The calendar has officially turned over to February, which can mean only one thing in the Colorado prep wrestling world: Bring on the postseason.
One week from now, teams will be gearing up for regional tournament action, working to lock down a spot in the state tournament the following weekend in Denver. The past week saw a handful of league tournaments, with a few late bigger tournaments also on the docket.
Among the biggest was the Duff Seaney Invite in Canon City, which brought in 40 teams to compete. Class 2A North Fork claimed the team title, holding off 4A’s Canon City by 17.5 points. The tournament featured a number of wrestlers ranked in the top four in the most recent On the Mat rankings, including a handful of top-ranked individuals.
Among the highlights included the finals at 190 pounds, where Canon City’s Elias Koonce – unbeaten and ranked second at 175 – posted a 15-5 major decision over No. 1 Carter Woods of Mead.
North Fork’s Derick Sievertson was first at 150, as was Braeden Flores at 157. 2A Crowley’s County’s No. 1 tandem of Derrek Buford (113) and Levi Gibson (175) took first, as did Falcon’s Noah Meza (126) and Gunnison’s Zach Benson (144).
With regionals next weekend, here is a quick glance around the state:
Class 5A
Boys
Grandview rolled to the Centennial League title over Cherokee Trail, winning eight brackets overall. The highlight may have come at 285, where top-ranked Leland Day edged 3A Mullen’s No. 2 Champion Dyes 4-3. … Pomona dominated the 5A Jeffco League tournament with 292 points, winning all but one weight class. That came at 126, where Chatfield’s second-ranked Luke Gomez held off Pomona’s No. 3 Zaidyn Quinonez by a 2-1 decision. … Chaparral took the Centennial League team crown with 238.5 points.
Girls
Central of Grand Junction bested a loaded field to win the Chatfield Lady War Horse Invitational. Top-ranked Chatfield was second, followed by Widefield, Brighton and Pomona. Top-ranked individuals winning their brackets included Pomona’s Justice Gutierrez (106), Chatfield’s Lola Gonzales (105), Prairie View’s Jaydin Cuevas (115) – who beat 4A No. 1 Gizelle Meraz of Alamosa by tech fall – Columbine’s Makena Heston (135), Brighton’s Matilda Hruby (155), Central’s Shylee Tuzon (170) and Broomfield’s Shayla Martinez (190).
Class 4A
Boys
Palisade emerged from a Western Slope-heavy field to win the Jody Hern Invitational at Eagle Valley High School, posting 169 points to Eagle Valley’s 140.5. Palisade’s Teagan Young (126) and top-ranked Kadin Mulford (150) were joined by Eli Bency (165), Jacob Snodgrass (175) and Hunter Shipp (215) as winners. Eagle Valley’s Cody Littlepage (106), Alex Good (144), Bode Cobb (157), Nathan Leeper (190) and Cooper Hern (285) also finished at the top of their brackets.
Girls
La Junta won the 42-team Ladies Canon City Classic in a tournament that featured a handful of top-ranked individuals. In a duel between No. 1 wrestlers, 5A Falcon’s Allison McDaniel held off 4A’s Piper Montoya of Canon City 4-3. Alamosa’s Gizelle Meraz and Samantha Maestas were first at 115 and 120, Holy Family’s Breezy Johnson took first at 125 and Gunnison’s Roxie Uhrig was first at 145. … Arvada’s top-ranked Zahara Thompson won the 235 bracket at the Chatfield Lady War Horse Invitational, pinning third-ranked Cheyenne Becker of Woodland Park in the finals. Alamosa’s Meraz (115) and Maestas (120) were second, as were Sedgwick County/Fleming’s Lexie Amendt (125), Brooklyn Glende (130) and Annie Wilson (140).
Class 3A
Fort Morgan had a strong showing at the Patriot League tournament, with Eaton and Highland not far behind. Among the standout brackets, Eaton freshman Parker Wickam, ranked first at 132, defeated Highland’s No. 2 Carter Jensen in the semis before posting a technical fall over 3A No. 4 Trenton Mestas of Valley. Eaton’s other top-ranked wrestlers, Blake Hawkins and Paxton Pettinger, were first at 120 and 165. Pettinger earned a 10-1 major decision over second-ranked Rocky Hoffschneider of Valley. In a matchup of No. 1 wrestlers, 3A’s Ritchie Bruno of Brush downed 2A’s Wyatt Chase of Highland at 190 by a 15-4 major decision.
Class 2A
Rocky Ford held off Sedgwick County/Fleming in the Stratton Invitational over the weekend, notching 170 points to 163 for the runner-up. Sedgwick County/Fleming had five individual winners to the Meloneers’ three, but depth carried Rocky Ford to the team crown. Tyler Fehrenbach (138), Julius Martinez (150) and Marcos Villegas (165) were first, while top-ranked heavyweight was upended by No. 2 Logan Spires of Springfield in the semis by a 10-6 decision. Spires went on to take first, as did teammate Jeff Konkel (285). Sedgwick’s Kol Hershkind (106), Nathan Gonzales (113), Cooper Edson (120), Owen Harris (157) and Levi Reichman (175) were first.
