The Norwood Mavericks wrestling team had an outstanding season, and placed fourth as a team at the regional qualifiers in Grand Junction this weekend. And for five of the Mavericks, their season is not yet over: they are going to the state championship in Denver on Feb. 21-23.
“Pretty good,” said Coach Dirk Hardman of the season. “State will be it. It’s what you work for all year. They’ve worked hard.”
For a wrestler to qualify for the state competition he must be ranked in the top four for his weight class among schools that are the same size.
Hugh Hardman and Stryker Lane both placed first at the regional competition and are ranked first in the state. Darrel Jensen took second, and Ethan Alexander and Seth Gabardi both took third in their weight classes. All five of the wrestlers will be on the bus to Denver today.
Other wrestlers performed well all season and in Grand Junction but narrowly missed the cut-off for state. Billy Fourney placed fifth, and Clay Grammer and Dustin Winner each took sixth.
“They wrestled really well,” said Hardman. “Everyone did a good job.”
Both Hardman and Lane are hoping to have repeat performances at state this year. They both won last year, and Hardman said they have a chance to do it again. He also said that the other wrestlers might be able to place in the top six at the state event.
“They have a real good shot at placing first,” said Hardman. “The others have a good shot at placing, too. I’m sure a couple of them will go to Nationals.”

Basketball teams take on Nucla, Mancos

Both the boys and girls basketball teams from Norwood bested their rivals at Nucla on Friday night.
The Maverick boys beat the Mustangs 62-56. Coach Doc Williams said that the Norwood team was finally able to take control of the game in the fourth quarter, after Nucla relinquished the lead.
“We took the lead in the last three or four minutes,” said Williams. “It was a struggle for us. It’s always tough to turn it around.”
Jesse Efurd scored 33 points, the second highest-scoring game he had this season.
“He pretty much carried us offensively,” said Williams.
Talon Thompson had a three-pointer off the glass, Nate Johnson had seven points, Eric McKinney had eight points, and Zach Andrews hit 11 points.
“(Andrews) was one of those pivotal people in the last stretch that made it happen for us,” said Williams.
The Lady Mavericks also beat Nucla, making the Mustangs suffer through a 55-14 loss.
“They only have six players so it’s kind of hard for them to match up against us,” said Coach Jan Gillen.
Sam Oliver netted 23 points in the Friday win. Emily Winner and Brittany Hanner each had eight points.
The Lady Mavericks also overcame Mancos this weekend, beating the Mancos Blue Jays 57-52 on Saturday afternoon.
Malisha Sutherlin hit 14 points in the game. Sam Oliver had 16 points, and Alyssa Carr had eight points.
The Mancos win brings the Maverick’ record to an impressive 13 wins and only four losses.
“It puts us in a pretty good position,” said Gillen. “Hopefully for districts we’ll be seeded in one of the top spots.”
The boys basketball team did not fare as well against the Mancos Blue Jays, a bigger and more physically aggressive team. The final score was Norwood, 46, and Mancos, 74.
“They came out and physically manhandled us,” said Williams. “That was where their advantage was. They took their size and used it to their advantage.”
Williams said some of his players suffered quad injuries and sprained ankles in the game, where the physicality of the play earned the Blue Jays more than their share of fouls.
“We shot 30 free throws and Mancos shot 12,” said Williams.
Jesse Efurd had 13 points in the game, Nate Johnson had 11, Eric McKinney ad Zach Andrews each had nine points. Brian Hanner scored four and Talon Thompson and Taylor Sutherlin each had one point.
In the Junior Varsity game, Mancos was also able to take control, winning 40-27. In that game, Edgar Torres had 11 points, Brian Hanner had five and Jacob Montgomery had four.
The basketball teams will play their last two games of the regular season at home this weekend. The Mavericks take on Dolores on Friday night and Telluride on Saturday.