Maricopa wrestlers fare well in season’s first match

The Maricopa High School wrestling team opened its season Tuesday with a combined 14 wins out of 19 matches. It was the Rams only home match of the year.

“The event went really well,” Coach Jason Burr said.

Estrella Foothills, River Valley and Seton Catholic came to Maricopa for the head-to-head-style meet, where each team faced the other three schools in matches based on the team’s weight classes.

Seven Maricopa wrestlers competed, including JD Masterson, Ty Mundt and Hunter Field, who each won all three of their matches accounting for nine of the team’s 14 victories. Frank Acuna and Austin Hullett also did well, finishing a combined 2-1.

Coach Burr said it was a great opportunity to find the team’s strengths and weaknesses since the schools were well matched. Noting the team’s good condition, he said the goal for the next match is to improve on mat wrestling. Specifically, the team will work on its stand-ups, escapes and reverses.

One obstacle the team faces is not having enough wrestlers to compete with other schools. If Maricopa does not have a wrestler for a weight class and the opposing team does, the Rams forfeit the match. For this reason, Maricopa lost all its head-to-head meets overall.

Burr hopes to minimize this issue in the coming weeks when three wrestlers will have their eligibility reviewed. If all three regain their eligibility, the Rams would have a team of 10 and could qualify for team scores.

The next meet for the team is Tuesday against Canyon State at 3 p.m.

Photos by Katie Winkley