By Steven Law
Special to the Chronicle

PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. – Four Page High wrestlers earned medals at the state wrestling tournament here last Saturday.

Zachery Ruiz, a junior, was this year’s runner-up in the 113-pound weight class. Ruiz took first place at state last year. He compiled an impressive 50 wins with only five losses this season. Four of those losses came in the early part of the season when he temporarily left his weight class to wrestle in the class above him.

“He didn’t have to do that, he wanted to do that,” Head wrestling coach Kyran Keisling said. “He was wrestling against guys 15 or 20 pounds heavier than he (is). He did it just to improve his technique and better himself as a wrestler.”

At the state tournament’s championship round he met Davian Guanajuato, who is 39-0 this season.

“He wrestled an excellent match,” Keisling said. “He gave Guanajuato everything he could handle. I’m extremely proud of this hardworking kid.”
Kaleb June, a senior wrestler in the 145-pound weight class, also came home with the runner-up medal.

June defeated the No. 1 seed in the semi-finals. It was a very big win, said Keisling.

“That victory was the culmination of his whole career. He wrestled the best match of his life and absolutely crushed his opponent. It was very gratifying to watch.”

Keisling said much of the credit for that win should go to coach Matt Penrod. “Kaleb won that match using perfect technique, and Penrod is the man who teaches that.”

The female wrestlers made a good showing at state this year too. This was only the second year that girls wrestling has been officially sanctioned by the Arizona Interscholastic Association.

Sharmayne Crank on Saturday night placed fifth in the 130-pound weight class.

“Her wrestling the last 30 seconds of her final match was the best 30 seconds of wrestling I’ve seen from her all year,” said Steve Smith, who coaches the girls wrestling team.

Crank, a junior, plans to return to the mat again next year. She is also on the track and volleyball teams.

Crank said she was proud to have made it to state and medaled but was also disappointed that she didn’t place higher.

Monique Parrish placed third at the state tournament. Her win is made all the more impressive because this was her first year wrestling. Parrish is a senior, so, unfortunately, this was her one and only year participating in a sport she’s very gifted at.

“She wrestled really well, especially for a first-year wrestler,” Smith said about Parrish. “She had all the right moves when it mattered.”

The Sand Devils had several other wrestlers who qualified for state, but they didn’t reach the podium. The other state wrestlers were Ashton Penrod, Shayne Ruiz, Harrelson Sampson, and Hunter Richardson. The girls Sand Devils wrestling team finished 12th as a team.

Wrestlers Latasha Slim, Aja Curley, and Angel Clark also wrestled in the state tournament without medaling. As a team, the girls finished ninth out of 63 teams.

This season has been a rough one for the Sand Devils in the aspect of winning, said Keisling, but satisfying in terms of team and individual growth.

“We had a great state tournament last year, but I was sort of depressed at the end of it knowing that we were losing a lot of talented wrestlers and this year was going to be a rebuilding year for us,” Keisling added. “But now I’m feeling very optimistic for the next year and the future of our program.
Keisling says he expects to see Ruiz back on the state podium again next year, along with Hunter Richardson, Ashton Penrod, and Shayne Ruiz.