In Winslow, the Marauders got “really tough” and “pretty cruddy” draws in the preliminaries, he added, but every wrestler battled.
“We had one round where everybody who wrestled either faced Morenci or Basha [high schools],” McKeever said. “Basha’s great, and Morenci’s probably the Division IV favorite. They would have a one or a two seed in the second round.
“It was brutal, but they battle. They don’t care who it is right now. That’s why I couldn’t be more happy with where the team’s at.”
After being edged out of the first round of the 126-pound championship bracket by Prescott High School, freshman Trent Miller beat Tucson wrestling power Amphitheater High School on points, 10-7, and collected a pin in 2:06 before bowing out, 15-6, in the third round of the consolation bracket.
“That’s the great thing with having a younger team,” McKeever said. “I’ve got two guys, a sophomore and a junior, that have never wrestled before, and two freshmen on varsity.”
“This is the first time a bunch of first-year wrestlers wrestled for us [in Winslow]. We had to do that to get them ready for sectionals.”
Although they were not in Winslow, sophomore Carter Scott and junior William “Gus” Henley, a new addition to the program, were competitive Jan. 12 at 195 pounds.
“These guys are winning matches,” McKeever said. “We might take it on the chin a little bit, but the growth of these wrestlers is incredible.”
Prior to the Marauders’ dual with the Cowboys, CVHS honored its seniors but also honored McKeever with a letter and a gift for his loyalty to the Marauders’ rivals.
For the full list of Mingus wrestlers and their finishes at the Doc Wright Invitational, please see the Wednesday, Jan. 20, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra and Camp Verde Journal.
