Prior to the Dawg Fight Wrestling Tournament in Dove Creek on Dec. 13, Dove Creek High School wrestling coach Shane Baughman said that his wrestlers could secure individual tournament titles.

Honoring his coach’s wishes, 132-pound junior Case Baughman finished first in his weight division, pinning four of his five opponents in route to a championship victory.

“(Case) pretty much dominated the whole way through,” said Shane Baughman. “He pinned everyone and earned a (technical fall) victory in the finals.”

Also finishing first overall for the Bulldogs was 138-pound senior Chance Randolph, who finished the tournament 5-0.

Other Dove Creek wrestlers finding their way onto the podium included 182-pound senior Tyler Knuckles, who placed second; 113-pound junior Collin Hobbs, who placed third; 113-pound freshman Rhett Quackenbush, who placed fourth; and 126-pound sophomore Donavan Trudeau, who placed fifth.

Dove Creek finished fifth in the 13-team tournament, which was won by Norwood High School. Ignacio High School finished second.

“Individually, we did well, but it’s hard to compete for a team title when we only fill six weight classes,” said Shane Baughman. “Our goal is to wrestle well individually this season and we did that.”

The Bulldogs tournament performance followed a home victory over Del Norte High School on Dec. 12. Quckenbuch, Baughman, Kibel, Randolph, Hobbs and Knuckles scored victories in the dual.

Next up for Dove Creek will be the Panther Tournament, which will take place at Piedra Vista High School in Farmington on Dec. 20.

“We’re in a pool that has some pretty tough teams and some big schools,” said Shane Baughman. “It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”