After losing their opening matches of the state tournament on Feb. 19, Montezuma-Cortez High School wrestlers Andrew Finch, Josh Ramos and Justice Ramos dropped to the consolation bracket in their respective weight classes.
Finch moves on after dominant performance
In the 160-pound bracket, M-CHS senior Andrew Finch (20-18) defeated Denver North High School’s Nick Montez (14-9) and in doing so, reminded future opponents that he remains a force to be reckoned with.
Throughout the early stages of the match, Finch and Montez circled one another cautiously and appeared reluctant to make a move.
Roughly one minute into the period however, the flavor of the match changed when the wrestlers locked into a clinch and tumbled off the mat into collided hard with the nearby boards.
After both wrestlers returned to the center of the mat, Finch smiled briefly before completely seizing control.
“Wrestlers have a switch,” said the Panthers senior. “You have to go from being nice to being real at the snap of a finger. As soon as he (threw me into the boards), it set me off and I just wanted to show him how it was going to go.”
Finch led 1-0 after the first period, 8-0 after the second period and eventually pulled ahead 17-1 to earn a technical fall victory.
“He got mad, so I just wanted to show him who the better man was,” said Finch.
The M-CHS senior’s next match will be against La Junta High School’s Joseph Martinez (35-15) on the evening of Feb. 20 after 5:45 p.m.
“I’m just going in there open minded,” said Finch. “I’m going to go in there and wrestle my hardest.”
Josh Ramos advances
Also advancing in the consolation bracket for M-CHS was 138-pound sophomore Josh Ramos (28-19), who earned a hard-fought 9-3 decision victory over Dolores Huerta High School’s Zach Zamarippa (12-17).
Ramos’ next match will be against Olathe High School’s Trent Rose (29-11). The match will occur on Feb. 20 sometime after 5:45 p.m.
Justice Ramos withdraws with injury
After a gutsy performance in the opening round of the state tournament on Feb. 19, Panthers 152-pound senior Justice Ramos was forced to forfeit a consolation match against Mullen High School’s Connor Hart (21-10) due to a knee injury.
Ramos, who qualified for state in each of the past two seasons, finished his season with a 25-18 record.