Hayden wrestlers take big victories, learn from defeats in two-match week

Andy Bockelman/Craig Press
The Hayden Tigers wrestling team competed in two dual meets this week with challenging matchups that head coach Matt Linsacum said the team managed to learn a lot from.
“They can go either way and unfortunately some of them didn’t go our way, but I think you learn more from a loss than you do a win at times,” Linsacum said. “We have time to reflect and learn from those mistakes, and it’s better to make those mistakes this week instead of our regional or our state week.”
The Tigers dropped a tight dual meet, 37-36, to Moffat County in Craig on Tuesday night but followed up with a solid 41-30 victory in a home matchup against Rifle on Wednesday.
Linsacum was impressed with a number of his athletes, even those who could not quite pull out a victory.
“Sometimes those losses come at a pretty good time so we can have our conversations with the kids, reflect on that and go into practice the next week to work on it,” Linsacum said.
Linsacum highlighted Israel Perez (106 pounds) as someone who is completely focused in each match he faces and continues to rise up in the rankings of his weight class. He managed to defeat his Rifle opponent Wednesday night by way of fall in a quick 1 minute, 28 seconds.
J.D. Case (190 pounds) was also a standout to Linsacum. Case wrestled a top-five 3A foe on Wednesday. Hayden is 2A.
Case was down in the match early but managed to come back and get a pin in 3:33. Linsacum was impressed with the guts and instinct Case showed on the mat.
Another big moment from the week came from John Bene at 157 pounds
“He had a pretty good opponent from Rifle,” Linsacum said. “Cardio has been his weakest area and he looked good on his feet, looked good on top and bottom, and I didn’t see him breathing real hard. I know he has been working hard in practice and it paid off for him.”
Hayden has earned a much-deserved rest week ahead of its final two regular-season matches of the season. The first comes at the Routt County Tri, hosted at Soroco on Thursday. Then, the Tigers close the season at the Meeker Dual Tournament on Feb. 1. From there, all focus will surround the 2A regional tournament in Ignacio from Feb. 7-8.
“Our conversation lately has a lot to do with pre-match routine and making sure that you know what nutrition works well for you, even down to what you’re listening to before you go into a match,” Linsacum said. “I’m confident in our wrestling abilities, so now it’s just a matter of fine-tuning everything to make sure we go into regionals, and we’ve got a good routine set and we’re ready to go when it comes time to shake hands.”
Moffat County 37, Hayden 36
Tuesday, Jan. 21
126 — Kaison Martinez, Moffat County, fall Peyton Johnson, Hayden, 0:42.
138 — Jarrett Davis, Hayden, fall Haven Carr, Moffat County, 1:39.
144 — Triston Day, Hayden, fall Tate Green, Moffat County, 1:03.
150 — Kaeden Martinez, Moffat County, fall Ethan Silva, Hayden, 2:48.
157 — Colt Call, Moffat County, fall John Bene, Hayden, 0:50.
165 — Ryder Weber, Hayden, fall Braxton Miller, Moffat County, 1:09.
175 — Zach Hedman, Moffat County, fall Joe Harris, Hayden, 2:16.
Hayden 41, Rifle 30
Wednesday, Jan. 22
106 — Israel Perez, Hayden, fall Cache Garcia, Rifle, 1:28.
138 — Jiraiya Straw, Rifle, fall Jarret Davis, Hayden, 4:34.
150 — Ethan Silva, Hayden, fall Blake Shaffer, Rifle, 4:37.
157 — John Bene, Hayden, technical fall Trey Trouskie, Rifle, 21-2 in 5:50.
190 — J.D. Case, Hayden, fall Arath Lopez, Rifle, 3:33.





To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.

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