Yuma girl wrestlers keep rolling along

Yuma High School’s girls wrestling team gets to have another performance before the hometown crowd today, January 26.
The girls grapplers will be hosting wrestlers from Fort Morgan and Sedgwick County/Fleming for dual action at 5:30 p.m. It also is Parents’ Night as it is the second, and final, scheduled home appearance. Yuma swept both teams. Besides an advantage in forfeits, Yuma won all but one match decided on the mat.

The wrestlers also will be at Chatfield in suburban Denver for a tournament on Saturday. Coach Brandon Newton said it is likely the team also will make up a canceled dual at Lamar on Tuesday.
This week’s action follows on the heels of a great showing last Saturday, when the Yuma girls won the team title at the DPI at Berthoud Girls Tournament. (A dual scheduled last Thursday in Lamar was called off due to weather canceling school.)
There were just six schools, but Yuma dominated with 154 points. Woodland Park came in second with 124, Berthoud third with 98, Englewood fourth with 84, Fort Morgan fifth with 46, and John Mall sixth with 45.
“They wrestled real well,” Newton said. “There weren’t that many teams there, but there were still some tough girls. I thought they could do it, and they stepped up and did it. It was a good confidence booster for everyone, I think.”
Five Yuma wrestlers won their weight classes, and a sixth placed second, to power the team victory.
Camila Sanchez won all three of her matches to win the 100-pound title. All her wins were by fall in the first period, including one in 45 seconds.
Chloe Smith got in five matches, winning all of them to claim the 110 title. All her wins were by fall, including one in 53 seconds. Two wins came against Yuma teammates.
Ashley Marshall went 4-0 to win the 115 title. Two of her wins came by fall in the first period, including one in 51 seconds. Her other win was an 18-4 major decision.
Destiny Henderson followed suit by going 4-0 to win the 125 title. All four wins were by fall, her longest match being against a Yuma teammate.
Abril Montes de Oca dominated the 135-pound bracket. All four of her wins came by fall within the first minute, in 44, 34, 50 and 37 seconds, respectively.
Danika Dischner nearly made it six champions, placing second at 170. She had two wins by fall and one by decision. Her one loss was a 6-0 decision in her final match.
Sakari Shields won two matches at 120, and Peyton Hynson one at 110. Myka McDonald competed at 100, Kenya Arvizo at 110, and Laura Estrada 125.
“Everyone is starting to hit moves we’ve been working on in practice,” Newton said. “It’s starting to click at the right time.”
He added that the Chatfield tournament will be a great challenge for the grapplers as the postseason approaches, as many of the top wrestlers in the state are expected to compete there.