TORRINGTON – The Torrington Trailblazer wrestling team put its skills on full display in an intersquad dual Tuesday to gear up for the season that begins this week.

“You’re in front of the crowd,” Doyle Meyer said of the difference between practice and an intersquad dual. “You have been telling your parents practice has been going all right, but now you need to prove it. It’s significantly different wrestling in front of 100-150 people than just wrestling in the wrestling room.”

The night started with introductions of the wrestlers and their sponsors, who were mostly faculty members who have had a positive impact on the wrestler.

On the mat, senior Nathan Davis kicked off the night with a pin over Tyler Juma. Freshman Nycholas Melchor splashed onto the scene this year with a pin over fellow freshman, Nicholas Sherbeyn.

The third match of the night went the distance, with Torrington’s two returning state placers squaring off. Tristen Kingsley, who finished fifth at 106 pounds at the state tournament in 2016, came out on the better end of a 9-6 decision over Austin Fox, who took fifth last year at 132 pounds.

“That was (a match) I was expecting to see since state of last year,” Meyer said. “I knew they were both going to be the same weight and I had no idea how it was going to end up. You have two state placers there and they’re both hungry to get better and to make it back to the state tournament and place even higher.”

Following the six-minute match, the next 10 matches were decided by pin. In a contest between juniors, Casey Britton got the upper hand over Ryan Walson, picking up the win. Freshman Cody Pierce pinned sophomore Carlos Fitzwater, followed by another freshman in Gabe Mitchell winning by pin over Dominic Wallace.

“I was very happy with the new wrestlers,” Meyer said. “They picked up on things we are doing in practice really quickly. They’re going to contribute to the program as much as the veterans will.”

In a matchup of veterans, junior Jakob Brott picked up the win via pin over senior Daeden Morrow. Younger wrestlers again took the mat with freshman Riley Grubbs recording the pin over Chasen Small. Brandon Bennick and Jerald Merrick met in a battle of heavyweights, with the edge going to Bennick by pin. Still in the upper weights, Brandon Deen picked up a pin over Sebastian Doucette.

Back to the lower weights, Jacob Polkowske pinned Brett Posten, followed by a pin by Quentin Meyer over Pake Haun. Davis returned to the mat for this second match of the night, pinning freshman Landen Norris.

The final match of the night between Josh Kingsley and Chase Dominguez went the distance. The pair, which also closed out the 2016 Maroon and Silver Duals in a thrilling match, put on another solid performance. Kingsley came out on top with the 7-5 decision.

“The styles kind of contradict each other,” Meyer said of the Kingsley/Dominguez pairing. “Tonight, Josh got the better of Chase but they’re so evenly matched.”

The Maroon squad, which was comprised of three seniors, seven juniors and four freshmen, walked away with the win, 54-25. On the Silver side was one senior, six juniors, five sophomores and one freshman.

Tuesday not only gave Blazer wrestling fans a first look at this year’s team, but it also gave the coaches a better idea of what their team can do in a competitive situation.

“As I was telling my coaches and we were talking throughout the matches, we are going to have a pretty solid team,” Meyer said. “I was very impressed with how the kids have matured over one year. I think we are going to put together, at the end, a team that can be reckoned with.”

Wrestling practice across the state started last Monday and the Blazers are kicking off action this week. They hosted Cheyenne South in a dual Thursday after press time. Torrington returns to action on the road this weekend at Cheyenne East.

“We don’t have any blue chippers on our team,” Meyer said. “What we have is a lot of journeymen and workmen kind of wrestlers who are going to come in, work hard and get the job done. They’ll be there day after day and eventually that will give us huge rewards.”