Barbara Lawlor, Gilpin County.   In their second meet of the season the Gilpin County Youth Wrestlers brought home many third place awards from the Bennett Metro League Tournament. Coach Pete Morgan says they continued to build on their experiences and skills and have succeeded in holding their own against higher levels of competition.

In Saturday's tournament, Michael DePintos-Jones and Ryan Hanssen bounced back from difficult matches at last week's home tournament and finished in third place this week, proving they can learn from mistakes and adjust their technique accordingly.

Dusty LeBeau and Bradley Robinson competed in the toughest bracket of the tournament and although they didn't finish in the top three, Dusty out-wrestled and beat the eventual second-place finisher in the bracket. Joey Morgan brought determination to the mat and earned second place in his bracket.

Coach Morgan says that sometimes the most memorable matches don't necessarily show up in the results.

"The absolute highlight of the day came from Gilpin's quietest wrestler Andrew Canalia. At some point late in the day, something must have clicked in his mind because he decided to fight like he has never fought before. He relentlessly attacked a far more experienced wrestler for three straight periods, falling just short of defeating the eventual second place winner of the bracket. If all of our wrestlers fought with that type of ferocity on a consistent basis we would be pretty tough to beat."

On Saturday, Gilpin will travel to Fort Lupton High School for another regular season Metro League Tournament.

Results from Bennett:

U10 70-77 - Michael DePintos-Jones 3rd

U10 78-87 - Ryan Hanssen 3rd

U10 105-113 - Brennen Lautrup 3rd

U10 105-113 - Benjamin Gebhart 2nd

U12 63-68 - Bradly Robinson 3rd

U12 70-76 - Christian Lautrup 3rd

U12 77-82 - Joseph Morgan 2nd

U12 134-146 - William Siegrist 3rd

(Published in the November 17, 2016 print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)