This season’s 5A boys basketball selection show will unveil the bracket in a team-by-team format. Click here to refresh this page to ensure you’re seeing the latest bracket.
Watch the show above, and follow along on the bracket below, when things start at 3 p.m.
Go to:
Cherry Creek is in hockey’s semifinals. (Mark Adams)
Cherry Creek’s hockey program returned from a 24-year hiatus prior to last season. And the Bruins, not unexpectedly, won just two games.
Well, they’ve just won two games in two days of the state hockey playoffs. And now Cherry Creek is headed to the Frozen Four.
The Bruins Ryan Worley had two goals, Cody Oakes had two assists and Quinton Reynolds made 21 saves in a 5-2 win over Lewis-Palmer on Saturday evening. Mark Saxelby, Michael Dubus and Nick McWharter also scored for Cherry Creek.
“You know, we’ve been getting better every week,” Cherry Creek coach Jeff Mielnicki said on Saturday night. “Our goal, initially, was to make the (playoffs). … They’ve put in a lot of time and effort that, now, the rewards are there.”
Lewis-Palmer twice had one-goal leads that were erased.
“Now’s the time of year that it’s about heart and will,” Mielnicki said.
Lewis-Palmer led 1-0 after Zachary Williams’ goal midway through the first period, but Saxelby scored with 1:03 to go in the period to even things up.
“It was perfect timing, because Lewis-Palmer came out heavy,” Mielnicki said. “It felt like we won the period.”
Nick Pavlik made it 2-1 Lewis-Palmer 4:47 into the second, and Worley scored an unassisted power play goal just over four minutes later to tie it up. Creek then opened the third with three-straight goals.
Cherry Creek has now won 17 games this season. The program has four state titles in its history, the last coming in 1981, prior to being shut down in 1988.
Cherry Creek will face defending champion Ralston Valley in the semifinals. Ralston Valley won an earlier meeting on Jan. 4, 3-0.
“I think they’re the best team out there,” Mielnicki said. “Our group has matured a lot, and we’ve learned from every game and made the adjustments. … Come Friday, I can’t predict the result, but I think it’ll be very competitive.”
Ralston Valley 4, Bishop Machebeuf 0. The defending champions have returned to the semifinals for the third year in a row.
Austin Resseguie had a pair of goals for Ralston Valley, which allowed just 17 shots. Zack Larocque had the shutout for the Mustangs. Greg Dyba and Kyle Valdez also scored for Ralston Valley.
Alan Rikli made 34 saves in net for Bishop Machebeuf.
Monarch 5, Columbine 2. The first period was scoreless. Their first goal was quickly answered. But Monarch is back in the Frozen Four for the second year in a row after scoring four of the game’s final five goals on Saturday.
Monarch’s Brett Kiyota opened the scoring at 8:15 of the second period with a short-handed tally, but Columbine’s Logan Seibold answered on the power play just a minute-and-a-half later.
Then Cameron Taggart got an unassisted tally in the final minute of the second period, and Monarch exploded for three goals in the third in the 5-2 win. Andrew Pickner had two of those goals, Joey Buchan the other.
Columbine’s Ashton Opperman made 35 saves in the losing effort. Logan Seibold had a goal and an assist.
Regis Jesuit 3, Mountain Vista 1. The Raiders scored two first-period goals which ultimately held up in the second-round win over the Golden Eagles.
Jack Jordan had two goals, and Jack O’Neil scored the other for Regis.
Tanner Gillis scored for Mountain Vista, but it came 12:12 into the third period and after the Golden Eagles already trailed 3-0.
Sam Harden stopped all 21 shots he faced for Regis Jesuit.
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
DENVER — With an 11-2 major decision victory in the 160-pound state finals bracket, Broomfield’s Phil Downing gave his opponent one more loss than Dawson ever experienced on the floor at Pepsi Center.
Dating back to 1956, there had been 16 four-time state champions in the history of Colorado wrestling. Downing was the only competitor in Saturday’s finals that had a chance to add to that list, and in doing so, he derailed history at the same time.
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Keenean Willits had seen his two younger brothers win state championships earlier in the night and was hoping to join them to become the first trio of siblings in Colorado history to all win state titles. But he ran into arguably one of the best grapplers in Colorado wrestling history and couldn’t overcome the early deficit.
“I knew once I got the first takedown that I was going to have it,” Downing after his match. “Once I turned him on his back, I knew it was over from there and I just kept pushing the pace.”
That pace paid dividends for not only Downing, but his teammates as well. His victory gave Broomfield the 2013-14 team state championship on top of the fourth title of his career.
Going into his match, Downing knew that a single victory would clinch the team title. His goal was to the end the match as fast as possible, but Willits proved too difficult to put away early.
“I knew we had to get one win to get the state title and I wanted to get the pin,” Downing said. “I could only get the major decision on him, but that was good enough.”
The match itself is ultimately what makes his fourth title stand out above the rest. On top of facing a tremendous competitor in Willits, Downing also had to fight off illness in order to get to the top of the podium for the fourth time.
“It was one of my tougher matches,” he said. “It went all three periods and the kid kept coming the entire time. I’ve had a really bad cold and sinus headaches and my wind wasn’t there like it should have been. I felt like I fought through it like I should have.”
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
With his high school career officially closed, Downing now has the distinction of being the 17th man to finish his career with four titles. He is the first wrestler to complete his career with four championships since Ponderosa’s Jake Snider won his fourth title in 2010.
Downing hasn’t had the time to comprehend the end of his high school career, but knows in the back of his mind that his journey is far from over. He hopes to continue his wrestling career in college and isn’t afraid to aim for goals similar to what he accomplished in high school.
“It’s a lot to take in right now, but I feel like I have a lot more goals to achieve,” he said. “(I plan on) wrestling in college and I definitely want to get four titles there, too.”
But for right now, Downing and the Eagles just want to take in the victory and enjoy the benefits of the hard work they have put in through the course of the season. The team goal of a state title came to fruition, but for Downing it was the cherry on top of a brilliant grappling career.
“It’s one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt in my life,” he said. “I just went out and did what I needed to do and mentally prepared myself all day.”
The team title is the second straight championship for the Eagles, who also won last year on the strength of Downing and teammate Zach Stodden’s individual titles in 2013. Stodden, too, won again on Saturday.
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
(Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
DENVER — New coach.
New season.
Same result.
The Broomfield High School wrestling program with Pat DeCamillis at the helm won three individual state championships to capture their second-consecutive Class 4A team title Saturday night at the Pepsi Center.
“It’s kind of the culmination of all their hard work right here,” said DeCamillis, a veteran figure in the Colorado prep wrestling community.
Broomfield finished with 127.50 points and Thompson Valley was second at 120. Windsor (112) was third and Pueblo County and Pueblo South tied for fourth at 106 points.
This was Broomfield’s fourth state wrestling team crown and fourth in the last six years. The Eagles have now won state titles in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014.
Broomfield’s seniors Phil Downing (160) and Zach Stodden (182) walked away with gold medals.
Eagles’ junior Darek Huff (126) and seniors Jarod Albo (152) and heavyweight Austyn Harris also took second for the Eagles.
Downing (46-3) was the marquee winner for the Eagles as he became only the 17th wrestler in Colorado prep history to capture four state wrestling titles. Downing was named Class 4A’s outstanding wrestler.
Downing also clinched the team title for Broomfield when he scored an 11-2 major decision over Pueblo County High School’s Keenan Willits.
DeCamillis knew he was getting the keys to a Ferrari in the Broomfield program, and he was thrilled his team performed their best in the state’s biggest spotlight.
“The kids won state and it’s very gratifying,” DeCamillis said.
Since 2005, Broomfield has finished no worse than fourth in the Class 4A state team standings.
DeCamillis was a three-time state champ at Arvada West from 1988-90. Prior to taking over Broomfield, he spent nine seasons at Pomona.
“This feels good, it was a long time coming,” said DeCamillis about capturing his first state championship as a head coach.
Thompson Valley had two wrestlers in the state finals – Ben Hewson (138) and Parker Simington (145) – and Simington claimed a championship.
“This feels awesome,” said Simington after beating Mountain Vista’s Matt Combs 7-0. “I can’t wipe the smile off my face.”
Hewson was defeated by Berthoud’s Jimmy Fate.
WONDER TWIN POWERS: Freshmen Grant Willits and Hunter Willits of Pueblo County High School made Pueblo history Saturday night.
Grant (106) and Hunter (132), fraternal twins, both won state, and in the process they became the only twins from Pueblo to win state.
In Class 5A, Cherry Creek’s Mitch (126 pounds) and and Zach (138 pounds), who are also fraternal twins, won state as well Saturday night.
Grant pinned Palisade’s Randen Espinoza with eight seconds left in the third period. Hunter muscled past Pueblo South’s Marcus Martinez 10-3.
“This feels amazing, and it really hasn’t hit me yet,” Grant said. “I’m so excited right now. I just wanted to win this for my family and my brother.”
Only one other freshman – Isaac Naro of Pueblo South at 132 pounds in 2013 – ever won a state wrestling championship in Pueblo history before this year. Naro upended Pueblo Central senior Sonny Espinoza 5-2 to take state last season. Naro finished third at 138 pounds this season.
Grant actually added another line to Pueblo’s wrestling record book as he is the only freshman to capture a state wrestling title by pin.
“That’s pretty awesome,” Grant said. “I just had to stay in good position on top and get hand control and work from there. Before the season started, I couldn’t imagine being a state champion. To have this happen is just incredible.”
JUST LIKE MY BROTHER: For the second time in seven days, Discovery Canyon sophomore Sam Turner beat Pueblo County’s Chris Sandoval.
The win Saturday night was extra special for Turner as he beat Sandoval 5-3 to take state at 120 pounds.
“This is very satisfying and the best feeling in the world to know your hard work has paid off,” said Sam, who pinned Sandoval in the regional finals in the final seconds of their match after trailing 3-1. “I’m so happy.”
In 2012, as a senior Steve Turner, Sam’s brother, also won a Class 4A state crown at 120 pounds.
“This is just great that my brother and I won state at 120 pounds,” Sam said.
A year ago, Sam experienced the agony of defeat, losing to Weld Central’s Dalton Robertson 11-9 in the state finals.
TRYING TO REPEAT HISTORY: In addition to Broomfield’s Downing (160) and Stodden (182), Windsor’s Kennen Lanteri (152) and Mead’s Kyle Couch (195) also were repeat champs.
Lanteri, a senior, edged Broomfield’s Albo 4-2 in the finals.
“It’s kind of hard to describe right now,” said Lanteri, who also won state at 152 pounds last year. “I’m sure (Sunday) it will feel even better because it hasn’t really set in yet. The experience I got from being in the state finals last year really helped me this year. I was a lot more calm this year.”
Lanteri said he plans on continuing his wrestling career at Oregon State University.
A year ago as a junior Couch made history by winning the first state wrestling title in Mead’s history. On Saturday night, he became the school’s first back-to-back state winner with a 7-2 win over Discovery Canyon’s David Traynor.
“I wasn’t as nervous (Saturday night),” said the 6-foot-2 Couch, who signed to play linebacker for Colorado Mesa University. “It was just a great win.”
Last season Couch defeated Montezuma-Cortez’s Trenton Gustafson 4-2 at 182 pounds in the state finals.
Now, the program which is five years old, has two individual state champions and three state titles as junior Sage Budd was a gold medalist at 126 pounds Saturday night as he defeat Broomfield’s Huff.
“It is pretty special,” Mead coach Ty Tatham said about getting two state champs. “I’m not going to forget about this for a long time. Sage’s win was huge. In Kyle’s match, he just has a way of preparing and being ready to go and he just had a great tournament.”
DENVER — It was a night of repeats and three-peats in the Class 5A state wrestling championships Saturday at Pepsi Center.
When it was all said and done, four individuals had defended their 2013 state titles and another, Bear Creek senior P.T. Garcia, had claimed his third consecutive championship. It was the perfect exclamation point on a season, and in some cases, a career.
“It’s kind of bittersweet because that’s the last time I’ll wear a Ponderosa singlet,” said Ponderosa senior Dylan Gabel, who pinned Arapahoe’s Jaylen Mosqueira to claim the 182-pound title. “I’ve put a lot of time and effort in with that program. I love the coaches, I love the school and the support we get.”
Arvada West enjoyed the best day and tournament as a whole, winnings its first team championship since 1992 and only its third overall. The Wildcats, who had three individual champions and nine placers overall, dominated the 5A field with 179 points. Pomona, which had two state titlists, was second with 92 points, followed by Ponderosa (88), Cherry Creek (81.5) and Pine Creek (80).
Payton Tawater (145 pounds), Tony Silva-Bussey (170) and Devin Rothrock (195) each captured their first state titles.
“It was just all worth it. Every little bit of it,” Tawater said. “All the running, all the extra stuff. It all was worth it in the end.”
Garcia received one of the biggest ovations of the night after downing Greeley West’s Adrian DelaCruz 10-7 in the 132-pound final. It sent the University of Wyoming-bound senior into the three-time state champion club.
“Being able to accomplish something like this – all that hard work finally paying off,” Garcia said, “all the tears I’ve cried and all the blood I’ve bled, it really culminated with a moment like this. It’s really special.”
Cherry Creek’s Mitch Finesilver defended his 2013 title with a 1-0 decision over another former champion, Coronado’s Jess Hankin, at 126 pounds. Grand Junction’s Jacob Trujillo did the same with an 8-4 decision at 160 pounds, as did Gabel and Regis Jesuit’s Grand Neal at 220 with a 7-3 victory.
Mountain Range’s Jorge Rodriguez, who won his first title in 2012, capped his prep career with a 5-0 decision at heavyweight.
Finesilver survived with a narrow 1-0 decision. He and Hankin had worked together over the summer, and that familiarity showed on the mat.
“My strategy was really just to wrestle my match,” Finesilver said. “We know each other so well, and you’ve just kind of got to do what you do best.”
Hankin tried to score a late takedown but could never quite get in good position.
“It’s always a little frustrating when you can’t pull out the win, but ultimately I view it as a learning experience,” said Hankin, who is a junior. “There’s a lot to be learned from that match.”
For Finesilver, capturing a second title was special but the night was made even better after twin brother Zach won the 138-pound with a 10-4 decision over Arvada West’s Jimmy Rothwell.
Another brother, Matt, reached the finals at 113 but fell 9-2 to Legacy’s Ryan Deakin, who capped a perfect season with his first championship.
“It’s awesome. I look back on all the hard work I’ve done, and I guess that means more to be than just a title in general,” Finesilver said. “Doing it with great coaches and my family, my brothers and my teammates, that means more to me.”
Gabel, who is headed to the University of Northern Colorado, had the added distinction of pinning his way through the tournament while setting the Ponderosa single-season pin record in the process with 35.
“That’s my style of wrestling,” Gabel said. “I was hoping I would be able to pin my way through and I did, so I feel pretty pleased about all of it.”
Pomona sophomore Tomas Gutierrez also finished with a perfect season after an 11-1 major decision at 106 pounds. His teammate, senior Josh Rosales, also notched a major decision, 12-4 at 120 pounds, to take his first title.
The other first-time state champion was Gateway’s Deyaun Trueblood, who posted a 9-3 decision at 152 pounds.
The night truly belonged to Arvada West though. Tawater fought his way through the bracket for a 1-0 decision after finishing third his first two years.
“By far the best night of my life,” Tawater said. “By far.”
Silva-Bussey closed his career with an 18-10 major decision and Rothrock notched a 5-2 decision.
The team was without coach Ron Granieri, who was on restriction from the postseason.
“It’s indescribable. These kids busted their butts all year long. It’s just the hard work that they put it in the room every day, the grind,” A-West assistant coach Matt Schmidt said. “The kids, they just wanted to wrestle. That’s all they wanted to do, and they wrestled their best.”
Valley senior Jackson Wright, top, scores back points against Monte Vista senior Simon Schaefer during the Class 3A 170-pound match Saturday night at Pepsi Center. Wright scored a 13-3 victory in helping Valley to the school’s first ever state wrestling team title. (Dennis Pleuss)
DENVER — The town of Gilcrest located on Highway 85 can be called “Valley of the Class 3A state wrestling champions.”
The Valley Vikings claimed the first team wrestling title in school history Saturday night at Pepsi Center.
“It probably won’t hit anyone on the team until we get to hold up that trophy,” Valley senior Jackson Wright said after taking a 13-3 victory at 170 pounds. “We all know we did something special here and made school history.”
Valley’s version of the Fab Five — Ruben Lucero (126), Omar Sotelo (138), Macoy Flanagan (145), Brendan Gonzales (160) and Wright (170) — all reached the championship bouts in their respective weight classes. The Vikings racked up 154 points to hold off Centauri (137.5), Brush (117) and Monte Vista (103.5) for the team title.
Centauri senior Jason Buhr became a two-time state wrestling champion with a 17-2 technical fall against Middle Park senior Adam Visconti on Saturday night. Centauri finished second in the team standing behind Valley. (Dennis Pleuss)
“It’s amazing. Everyone has been working so hard for it,” Lucero said after winning at 126. “It’s so cool. I can’t even put it into words.”
Lucero officially wrapped up the team title with a 6-3 victory over Florence senior Jake Yslas. The only way the Vikings could have lost the team title is if all five Valley wrestlers lost and all three of Centauri’s finalist pinned their opponents.
Lucero, Wright and Gonzales came away with individual titles in the historic night for Valley.
“I think people will start to realize that Valley produces some pretty good wrestlers,” Wright said. “Coach (Mike Caciari) is a great coach.”
Also making history Saturday night was Holy Family junior Joseph Prieto. A 4-0 victory over Sotelo at 132 gave Holy Family its first individual state wrestling champion in school history.
The cafeteria at Holy Family doubles at the wrestling room and the program’s only mat is one given by Bishop Machebeuf.
“It’s feels good. I know now it’s just another win. I’m going to have to keep doing it next year,” Prieto said. “It’s cool to make school history.”
Centauri did manage a pair of individual state champions in senior Jason Buhr (152) and junior Jareb Aziz (195). Both are now two-time state champions after claiming titles last year.
Buhr had one of the most dominating performances in the 3A championship bouts with a 17-2 technical fall over Middle Park senior Adam Visconti.
“I just hoped for the win, but I’m glad it ended that way and I could get a tech,” Buhr said. “We came in ranked third as a team. We are happy with second right now.”
Monte Vista senior Diondre Garcia also became a two-time state champion with a 2-0 victory over Alamosa freshman Isaiah DeLaCerda at 106. It was even more special with his cousin, sophomore Jose Duran, claiming the 113 title for Monte Vista.
“It’s a great feeling,” Garcia said. “I dropped down so my cousin could win a state title too. It’s great that we can both celebrate.”
Olathe senior Trenton Piatt celebrates after winning the 120-pound Class 3A state title Saturday night. Piatt finished the season with an undefeated 35-0 record. (Dennis Pleuss)
Dolores Huerta senior Jared Mestas grabbed his second state title that eluded him as a junior. He placed fourth last year after winning the 126 title as a sophomore. Huerta edged Holy Family junior Julian Prieto, Joseph’s twin brother, 6-5 in the 132 match.
One of the most intriguing championship bouts in any classifications Saturday was the 3A 120 match. Returning state champion Conrad Cole from Brush faced undefeated Trenton Piatt of Olathe.
Piatt had an early takedown and near-fall to take a 5-0 lead. That would all he would need to finish on top of the podium.
Pagosa Springs senior Creede Wylie completed his wild three-day ride with a heavyweight championship title to conclude the tournament. Wylie came in as the top seed last year at 285, but didn’t place.
Wylie pinned Centauri sophomore Devon Chacon at the 1:33 mark in the first period to finish his high school career with a state championship.
His journey to the championship match wasn’t easy this year. He had to squeak out a 5-4 first-round match Thursday.
“It’s such a long three days,” Wylie said. “This is a great way to end it.”
DENVER — Paonia’s Jesse Reed has an opportunity to accomplish a feat only seventeen Colorado high school wrestlers have achieved in history.
The Paonia junior will look to join the select group of four-time state champions next season after claiming his third state crown Saturday evening at the Pepsi Center.
Reed faced off against Swink’s Austin Coy in the 126-pound weight class. The match was the premier showdown of the 2A state finals. Reed was 39-0 on the season, Coy 32-0, and both had won their first three matches of the state tourney convincingly.
“Game plan was to score quick, score early,” said Reed, but neither wrestler was able to gain the upper hand in the first two periods.
“Of course, it was 0-0 going into the third, but I was looking for that tilt,” Reed said. “I knew that tilt would be there, so I hit it and it gave me a 4-0 match. That really changed the whole match right there.”
But Coy was a tough customer throughout and wouldn’t go away. The Swink junior made it 4-2 with 1:10 remaining, but Reed attacked again and forced Coy into a 6-2 deficit with forty seconds left.
Reed went into defensive mode and prevented any big points from Coy the rest of the match. Coy made a last second desperate attempt for points and made it 6-4 with seven seconds left, but Reed, learning his lesson from teammate, Josh Altman, who lost in a last second, heartbreaking 120 pound semifinals match Friday night, turtle-shelled and held on.
“It’s smart,” Reed said about his method of defense with seven seconds remaining. “You don’t want to get tossed and lose. That came out in my best friend Josh Altman’s match in the semis. He was up and he got thrown with three seconds left and he ended up fourth when he probably could’ve gotten first.”
Reed was able to hold on and complete a dominant 40-0 season. He took time to reflect on his already storied career at Paonia and his run of success at the state tournament.
“It’s tough every year,” Reed said. “My freshman year was probably tougher, because I was a freshman. Just mentally, that’s probably why it was tougher for me to go in there and beat the senior in the finals. This year, it was tough again, but I came through.”
The Paonia junior won the 113-pound division as a freshman, the 120-pound division as a sophomore, and the-126 pound division as a junior.
Two freshman wrestlers familiar with each other started the finals competition off with a bang in the 106 pound weight class. John Mall’s Jonathan Andreatta entered the title match 37-1 on the season, a very impressive campaign for the first year high school student. Ignacio’s Stocker Robbins was 37-6 on the season. The talented freshman knew each other all too well.
“We wrestled in middle school a lot,” Andreatta said. “He’s beaten me like three times. In middle school I beat him twice and then I beat him earlier this season by two points.”
Andreatta was in control throughout the state championship match and won by pin in 3:41.
“I went out there and was focusing on my takedowns,” John Mall’s freshman champion said after the win. “I got him taken down, I went to a turn, and I kept going and I caught him on his back a few times. I was able to finally pin him.”
Andreatta was mostly speechless afterwards and in awe described his victory as simply, “Unbelievable, unbelievable.”
Meeker’s T.J. Shelton knew what it was like to be in Andreatta’s shoes last season when he claimed the 160-pound state title as a freshman. Wrestling at 170 pounds this year, Shelton pinned all four of his opponents on the way to his second state championship. He topped off his dominant weekend with a pin of Lyons’ Jon Hickman in 4:41.
“It feels great,” Shelton said. “It feels the same as winning the first one. It was a lot similar. I went in there with the same kind of head. I wanted to take it and defend it.”
Shelton completed a 32-2 sophomore season and was pleased with his performance throughout the year.
“It was pretty good,” the Meeker wrestler said. “I got a slow start. I had an injury early and I couldn’t wrestle the first tournament. Other than that, I just progressed. I wrestled some really tough kids. One kid was ranked sixth in the nation, kicked my butt, and taught me a few lessons.”
“I’ve got track season now,” Shelton added. “I can’t really celebrate. I have to keep rolling.”
Other highlights of Saturday’s 2A action included Baca County’s Johnny Loflin defending his 195 pound state crown with a hard fought, hard-nosed 7-3 decision over Rocky Ford’s Nate Finnell. Loflin placed 5th, 2nd, 1st, and 1st at the state tourney during his outstanding career at Baca County.
Loflin’s first cousin, Luke Loflin, a junior at Baca County, lost to fellow junior Blake Denton of Swink in a tough 3-2 state championship battle at 145 pounds.
Stratton’s M.C. Griffin closed his high school career with his first state championship and a 33-1 senior campaign. Griffin earned his crown with a 3-2 decision over Swink’s Brody Wisemon in the 182 pound weight class.
Burlington’s Jon Satterly, a sophomore and relatively unknown wrestler who didn’t win his regional title, surprised the 220 pound field by making a run all the way to the finals match. Satterly succumbed to Center’s Luis Mariscal, a senior, by pin in one minute and fifty five seconds in the finals, but certainly had a tremendous tourney run. Satterly closed the season 29-21. Mariscal went 33-4 his senior year.
Paonia’s machine of a wrestling program won their third consecutive state championship and fifth in school history with 180 points. All five of the Eagles’ wrestlers in the finals were victorious as Reed won the 126 pound weight class, Bo Pipher won the 132 class, Ty Coats won the 152 class, Zach Milner won the 160 class, and Tony Darling won the 285 class.
Sophomore Pipher, junior Milner, and seniors Coats and Darling were all first-time state champions for Paonia.
Baca County was second as a team with 112.5 points, Meeker was third with 98.5, and Sedgwick County/Fleming finished fourth with 88.5 points.
The 126-pound weight class final was the climax of the evening in 2A. Jesse Reed and Austin Coy’s bout lived up to its lofty billing between two undefeated juniors and was a fantastic finish.
Reed admitted after the match that he is already thinking about making history as a four-timer.
“I definitely have four-time on my mind, but there’s a lot of hard work that has to come before that,” Reed said. “I have to work harder than I did this year.”
Reed exemplified the hard working, passionate Paonia powerhouse with a stalwart third individual state championship on Saturday evening in Denver.
DENVER — The state wrestling tournament concluded on Saturday at the Pepsi Center.
Girls basketball’s 2014 state tournament bracket in 5A.
Girls basketball’s 2014 state tournament bracket in 4A.