Excitement brewing for Holbrook grapplers: Roadrunner boys take second, girls third

Posted by Quentin Jodie | Dec 7, 2023 | Wrestling |

HOLBROOK – First-year Holbrook wrestling coach Steven Carbonneau is excited about what’s to come this season.

The Roadrunners had an excellent showing in their first tournament with the boys taking second and the girls third at the Holbrook-hosted Pat Kenny Invitational.

The Holbrook boys lost the team title to the Snowflake Lobos by a single point. Snowflake, which competes at the Division III level, won the 20-team tournament with 265.5 points.

In the girls’ team standings, Round Valley won the tournament with 233 points followed by Snowflake (161) and Holbrook (126).

“My mind is going wild with excitement,” said Carbonneau, who served as Holbrook’s assistant coach for four years under former coach Markos Serna. “It just goes to show that the kids we have at Holbrook come out every day and they work hard.

“You know, the size of the school doesn’t matter,” he added. “It’s the effort that they put in day-in and day-out in practice. That’s what really matters and that’s showing up on the mat.”

The Roadrunner boys squad had 24 wrestlers compete on Saturday, with 11 earning medals. Of those wrestlers, five reached the finals in their respective weight classes.

Veteran wrestlers Judah Pack (150-pound class) and Luis Quintana (190) took first while Kelton Reidhead (106), Christopher Moore (144) and Darnell Nez (165) took second overall.

In his finals, Pack (12-0) scored a fall over Camp Verde senior Joey Dickey with a 32-second pin.

“He felt really strong, but he kept pushing and pushing and I felt that pressure,” Pack said. “He let go for one second and I felt that and so I ducked under him, and I just kept the pressure on his triceps, and I was able to take him on his back right away.”

Last season, the Holbrook senior placed fourth at his home meet while wrestling at 126 pounds. This season, Pack will remain at 150 as he’s added some muscle weight to his 5-foot-8 frame.

“I’ve grown, and I’ve lifted a lot of weights,” he said. “I feel pretty strong for my weight. I’m undefeated so far, so I feel really confident. I’ve put in the work at practice and the summer.”

Carbonneau said his pupil has done everything they’ve asked of him.

“Judah is explosive,” the Holbrook coach said. “He’s been working hard on a lot of different things. He listens well and he’s taken our instructions and he’s putting in the workouts to get where he’s at right now.”

At 190, Quintana moved to 9-0 overall after Chino Valley wrestler Caden Call bowed out due to an injury 11 seconds into the match.

In the other championship finals, Reidhead lost a 9-4 decision to Ganado’s Ryan Kee at 106 while Nez came up short to Snowflake’s Kenyan Bryant by a 10-5 decision.

At 144, Moore was pinned late in the third period, losing to Snowflake’s Troy Kinclicheenie.

“Chris Moore did a great job,” Carbonneau said. “He dominated pretty much every match. He’s quick on his feet. He’s a senior, so he’s really looking to take things further this year.”

At last year’s Division IV state meet, Moore took fifth while Pack garnered third. Both wrestlers are looking to take gold this year.

“My goal is to finish No. 1 at the season,” Pack said. “I’m looking forward to seeing more competition because those hard matches is where you grow.”

The Holbrook girls team had six wrestlers place, headed by the second-place finish from Aubree Takala. The junior grappler was pinned in the first period in her championship match against Snowflake’s Evalyn Perez.

“Aubree is a second-year wrestler, and she got second,” Carbonneau said. “We’ve got first year girls that either got third or fourth place. These were girls that came in wanting to be managers, but I just told them, ‘How about you just wrestle?’

“On a whim they joined and after wrestling for two months they placed in their first tournament,” the Holbrook coach added.