MyMullen

Woodruff pin caps wild dual match

1/28/2021

By Neil H. Devlin, Mullen Sports Information Director

Sophomore's pin at Hwt. forges 39-39 tie; Mustangs actually lose on a tiebreaker, but a 2nd consecutive strong showing in the Centennial League bodes well in shorter season.

Hayden Woodruff knew what he had to do.

With his Mullen Mustangs trailing by six points to visiting Cherokee Trail on Thursday night, only a pin would provide the necessary total to tie the dual match.

So Mullen’s big young man, a sophomore heavyweight, did just that – he record a second-period fall over the Cougars’ Noah Jaramillo to force a tie at 39 in Centennial League competition in the Green Room.

Ultimately, Cherokee Trail was awarded the victory on about the third criteria discovered in the rule book by scrambling coaches and the match official, but it certainly wasn’t the point – for the second time in a week, the Mustangs stood toe-to-toe with a Class 5A league heavyweight and larger program that ordinarily would have dismissed them and fared extremely well.

“Yeah,” Mustangs head coach John Howes said, “the kids are wrestling well, they’re wrestling well. They have an attitude about them.”

On Tuesday, the Mustangs downed Arapahoe in a dual.

As for Woodruff, he said “I knew ... I mean, I had confidence in myself and went out there and did what I had to do. Going forward, I think I have more confidence in myself and am off to a great start.”

This one was tight all the way as each team won seven matches. Mullen had more pins, but three forfeit losses ultimately decided it.

Still, there were no hanging heads, no whining … the Mustangs backed up their victory over Arapahoe with another sound performance.

Mullen winners were sharp. In addition to Woodruff, whose pin came in 2 minutes, 54 seconds, Mark Troni (145, 2:54) and Kaleb Valdez-Lemos (160, 3:19) also won by fall as did Jacob Dineen, who pinned at 182 inside the first minute after being called up by Howes from junior varsity.

“Why not?” Howes asked. “We had nothing to lose.”

Noah Linares was impressive at 126 with 16-0 technical fall and Max Gonzales (120) won by forfeit.

And starting the night was Mustangs freshman Dale O’Blia, a touted newcomer from lower ranks who earned his first victory earlier in the week by forfeit before taking a 15-4 major decision for his first actual triumph.

“It was nice to get back on the mat because I haven’t wrestled in a tournament in, like, a year,” he said, adding that he enrolled in Mullen “because of the team and academics.”

Next for Mullen will be a Saturday quadrangular at Chatfield, along with ThunderRidge and Rock Canyon Howes said his guys will participate in three duals.

CHEROKEE TRAIL 39, MULLEN 39

(CT wins on dual-meet tiebreaker criteria)

103 pounds – Dale O’Blia, Mullen maj. dec. Jay Everhart, 15-4.

112 – Derek Glenn, CT pinned Gilbert Antillon, 1:07.

120 – Max Gonzales, Mullen won by forfeit.

126 – Noah Linares, Mullen tech. fall Kyle Schurman, 16-0.

132 – Ethan Debelak, CT won by forfeit.

138 – Jason Maestas, CT dec. Adam Domenico, 7-6.

145 – Mark Troni, Mullen pinned Carlos Bowman, 2:54.

152 – Matthew Buck, CT pinned Jacob Robbins, 4:40.

162 – Kaleb Valdez-Lemos, Mullen pinned Finn O’Riley, 3:19.

170 – Brendan Grote, CT won by forfeit.