DENVER – Alamosa senior Isabella Durgan’s debut at Ball Arena has been a longer time coming than most.
As a freshman, Durgan placed third in a boys regional tournament while wrestling for Sierra Grande. That would have made her one of the first girls wrestlers to take the floor at what was then the Pepsi Center, except she broke her arm at that same regional tournament and couldn’t wrestle at state.
Durgan’s sophomore year, she wrestled in the girls division, which was not yet sanctioned as a CHSAA sport. A virtual lock to qualify as a junior, Durgan tested positive for COVID-19 before regionals and once again missed out on an opportunity to wrestle at the first official girls wrestling state tournament.
Now a senior and with the girls division competing at Ball Arena for the first time, Durgan won her first match at state on a Thursday night that featured many such historic moments for girls wrestling in Colorado.
“My freshman year, I qualified but I wasn’t able to participate so I just had to sit in the stands and watch everybody on my team,” Durgan said. “This year, I finally made it and I get to make up for the loss of my freshman year. I’m so, so excited for the girls in the future to be able to have this opportunity and just the opportunity to wrestle in general and to have their own part of it.
“The recognition of everybody to say, ‘Yeah, girls want to do this and it’s about time we have something for them,’ just means everything. I’m ecstatic to be here.”
Because of the bad luck she battled throughout the early part of her high school career, Durgan (23-4), who wrestled at Sierra Grande her first two years in high school, might be flying under the radar for some. That didn’t stop her from posting a 3-minute, 17-second pin against Vista PEAK’s Samiah Andrews (10-11) in her Ball Arena and state championship debut.
“She’s a tough girl and she’s wrestled forever,” Alamosa head coach Rusty Johnson said. “She’s very deserving and it’s really cool to see her go out there, and for all the other girls to get their opportunity at Ball Arena.”
While Durgan might be flying under the radar, the seven defending state champions – Morgan Johnson (Loveland), Israel Resendez (Denver East), Persaeus Gomez (Pomona), Nicole Koch (Olathe), Navea Garcia (Platte Valley), Taylor Knox (Calhan) and Ciara Monger (Calhan) – who won inaugural state championships last winter, are not. All seven of them opened the first-ever title defenses on Thursday.
“To welcome our Colorado girls wrestlers to Ball Arena is a dream accomplished,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Adam Bright, who oversees wrestling. “There have been countless people who have worked hard to make this event happen. It was an honor to welcome these outstanding student-athletes home, finally, to Ball Arena where they belong. The best wrestlers in the state of Colorado are all competing on the same floor in one of the greatest events our association hosts just like it was always meant to be.”
How did the defending champs fair in Round 1?
105 pounds – Defending champion Morgan Johnson of Loveland pinned Olathe’s Sadie Corn in 1 minute, 30 seconds.
118 – Defending champion Israel Resendez of Denver East pinned Eaglecrest’s Caici Mitchell in 2 minutes, 24 seconds.
118 – Defending champion Persaeus Gomez of Pomona pinned Legacy’s Kayla Bishop in 31 seconds.
118 – Defending champion Nicole Koch of Olathe pinned Dolores’ Valentina Tarini in 1 minutes, 24 seconds.
161 – Defending champion Navea Garcia of Platte Valley pinned Doherty’s Esperanza Martinez in 3 minutes, 15 seconds.
185 – Defending champion Taylor Knox of Calhan pinned Fort Lupton’s Kate Macfarland in 5 minutes, 53 seconds.
215 – Defending champion Ciara Monger pinned Olathe’s Lynessia Duran in 42 seconds.
Coronado among many up-and-coming teams looking to make noise
As is the case with so many girls wrestling teams, the Coronado Cougars are just getting started. But that doesn’t mean that they’re simply satisfied with just making it to Ball Arena, the longtime site of the state wrestling tournament.
The Cougars qualified three wrestlers for state and two of them advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals. Candice Brickell and Marissa Rosario each put together solid performances and pinned their opponents to advance. Brickell’s win came in two minutes, 33 seconds and sets her up against fellow Colorado Springs District 11 competitor Katey Valdez out of Doherty.
Rosario needed less than a minute to get her win and although she was elated to be a part of the state tournament, truly enjoyed the taste of victory.
“That’s my goal is place in the top three,” she said. “It’s mostly just about the wrestling though. I’m not necessarily in it to get up (to the top of the podium) but I’d say it’s definitely a goal.”
The only Coronado wrestler to not advance to the quarterfinals was freshman Jessica Farmer. She showed promise in her state debut as she was ahead of Severance’s Faith Vondy in points before she got pinned.
But with two of three girls wrestlers still alive, the Cougars are among those who aren’t just happy to be at Ball Arena, they’re proud knowing they’re competing in an environment where they belong.
