The Mustang wrestling team went to the Western Slope Showdown in Montrose over the weekend. Wrestling head coach and athletic director for Nucla Rob McCabe said the nice thing about that tournament is that Montrose has a varsity, JV and a girls tournament. He was able to put younger wrestlers in the JV tournament.
Jace Bonacquista won first in the JV tournament at 106 pounds. Jacob Davis took third in the JV at 285 pounds.
The weekend before last, at a tournament in Moab, wasn’t so good for the team though. Then Hunter Rowe broke his collar bone. He did so in his first match, but wasn’t sure how bad the injury was. Coach had told him to sit out if he needed, or to wrestle if he felt he could. Rowe went on and took second in that tournament, but had two doctors appointments last week that confirmed fractures.
Similarly, Paxtin Caruso dislocated his elbow in a duel last week against Moab.
“We lost two seniors,” coach said. “It’s a big, ole’ bummer.”
There is one female wrestling this year for the Mustangs, but the Colorado High School Activities Association says it takes two athletes to make a team. Because of this, Jocelyn Vose will remain in training mode. McCabe said she’s a first-year wrestler, but she is practicing and getting better.
Next year, rising freshman Kinley McCabe might be wrestling, which would make for two girls and a team, and it’s possible that other females might join too.
This coming weekend is the Warrior Classic, and coach said he’s hoping his wrestlers stay healthy. He said this tournament is always tricky when it comes to illness, due to cold and flu season. Last year, Jackson McCabe was sick for the Warrior Classic, and so was JW Nasland.
“I’m hoping we can get through this week and have three (wrestlers),” he said.
Ideally, Bonacquista, Davis and McCabe will take to the mat. Cole Bray could potentially wrestle also, but he’s straddling both sports, basketball and wrestling, and was undecided as of press time.
This year, McCabe is assisted by Cody Terrell and also Arthur Connelly.
Regarding high school basketball, the teams head to Dove Creek this weekend.
The girls have won their last several basketball games in sweeps, beating Vail Christian 63-18, beating Caprice 59-17, and then beating Soroco 59-15. Lantry Galley scored 20 points against Soroco. The ladies face Telluride this Friday at 2 p.m.
This year, the girls are coached by Stan Galley, of Nucla.
The guys are also on a roll, and beat Vail Christian 59-47, beat Caprock 57-47, and then beat Soroco 58-39. The guys will play Telluride at 3:30 p.m. Coaching the boys is Mike Rummel, of Norwood.
Both basketball teams are combined teams, which means Norwood students travel to Nucla for practices and wear the Mustang jersey. Wrestling, on the other hand, is separated, and both Nucla and Norwood have their own teams.
Editor’s note: A full story on the basketball teams is slated for next week.