Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

Wrestlers compete in the Warrior Classic

By: Dan Karpiel | The Surveyor | December 23, 2021 | Local News

In what marked their final event before the upcoming two-week hiatus for Christmas, the Berthoud High wresting squad traveled out to the western slope to compete in the Warrior Classic, the largest high school wrestling tournament held in western Colorado. In the 43-team event that brought schools from across the Centennial State, Berthoud took 29th place with 38.5 team points.

Photo by ACP Media – Spartan wrestler Peter Young grapples with this opponent from Longmont in a dual last Thursday afternoon. Berthoud won the dual to improve to 3-0 in dual meets this season.

Just prior to getting on the bus to head out to the Warrior Classic, the Spartans hosted in a quick dual with Longmont High school, winning by a 48-36 team score with Berthoud earning wins with pins. The win was Berthoud’s third victory in dual contests through the early portion of the 2021-22 season.

Berthoud’s first year Head Coach, Josh Galindo, has been pleased with what he has seen from his squad so far. “These guys have a lot of heart, they’re fighting, they stay in every match, and even with somewhat of a lack of experience with have with a young team, the older guys, the guys with that experience that have been here for a while, they really help out, they critique each other, they’re giving advice, they’re constantly working together as a unit and that’s something you love as a coach,” Galindo said. “We’re continuing to work, it’s all about growth right now and that’s how we’re going to keep approaching it. The guys really competed today, and that’s what we’ve said we want to do since the beginning of the season is compete and I think we’ve really done that well so far.”

Berthoud accepted three forfeits from Longmont with Blake Coble (182lbs), Trevor Moore (285) and Evan Torres (152) each got six points for Berthoud’s team score without having to break a sweat.

Senior Tanner Coble, wrestling at 170s, turned in a terrific match, building an 8-3 lead through the first period with four takedowns before securing Basil Elkins to the mat to get the win via fall with just 0:03 left on the clock. Aaron Young (182) also won with a pin over Hunter Knight at 0:40. Max Gossett (113) worked his way a to a 4-0 lead with a takedown and near-fall in the first period, earned another two points in the beginning of the second before getting Julio Salcido on his back with just 14 seconds left. Peter Young (126) and Cody Croft (132) each also earns wins for Berthoud with pins in 3:09 and 1:41, respectively.

Standout junior Wil Moneypenny did not take the mat in the dual with Longmont but it sure did not affect him at the Warrior Classic. Moneypenny turned in the best showing by any Spartan at the event, taking fourth place and accounting for more than half of Berthoud’s total team score.

Moneypenny advanced through the 145lb weight class’s first three rounds with a fall at 0:46, a technical fall 15-0 in 3:06 and a fall in 3:16. Ryan Vigil of Broomfield handed Moneypenny what was only this second loss of the season in in the semifinals, winning with a pin in 4:54. Moneypenny then accepted an injury default in the consolation semifinals and then himself had to offer an injury forfeit in the third-place match. Torres advanced to the quarterfinals, earning seven points for the Spartans, but saw his weekend come to an end in the consolation bracket fourth round in a sudden victory to Fort Lupton’s William Alvarado.

Berthoud will host Fossil Ridge for a dual on Jan. 6 after the holiday break.

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