Snowflake grappler caps perfect season with state title

WINDOW ROCK

The Kinlicheenie wrestling family now has two state champions.

On Feb. 18, Snowflake sophomore Devin Kinlicheenie etched his name into the family lore, following the footprints of older brother, Terrell, who captured a state title last season with a 53-1 overall record.

The younger Kinlicheenie sibling did his older brother one better by finishing the season undefeated with a 49-0 mark.

“It’s pretty cool because he never went undefeated in high school,” Devin said of Terrell, who currently wrestles for the Arizona Christian University men’s wrestling team.

“We like competing with each other, but he’s the first in my family to win a state title,” he said.

Devin entered the Arizona Division III state wrestling meet as the only athlete with a spotless record, but he was seeded third in his weight class at 215 pounds.

Devin said the two wrestlers ahead of him placed higher than him the year before and the Arizona Interscholastic Association took that into consideration.

Nevertheless, the Snowflake grappler felt that he could close out the season with a state title while keeping his perfect record intact.

“I felt like I could go undefeated,” he said. “I mean, all my brothers, partners and coaches helped me work hard during the summer.”

Devin won his first two matches with falls over Edgar Roberts of Estrella Foothills in the first round and Salpointe Catholic’s Orlando Gonzalez in the second.

“He wasn’t really wrestling so it took me a while to pin him,” Devin said of Roberts. “I was up like 12-0 before I pinned him, so it wasn’t too hard.”

As for Gonzalez, he earned two takedowns before pinning the Salpointe Catholic wrestler in the first period.

In the semifinals, he matched up with Landen Francis of Prescott High, an opponent he had trouble wrestling last year.

“I lost to him twice the year before,” Devin said, “but I was feeling confident because I knew he didn’t work has hard as I did during the summer.”

In the state semifinal match, the Snowflake wrestler won with an 11-8 decision to advance into the tournament finals.

“I had more takedowns than him,” Devin said of his opponent. “He got a reversal, and he got some back points, but I feel like I dominated the whole match.”

In the finals, Devin was the declared the winner after his opponent Dalton Loyden of American Leadership Academy Gilbert North was disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I didn’t like the way I won it because nobody wants to win a state championship like that,” he said. “I wanted to win it on my own terms, so it sucks to win it like that, but it is what it is.”

The Kinlicheenie family had another member place at this year’s state tournament with junior Troy Kinlicheenie taking fifth at 132.

With a state title in tow, Devin said he’s looking to end his prep career with two more state crowns.

“I want to be a three-time state champion,” he said. “I know that I can do it and my dad (Celestine) has a lot of faith in me. He told me that I have to work real hard and sacrifice most of my time to wrestling.”

He said he plans on doing just that. In fact, he’s already back in the wrestling room improving his craft.

“I know I’ll have a big target on my back because I’m a state champ,” he said.

Devin credits his coaches and family members for pushing him to his limits.

“I’ve got some great coaches and, you know, my dad works so hard to support us,” he said. “He’s a single parent and he’s raised four boys. People think I work hard, but he works twice as hard.”

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