Finally, wrestling has come back to Dolores High School.
For the first time in seven years, the Bears wrestling team hosted a dual meet.
And the Bears won, too.
After spotting visiting Ignacio 18 points off of forfeits, Dolores lined the Bobcats up and knocked them down, pin by pin.
The end result was Dolores, 36; Ignacio, 30. The Bears are 2-0 in duals this season.
"The guys came out and wrestled real tough," first-year Dolores coach Leo Garand said. "We spotted them 18 points, but you know we were able to make up that ground and then some, and come out on top."
State title contender Wyatt Wade looked solid at 145 pounds. Ignacio's Iaasic Pena battled Wade tough in the first period and only trailed 3-2.
But in the second period, it was all Wade, who is ranked No. 2 in 2A at 145 by Coloradopreps.com.
"I shut down one of his takedowns, but he got me on the second one," Wade said. "I reversed right out of it, and smacked him down and got him into a standing cradle."
A quick takedown was just what Wade needed. He secured the pin at the 1:08 mark of the second.
"He was pretty good. He was good on his feet," said Wade, who is comfortably wrestling up from 126 pounds, the weight he competed at a season ago. "I feel great. It's (145) a good weight for me and I'm going to take state."
It was a satisfying win for the four-year senior, who was wrestling at home for the first time.
"It's awesome to have a home dual," Wade said. "Especially, to win it. It's going to be really cool to have them all back for leagues."
Thursday, Feb. 7, is when the 2013 San Juan Basin League Championships come to DHS.
In other Friday night wrestling action, fellow Dolores senior Wyatt Mattausch made quick work of David Cooper at 132, winning by fall in the first round.
Guy Wallace pinned Trever Sivers in the first period at 138. Luke Murefield scored a second-round pin over Kyle Bailey at 126. Deano Valdez earned a hard fought third-round pin over Ruben Velasquez at 152 to round out the Bears scoring.
"It's nice to get these first couple (meet wins) under our belt," Garand said. "We get into the meat of the season come January. What we're really looking at, is February, because that's when state is. It's nice to come out and win a couple dual matches, and get these guys' confidence up."
On Saturday, Dolores traveled to the Piedra Vista Invitational in Farmington, N.M. Wade went 5-0, Valdez went 4-1, Kacee Davis went 4-1 and Wallace went 3-2. The Bears competed in five duals on the day and won three.
Garand is pleased with how his team performed heading into Christmas break.
bobbya@cortezjournal.com.