Buckaroos start strong at the Moab Invitational

by Anna Fredericks
December is filled with traditions, and the Monticello Buckaroo wrestlers are making one of their own. This past weekend, the MHS matmen kicked off their new season by bringing home the championship trophy from the Moab Invitational for the third year in a row.  
The team earned 438.5 points on their way to the first place trophy, out-pacing second place Gunnison Valley, who finished a distant second at 405 points.
Carbon rounded out the top three with 396.5 points. The tournament had 15 teams attending.
Twenty-one wrestlers competed for the Buckaroos in two divisions at the tournament. As a team, the Buckaroos earned 95 wins on the weekend with 88 by fall and two technical falls.
Senior Buckaroo Mark Beh was voted by coaches as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler in the lower weight divisions after earning six wins by fall and two wins on points on his way to a championship medal.
Other Buckaroos earning first place individual medals in the A division were Paxton Christensen with four wins by fall, Brevin Olson with six falls and a technical fall, and Kayden Draper with eight wins by fall.
Finishing not far behind with second place medals were Wyatt Fullmer earning five wins by fall and Tuff Adair with three falls and a points win. 
Third place medals were earned by Matt Beh with three falls and a points win, Steven Robinson earning five wins by fall, Eldean Lammert with six wins by fall, Dillan Wheeler who earned five falls and a technical fall, and Paul Reay who finished the weekend with three wins by fall.  
Tate Ramsay rounded out the medal winners in the A bracket with a fourth place finish and two wins by fall. 
Also wrestling for the Buckaroos in the A bracket were Zach Cecil and Dillon Slack who each had two wins by fall, and Braxton Atwood with one win by fall.
In the B division, Buckaroos Logan Draper and Robert Musselman each earned top honors. Draper finished with five wins by fall and a points win. Musselman was perfect on the weekend with nine wins by fall. 
Second place medals went to Tyler Thayn with five wins by fall and Drew Westcott with two wins by fall. Cameron Bailey earned a fourth place medal with two wins by fall. JD Keyes also wrestled hard for the Buckaroos. 
Robert Musselman led the tournament for most pins in the least time with nine in 10:13, which is an average of one minute, eight seconds per pin. Kayden Draper finished fourth in the category with eight pins in 15:21. Logan Draper had the fastest Buckaroo pin on the weekend with a 14 second fall. 
The Buckaroos will wrestle at home this Wednesday against the Grand County Red Devils at 7 p.m.
This weekend, the Buckaroos travel to the Juab Tournament Friday and Saturday. The tournament will include 24 teams and is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Friday. 
Wrestling fans should mark their calendars for next Tuesday, Dec. 11, when the Buckaroos will host Piedra Vista High School at 6 p.m. at MHS.