LOUISVILLE — No. 2 Monarch hockey beat No. 1 Regis Jesuit 3-0 on Friday to break the Raiders’ 24-game winning streak. Regis Jesuit’s last loss came on Feb. 6, 2016 — also a 3-0 loss to Monarch.
Jonathan Andreatta, right. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — Jonathan Andreatta’s quest for redemption took all of 50 seconds to get underway.
After failing to capture his third state title last season, the John Mall senior was all business in the first round of the Class 2A state wrestling tournament. He beat Cheyenne Wells’ Jade Cozart in less than a minute to advance to the second round, which will begin on Friday.
“I just wanted to get out there and get the pin,” Andreatta said. “I wanted to get rested up for tomorrow.”
He’s coming off a disappointing loss to Quenton Montague in last year’s 120-final. He hasn’t competed at Pepsi Center since that loss, and walking around the catacombs did bring back some tough memories of that defeat.
“Walking through these halls, I’ve had some recurring nightmares,” he said. “That kind of sucked, but I’ve practically forgotten about that and I’m ready for this year.”
And he has shown that on the mat. Andreatta’s loss in that state title match is his last loss in high school competition.
When looking to get back to that top spot on the podium, he came into the 2016-17 season tackling only the obstacle directly in front of him.
“I’m just focused on the quarterfinals,” he said. “I’m just taking it one match at a time. It’s just another day.”
He’ll be back on the mat Friday at 9:30 a.m., taking on Cameron Holmes from Wiggins. Holmes advanced with a 15-4 major decision over Chris Lovato from Hotchkiss.
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Pin stats
Paonia’s Trevor Smith had the fastest pin of the 2A/3A prelims — it took him 10 seconds to win his first-round match in the 2A 285-pound bracket.
Rocky Ford’s Jacob Rodriguez had the first match of the day at 2A 106 pounds, and he made it a short one. The senior, a two-time champion, pinned Rye’s Zachary Ruiz in 14 seconds.
Rodriguez’s teammate, Carlos Magdaleno, pinned his opponent in 15 seconds at 160 pounds.
One other wrestler, Trenton Armintrout of Norwood/Nucla, had a pin in less than 20 seconds. He won his first-round match in 19 seconds.
Trinidad’s Jesus Diaz had the fastest pin in 3A’s first round, winning in 27 seconds.
There were a total of 100 pins in during the 2A/3A prelims, including 27 that happened in less than a minute.
Meeker and Paonia each had seven pins as a team.
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Notables
Natalie Benavides. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Natalie Benavides of Del Norte, the lone female qualifier at the state tournament this season, was pinned in her first-round match by Meeker’s Sheridan Harvey. She moves to Friday’s consolation round. Benavides is the eighth girl to ever qualify for the state tournament.
Platte Valley leads the 3A team race after the prelims with 21 points. Defending champion Valley is in second with 19.5, following by Jefferson (19). La Junta and Sheridan are tied in fourth with 16 points.
Rocky Ford is out front in the 2A standings, leading with 37.5 points. Meeker (30) is second, followed by Paonia (28), John Mall (26) and Fowler (20).
Alamosa’s Isaiah Delacerda, wrestling in 3A’s 113-pound division, began his quest for a third title with a pin of Fort Lupton’s Derrian Jaramillo in 1:35.
Fort Lupton’s Jody Sandoval II pinned Eaton’s Jackson Contreras in 33 seconds at 3A 126. Sandoval is a two-time champion.
The 285-pound bracket in 3A figures to be highly competitive. Among the field: Mullen’s Sam Deseriere, a returning champion who is unbeaten; Sheridan’s Ricky Ayala, another returning champion; and Bayfield’s Sam Westbrook, another unbeaten. All three won their first-round matches.
Each of the 11 returning champions and four unbeaten wrestlers in 2A and 3A won their first-round matches.
DENVER — Trent Shultz used to be protective of his little brother. Because that’s the way things are supposed to work.
But since Cohl put on 40 pounds, he’s no longer had to worry about that.
Trent, a senior at Mountain Vista, is searching for his second Class 5A state wrestling championship. Cohl is looking to match that accomplish. He’s just a sophomore, but he attends Ponderosa rather than Mountain Vista.
But there are no hard feelings. No sense of competition between the two. They wrestle at different weight classes – Tent at 195 and Cohl at 220 – so rather than having to one-up each other, they get to stand behind one another in support.
“It’s pretty cool,” Cohl said. “I get to see him warming up and I get to see him wrestle and it’s all awesome.”
Trent Schultz. (Ryan Csaey/CHSAANow.com)
Trent has been at Mountain Vista since he started high school. Cohl was looking for something a little different in terms of social interaction and traveling for wrestling. So Ponderosa was the best fit.
Even if they aren’t at the same school, they got to share an accomplishment a year ago by standing at the top of the podium at Pepsi Center. And they get to lean on each other when looking to get better and reach that mountain top again.
“It’s big,” Trent said. “It’s weird to say, but he probably has more experience wrestling than both our coaches. He sees things other people don’t. He sees things I don’t see and my coaches don’t see.”
And it’s paying off early. Trent advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals with a fall over Arapahoe’s Gannon Gosselin in 38 seconds.
Cohl had similar success, pinning Doherty’s Siandre Agaali’I in 59 seconds.
If their success continues to play out this way, they’ll stand tall once again as champions. Brothers united, even if under different banners.
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Willits going for a fourth
Hunter Willits. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Pueblo County senior Hunter Willits is aiming to become the 20th four-time state champion in Colorado high school wrestling history.
On Thursday, he opened his quest in the 4A 152-pound division with a pin of Grand Junction Central’s Shaun Stepisnik in 1:20.
Willits will face Justus Strand of Greeley Central in the quarterfinals on Friday.
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Pin stats
Cherokee Trail’s Max Gonzales won his match in 14 seconds, making it the fastest pin of the evening session.
Prairie View’s Noah Romero took his opponent in the 5A 138 division down in 17 seconds.
Glenwood Springs’ Myles Wilson, a returning champ in the 4A 182-pound bracket, pinned his first-round opponent in 18 seconds. That was the fastest pin of the 4A prelims.
Pueblo West’s Weston Junt won his match in 19 seconds.
Grand Junction’s Josiah Rider, a returning champ in 5A 145, pinned his foe in 30 seconds.
In the 4A tournament, there were 55 total pins, 10 of which came in a minute or fewer.
The 5A field had 51 pins, of which 15 came in less than a minute.
Brighton and Pueblo East each had six pins as a team.
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Notables
Pueblo East’s Jace Trujillo. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
The loaded 113-pound bracket in 4A features three returning champions. Each of the three won in the first round via a pin. They are Pueblo County’s Josiah Nava (who won 4A’s 106-pound title in 2015); Windsor’s Will Vombaur (4A 106 title last season); and Jace Trujillo of Pueblo East (the defending 4A 113 champ). Nava and Vombaur will face one another in the second round. Trujillo is on the opposite side of the bracket.
Grant Willits, Hunter’s twin brother who wrestles at 4A 132 for Pueblo County, won his first match as he tries to become a three-time champion.
Poudre’s Jacob Greenwood, also seeking to become a three-time champ, pinned his first-round opponent in 3:47. He wrestles in 5A’s 138 division.
Brighton leads the 5A team race after the first day with 31 points. Defending champion Pomona is second with 28.5 points, followed by Poudre (26), Grand Junction (25.5) and Coronado (18).
Reigning champion Pueblo County is on top of the 4A team leaderboard with 36 points. Pueblo East sits in second with 29, Greeley Central (27.5) is third, Cheyenne Mountain (25) is fourth, and Windsor (20.5) rounds out the top five.
D’Evelyn senior Jason Gardner, left, drives on Golden junior Jack McLaughlin on Thursday night. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
GOLDEN — It seemed like the boys basketball regular season would never end for D’Evelyn and Golden on Thursday night at Golden High School.
The Class 4A Jeffco League rivals battled to double-overtime in the regular-season finale for both teams. Eventually, a 3-pointer by D’Evelyn senior Alec Clifton with 10 seconds left in the second overtime proved to be the difference in the 71-69 suspenseful league finale.
“When it came to me I just knew I had to step up and hit it,” said Clifton, who finished with eight points.
It was the first overtime game of the season for D’Evelyn. The Jaguars trailed by as much as 11 points in the first half, but chipped away at the lead thanks to a great performance from the free-throw line. D’Evelyn finished 26-for-32 from the charity stripe, along with six 3-pointers.
“We tell guys to be ready to shoot,” D’Evelyn coach Dan Zinn said talking about Clifton’s 3-pointer. “He (Clifton) has been on and off all season. I’m glad he was on there at the end of the second overtime.”
D’Evelyn senior Josh Brinkerhoff scored 29 points in the 2OT game. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
Clifton’s 3-pointer gave the Jaguars (19-4, 12-2 in 4A Jeffco) a 70-68 lead. The Demons (16-7, 8-6) couldn’t convert on their next offensive possession.
“We were shooting the right shots,” Golden junior Adam Thistlewood said. “They just didn’t fall.”
D’Evelyn senior Josh Brinkerhoff, who finished with a team-high 29 points, made 1-of-2 free throws with 5 seconds left to push the lead to 71-68. Thistlewood, who finished with a game-high 30 points, was fouled with 3.6 seconds left. He made the first and intentionally missed the second.
After a loose ball scramble, Golden would eventually get one last shot inbounding the ball with 0.7 seconds left. Golden junior Jack Moore, who hit four 3-pointers after halftime, got a good look from 3-point range but the shot hit off the front of the rim at the buzzer to give the Jaguars the victory.
“It was the craziest game. I was honestly terrified,” Brinkerhoff admitted. “They (Demons) have two of the best players in the state in Adam Thistlewood and Kayden Sund. It was awesome. It was the most fun game I’ve played all year.”
D’Evelyn, ranked No. 3 in the CHSAANow.com Class 4A boys hoops poll, defeated Golden in a 82-77 shootout Jan. 25 on the Jaguars’ home court. Despite a 35-point fourth quarter from the Demons, the Jaguars held on to get an important conference victory that helped D’Evelyn take second in the toughest 4A conference in the state.
“I’d rather see tough teams heading into the playoffs. I think we are ready for whatever is thrown at us the next few weeks,” Zinn said of the Jaguars finishing on a 4-game winning streak. “I know our league is good. I think we have four teams who could all make it to the Coliseum (semifinals). We’ll see if it works out that way.”
D’Evelyn’s Charles Dinegar tries to get off a shot. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
No. 1 Valor Christian, D’Evelyn, Evergreen and Golden were all in the top-13 of the RPI rankings heading into Thursday’s games. Now, after the 14-game league schedule the Jeffco teams get a shot at proving the conference’s strength during the state tournament.
“Our Jeffco League is crazy. Of course I want them all to win,” Brinkerhoff said about hoping to see the conference fair well in the playoffs. “It would be fun to see them again in the playoffs. It’s a great rivalry against almost everyone in our league.”
The 48-team 4A state bracket will be released Sunday, Feb. 19. The top 16 teams will get first-round byes. First-round games will be played at the higher seed on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Second-round games are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 25.
“We are excited to go into playoff and make a lot of noise,” Brinkerhoff said.
Golden goes into the playoffs on a 2-game losing streak with losses to Evergreen and D’Evelyn, but the Demons are also confident they can make a deep postseason run.
“It’s definitely going to fuel us for the playoffs,” Thistlewood said.
Golden junior Joe Madsen (22) had his shot blocked by D’Evelyn junior Charles Dinegar. (Dennis Pleuss/Jeffco Athletics)
