Pine Creek is the No. 1 seed in the 5A baseball districts. (Josh Watt/CHSAANow.com)
Back in January, the Legislative Council approved the recommendation of the CHSAA baseball committee to fast track the use of RPI as the system to determine the playoff fields.
Wednesday saw the results of that vote for the first time as district brackets for Class 3A through 5A were released. Unlike the Wild Card system used previously, the RPI format takes into account the overall strength of schedule for each team and combines it with their win/loss record to create the field of 32 teams.
Pine Creek came away with the top overall seed in 5A, and will host this weekend. Other host schools are Regis Jesuit, Lakewood, Heritage, Rock Canyon, Grandview, ThunderRidge and Mullen.
Rock Canyon, which won last year’s 5A championship, is the No. 5 overall seed and will play Bear Creek in their first game. If they advance they’ll see the winner of Dakota Ridge and Chaparral.
Three of the final four teams left in last year’s playoff field made it back to the tournament with Grandview landing at No. 6, Chatfield at No. 26. District play will begin this weekend with the state tournament starting next week.
Mountain View leads the way in 4A, taking the top overall spot in the class. They’ll host their district where they will play Roosevelt. The winner of that game will meet the winner of Palisade and The Classical Academy.
The other host schools in 4A are Canon City, Valor Christian, Windsor, Pueblo West, Fort Morgan, Denver North and Delta.
Two-time defending state champion Green Mountain did not make it inside the top 32 teams and did not qualify for district play.
Last year’s runner-up, Lewis-Palmer, drew the No. 26 seed and will head to District 6 and play host Fort Morgan. The potential of a showdown with league rival Palmer Ridge is there as the Bears play Longmont in that same district. Lewis-Palmer swept the season series against the Bears this year.
Of last years final four teams in the tournament, only Lewis-Palmer and Ponderosa (No. 29) qualified for districts this year.
Defending 3A champion Eaton held strong as the No. 1 team in that class all season and is the No. 1 seed coming into districts. The Reds will face Olathe in their first district game with the winner of that game playing the winner of No. 16 Lutheran and No. 17 The Academy.
University, St, Mary’s, Lamar, Faith Christian, La Junta, Valley and Kent Denver are the other host teams in 3A.
All four of last year’s final four teams in the tournament qualified for districts this year. Eaton and University are the top two teams in the brackets, Brush comes in at No. 9 and will play No. 24 Buena Vista in District 2 at Kent Denver and Sterling lands at No. 21 and will play No. 12 Colorado Academy in District 4 at Faith Christian.
The 2015-16 all-state boys basketball players of the year. (Photos: Ray Chen/ArrayPhoto.com; Jeff Tucker/jefferywtucker.zenfolio.com; Jack Eberhard/JacksActionShots.com)
The 2015-16 all-state boys basketball teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created following a lengthy process which included nominations from leagues, and then a week-long vote of coaches.
A specific player of the year vote was held in each class, as was a vote for coach of the year.
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Class 5A
Overland’s De’Ron Davis is the 5A boys basketball player of the year. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
The 2015-16 all-state wrestling teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created based upon results at the state meet. Coaches of the year were selected by team performance at the state meet, as well.
Wrestlers of the year were determined by a formula which took the following information into account: season record; season winning percentage; type of wins at state (pin, tech fall, major decision); and strength of a weight classification’s bracket.
Scroll down to see the teams, or use the menu below to navigate to the class of your choosing.
HIGHLANDS RANCH — Top-seeded Valor Christian cruised past No. 8 Fort Morgan with a 85-31 victory in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament on Friday.
Pueblo County won the 4A team wrestling title. More photos. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER – State championship history doesn’t have to wait anymore for Pueblo County High School in boys sports.
For the first time, since the school opened in 1953, the Hornets can celebrate a boys state title.
The Hornets wrestling team made sure of that Saturday.
Pueblo County’s Grant Willits (126), Justin Davis (132), Hunter Willits (152) and Dante Garcia (182) all took home gold medals, powering the Hornets to the Class 4A state title during the state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center.
“This means a lot,” said Pueblo County coach Eddie Soto, who has been the boss of the Hornet program since 2010 and was chosen 4A coach of the year. “The school really deserves this and these boys really deserve this. They put in the work all year round and to make history. This is something they will never forget.”
Pueblo County finished with 203.5 points, easily outdistancing runner-up Greeley Central (121).
The Hornets also had Josiah Nava (113 pounds, second place), Nathan Bonham (106, third), Chris Sandoval (138, second), Jayson Davis (170, sixth), Donovan Rincon (195, third) and heavyweight Devon Mraovich (sixth), who is the lone senior on the squad, all place. Pueblo County took 12 wrestlers to the state tourney out of 14 weights.
“These guys all feed off each other and they make each other tough,” said Soto, whose team finished second at state last season to Thompson Valley. “Iron sharpens iron. All these guys had high goals and they wanted us to win state. It is a really fun room. Anybody who appreciates wrestling would love watching our practice.”
This was the highest point total for a Pueblo wrestling team to capture state. This is the fifth wrestling team state championship in Pueblo history – the others were Pueblo South (1997, 2004 and 2005, all in 4A) and Pueblo Central (1993, 5A).
Pueblo County’s Hunter Willits. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The Hornets point total wasn’t the only Pueblo history they made. Hunter Willits became the first Steel City wrestler to win three state wrestling titles in a row, after snaring titles at 132 pounds as a freshman and 138 pounds as a sophomore. Hunter registered a 17-2 technical fall over Mesa Ridge’s Devin Roettger.
“Our whole team trained to win state all year and all the hard work paid off and this is happiness and joy for everybody,” Hunter said. “It’s amazing and electrifying to be the first wrestler to win three state championships in a row in Pueblo. I know how many great wrestlers have come through Pueblo, so it’s incredible to set this record.”
While Hunter was putting his name in the Pueblo record book, Grant, his fraternal twin, was getting a measure of redemption after he suffered heartbreak a year ago at state. Grant beat Thompson Valley’s Vlad Kazakov 10-5 in the finals.
Grant used a takedown and near fall to end the second period to take a 7-5 lead, that he would never surrender.
A year ago, Grant, who was competing at 113 pounds was on the cusp of making Pueblo prep history. Grant and Hunter were trying to become the first wrestlers in Pueblo prep history to win back-to-back state championships in their freshman and sophomore seasons.
As freshmen, Grant won 4A state at 106 pounds and Hunter was tops at 132 pounds, and they also became the only twins from Pueblo to win state.
That back-to-back Willits plan, however was derailed in unexpected fashion.
The morning of Feb. 20, 2015 at the Class 4A state tourney, Grant failed to make weight and was disqualified for the final two days of the tournament.
Grant, with a 3-pound weight allowance, could weigh up to 116 pounds and he weighed in at 116.1 pounds on four different scales at the Pepsi Center.
“This means everything to win state as a team and as an individual after I missed weight and wasn’t able to compete with my team last year,” Grant said. “I was able to erase all those memories from last year. It’s also truly awesome to win the first boys state title at Pueblo County because every time you look at it people will remember the first boys state title.
“They might have a hard time remembering the second, third or fourth state title, but they always will remember the first, and that’s what makes this one the best.”
Wrestling glory is nothing new for the Willits family.
Rick Willits, the twins’ father and assistant coach for the Hornets, won a Class AAA state championship at 132 pounds in 1980 while competing for Pueblo East. The elder Willits then went on to win an NAIA national championship at 150 pounds at Adams State College in 1985.
With a slew of talent returning, Soto also is already brimming with confidence for next season.
“I’m very excited for these boys and I know they will keep working to get even better,” Soto said.
Scoring a hat trick
Discovery Canyon’s Sam Turner (138 pounds), Thompson Valley’s Parker Simington (160), and Fort Morgan heavyweight Toby McBride each ended their prep state wrestling careers with their third state titles.
Turner beat Pueblo County’s Chris Sandoval in a dramatic match.
The score was 1-1 at the end of regulation and Turner won 2-1 23 seconds into the fourth overtime with an escape.
“I didn’t have a lot of energy left,” Turner said. “I had to pull it out.
Turner won state at 120, 132 and 138 pounds his finals three years. He also was second at state as a freshman at 106 pounds.
“People say there’s more pressure or even less pressure if you’ve won state before, but it’s the same thing every time,” Turner said. “It’s the most nerve-racking experience of your life and there’s no way you can prepare for it. I just knew I had to dig deep and in overtime, you don’t really like to think about what you can do wrong, you want to think about more what you have to do right and stay solid.”
Simington was dominate, scoring a 20-5 technical fall over Longmont’s Drake Engelking with 40 seconds left in second period.
“This is extremely exciting and I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” said Simington said. “It’s crazy to think this was my last high school match, but when I look back on it, there’s no better way to have end this way.”
Simington, who going to attend the Air Force Academy and wrestle, won state at 145 pounds as a sophomore and at 160 pounds his final two years.
Fort Morgan’s Toby McBride. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Fort Morgan’s Toby McBride made it three state titles in a row as he edged Pueblo East’s Jacob Robles 6-3.
McBride won state at 220 pounds as a sophomore and junior. He also ended his wrestling career and he’s signed to play football – as a defensive end – with Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
McBride finished the season with a 29-0 record – 27 by pins – with the exception of his two matches against Robles. He also beat Robles 6-2 at the Top of the Rockies tournament in January at Centaurus High School.
“He’s a tough wrestler and he know how to wrestle heavyweight,” McBride said. “He’s the best wrestler I’ve wrestled all year and he’s a great competitor. The difference (Saturday) was that I was able to wrestle hard get takedowns and do what my coaches told me.”
Pueblo East makes history
While Pueblo County was basking in glory, Pueblo East was making some noise of its own.
East’s four state finalist – Andrew Lucero (106), Jace Trujillo (113), Trent Fair (132) and heavyweight Jacob Robles – was the most wrestlers the school has ever had competing for state titles on championship night. East’s finished fifth in the team standings with 108 points.
Trujillo actually made history of his own as he became the first freshman wrestler at Pueblo East, which opened in 1959, to take state. Trujillo pinned Josiah Nava 17 seconds into the first overtime period.
Prior to Saturday, Trujillo had a 0-2 record against Nava this season. Nava won state at 106 pounds a year ago.
“This is the best feeling in my life,” said Trujillo, who had a 33-4 season record. “I was just aggressive and never stopped.”
Veteran Pueblo East coach Pat Laughlin praised Trujillo.
“It’s amazing to see Jace win as a freshman,” Laughlin said. “Jace is a phenomenal kid and he wrestled a great match.”
Lucero, a sophomore, never wrestled against Windsor freshman Will Vombaur before Saturday, and came up short, dropping a 10-3 decision.
Fair and Pueblo County’s Justin Davis met for the first time this season and Fair was upended 5-2. Fair’s rise to a runner-up finish is impressive considering he started the season at 145 pounds and he didn’t compete at 132 pounds until regionals last weekend.
Robles was trying to become the first Pueblo East wrestling back-to-back state champion. Robles won state at heavyweight last year, but dropped a tough 6-3 decision to Fort Morgan’s McBride.
Greeley Central’s Alirez stars
Freshman Andrew Alirez capped a perfect season in grand fashion, defeating Air Academy Jason Hanenberg 12-5 at 120 pounds.
Alirez, who was ranked No. 2 in the state by On The Mat, posted a 45-0 mark. Hanenberg, a sophomore, was ranked No. 1 in state.
“I love to wrestle and go out there and compete,” Alirez said. “This feels great and shows if you work hard in the room, you win and that’s what I’ve done all season long. I worked hard and won.”
Freshman glory, Part II
At 106 pounds, Windsor’s Will Vombaur started his prep wrestling career with ultimate glory as the freshman won state over Pueblo East’s Andrew Lucero. Lucero, a sophomore, placed fourth at state at 106 pounds a freshman.
“I’m feeling great,” said Vombaur, who finished the season with a 41-3 record. “I knew I had to keep up the pace and eventually I would get my shot. I was just waiting for my opportunity on top. I knew I could turn him and I just never stopped. Every time it got hard in practice, I just pictured myself in the state finals match and (Saturday) I got to do it for real, and I feel great.”
Mesa Ridge roars
Samuel Freeman, a senior, capped his career off in style defeating Mountain View’s Erik Lobato-Contreras 8-2 at 145 pounds in the finals.
“This feels amazing,” said Freeman, who placed sixth at 138 pounds as a junior.
Freeman’s teammate Deric Cruz (195 pounds) also took home a gold medla.
Perfect season
Winning stare is hard enough, but also doing with a perfect record is far from easy.
Glenwood Springs’ Myles Wilson did both with his victory over Greeley Central’s Andrew Rojas 6-3.
Wilson, a junior, finished his memorable year with a 48-0 record. This was his first state title. He was a runner-up as a sophomore at 152 pounds.
“This was very gratifying to win,” Wilson said. “This feels good and what I put all the work in for.”
Rounding out the final state winner was Fort Morgan’s Alex Mai (220 pounds).
Meeker’s T.J. Shelton, left, will wrestle for a fourth state title on Saturday night after winning in the semifinals on Friday. More photos. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
DENVER — T.J. Shelton will have a shot at a fourth-straight wrestling championship on Saturday night.
Shelton, the Meeker senior who has won titles his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons, pinned Paonia’s Jeramiah Hillman in the semifinals of the Class 2A 170-pound bracket at the state wrestling tournament on Friday night. The match lasted 3 minutes and 58 seconds.
Now, Shelton has a chance to join elite company and become the state’s 19th four-time champion. He will face Centauri’s Chris Martin in the final.
Shelton has advanced to the finals with three pins, including a match earlier Friday in the quarterfinals.
Two sets of twin brothers advance to Saturday’s finals
Matt Finesilver gets his arm raised after winning his 152-pound semifinal match. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
The first person ton congratulate Cherry Creek senior Matt Finesilver on his win in the 5A 152-pound semifinal match was his twin brother, Josh.
Both Finesilver brothers will be wrestling for state titles Saturday night. Josh had advanced earlier in the 126-pound bracket and is looking to win his first championship.
Matt won the 152-pound title last year.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Matt said. “I probably get more nervous to watch his matches than I do to wrestle in mine.”
If the post-match behavior is any indicator, Josh probably feels the same way. Having already advanced, Josh was pacing around like a madman as he waited on his brother.
In 4A, another set of twin brothers will be trying to bring home individual titles. Grant and Hunter Willits each won state championships in 2014, but Grant was disqualified last year after missing weight the morning of quarterfinals.
On track for three titles
Heading into Friday night’s semifinals, there were eight wrestlers who had a chance to win three titles. After the semis, all eight of those remain on track.
John Mall junior Jonathan Andreatta narrowly advanced to the championship match in 2A 120 with a 6-3 win over Moises Juarez of Monte Vista.
Pueblo County’s Hunter Willits, another junior, also won, as mentioned above via his 14-1 major decision.
The six others? Well, all pinned their respective opponents:
Paonia’s Bo Pipher (2A 145) over Highland’s Bryson Fogg in three minutes.
Berthoud’s Jimmy Fate (3A 160) beat Sergio Campos of Hotchkiss in 1:16.
Dalton Robertson of Weld Central (3A 182) pinned Sterling’s Patrick Holtzhauser in 1:49.
Sam Turner of Discovery Canyon (4A 138) beat Thompson Valley’s Braydon Besse in 1:04.
Fort Morgan’s Toby McBride (4A 285) fell Montrose’s Sam Distel in 29 seconds.
Parker Simington of Thompson Valley (4A 160) over Pueblo East’s Zion Freeman in 2:25.
Pomona’s Tomas Gutierrez also entered the tournament with two previous championships, but he fell in the quarterfinals of 5A’s 120-pound bracket.
How other returning champions fared
Aside from that group, every other returning champion that was alive entering the semifinals advanced to a final.
That means that on Saturday evening, a total of 24 wrestlers will have a chance to repeat as champions. The breakdown is as follows: There are six returning wrestlers still alive in both 2A and 3A, nine from 4A, and three remaining in 5A.
Barker’s tournament comes to an end
Kaley Barker, the seventh girl to qualify for the state wrestling tournament, was eliminated from the competition with a loss to Thompson Valley’s Kasey Gault in the second round of the consolation bracket of the 4A 106 field.
Gault won, 11-5.
Barker became just the fourth girl to win a match at the tournament in the first round of the consolation bracket on Friday morning.
Team race update
The closest race is shaping up to be in 2A, where Centauri and Meeker head into Saturday tied with 110 points. Centauri has four finalists, and Meeker has three. And, of course, the two teams will face off in the 170-pound final as Shelton seeks his fourth championship.
Narrowly behind them in third place is Rocky Ford with 104.5 points.
In 3A, two-time defending champion Valley looks to have a firm grip. The Vikings lead the field with 112 points, ahead of second-place Dolores Huerta’s 91.5.
Pueblo County continues to head the 4A race, and now has 157 points. Greeley Central is second with 105.
Likewise, Pomona has held firm in 5A with 100 points. Pine Creek has 78 points, and is second. Legacy is third with 74.
Notables
Highland senior Morgan Fogg advanced to the final in 2A’s 126-pound bracket with a pin of Paonia’s Sackett Chesnik in 3:46. He is actually a defending champion, having won 4A’s 113 title last season while at Thompson Valley. Fogg transferred to Highland.
Buena Vista’s Keegan Wentz pinned his opponent, Ethan Barnes of Norwood/Nucla in 15 seconds in the 2A 220 semifinals to reach the final. Wentz is a returning champion, having won 2A’s 182 title last season.
Centauri’s Zach Martin ended a perfect season for Merino’s Trevor Elliott in the 2A 106 semifinals with a 6-0 decision. Elliott is now 33-1. Martin will wrestle for a title on Saturday.
Another unbeaten lost for the first time when Widefield’s Kris Davis beat Aron Pino Valenzuela of Littleton in sudden victory. Davis will wrestle for a title in 4A’s 220-pound division.
DENVER — Meeker’s TJ Shelton opened his quest for a fourth title with a pin of Wiggins’ Dillon Donaghy in 49 seconds in the first round of Thursday’s Class 2A state wrestling tournament.
Shelton, who wrestles at 170 pounds, will face Edgar Pedigo of Custer County in Friday’s quarterfinals. Pedigo pinned Rhett Uhland of Eads in 4:22.
Shelton won 2A’s 170-point title as a freshman, 160 pounds as a sophomore, and 170 again as a junior last season.
Last season, Paonia’s Jesse Reed won a fourth championship, and Broomfield’s Phil Downing did the same in 2014. Only once before has the state has had a four-time champion in three-consecutive tournaments. The came in 2003-05, when a total of five wrestlers accomplished the feat.
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Willits makes triumphant return to state
Grant Willits. More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)
Grant Willits has a lot to prove this year.
The junior from Pueblo County came into the 2015 state wrestling tournament with his eyes on taking his second state championship. But when weigh-ins took place, Willits missed his cut by a tenth of a pound and was disqualified.
Thursday he made a triumphant return to the floor at Pepsi Center and pinned Littleton’s Poe Di in the 4A 126-pound bracket.
“It feels nice,” Willits said. “I definitely feel like I have a chip on my shoulder. This whole summer I just thought about it all the time and worked harder and harder to make up for what happened last year and try to chase a title this year.”
Willits will face Riley Prough from Glenwood Springs in Friday’s quarterfinals.
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Returning champions, unbeatens roll on
In addition to Shelton, each of the other returning champions in every class advanced to the quarterfinals during the first session at the Pepsi Center. There are a total of 26 — six each in class 2A and 3A, nine in 4A, and five in 5A.
Included in that group are two juniors who have each won championships in their first two seasons: John Mall’s Jonathan Andreatta (2A 120), and Pueblo County’s Hunter Willits (4A 152).
Likewise, all wrestlers who entered the day unbeaten stayed that way. There are five undefeated wrestlers in both 2A and 4A, and three in 3A. The 5A tournament does not have an unbeaten in its field.
Quick pins, total pins
40 wrestlers finished with pins in less than a minute during the first round on Thursday. Of those, 12 came in less than 30 seconds.
The quickest pin of the day belonged to Sergio Campos of Hotchkiss, who took down Calhan’s Matthew Heitmann in 15 seconds at 2A 106. The record for the quickest pin is four seconds.
In the first round of each of the four tournaments, there were a total of 213 pins. By class, 2A had the most first-round pins with 68, 4A had 52, 3A had 51, and 5A had 42
Team races
In 2A, defending champion Rocky Ford leads the field at Round 1 with 30.5 points. Meeker, runner-up a year ago, was second with 28. Centauri is third with 25.
The 3A race is also being led by a defending champion in Valley, which sits at 30 points after the first round. Berthoud is currently in second (24 points), and Dolores Huerta is third (22).
Pueblo County jumped out ahead in the 4A team race, and leads with 34.5 points. The Hornets were runner-up last season. Greeley Central is second with 29.5, Cheyenne Mountain is third with 25, and defending champion Thompson Valley sits fourth with 19.5.
Pomona heads the 5A race with 27 points. Legacy and Pine Creek sit in a tie for second with 21 points, Ponderosa is fourth with 16.5, and Poudre is fifth with 15.5.
Friday’s schedule
The 2A/3A championship quarterfinals will begin at 10 a.m. at the Pepsi Center, with first-round consolations immediately following.
The 4A/5A championship quarterfinals are scheduled for 12:45 p.m., against with first-round consolations immediately following.
Semifinals in all classes are scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
T.J. Shelton of Meeker (top) has a chance to become Colorado’s 19th four-time wrestling champion this weekend. (Kai Casey/CHSAANow.com)
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne year ago, Meeker’s T.J. Shelton had the opportunity to witness the whirlwind weekend belonging to Jesse Reed.
Reed had the spotlight shining bright upon him last February at the state wrestling tournament in Denver. The Paonia senior became the 18th individual to capture four state championships, and moments after winning, received a standing ovation while accepting his medal.
Not long after, Shelton further cemented his own bid to join the four-timers club by capturing his third consecutive crown on the very same mat. Now, headed into this weekend’s state tournament at Pepsi Center in Denver, Shelton is just four victories away from joining Reed and 17 others in cementing his name into the record books.
“I’m sure its been in the back of his mind, probably since he won it as a freshman,” Meeker coach JC Watt said. “I think anytime anyone wins state as a freshman the four-time talk certainly creeps into your head.”
Shelton brings a 38-1 record into the Class 2A 170-pound bracket. The tournament gets underway Thursday afternoon with 3A and 2A running first-round matches at 3 p.m., followed by the 5A and 4A classes at 7:15 p.m.
Quarterfinals are Friday morning, with the semifinals running at 7:15 that night. The Parade of Champions, which precedes the championship finals, is at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The previous two state tournaments have each seen a wrestler claim a fourth title. Broomfield’s Phil Downing accomplished the feat in 2014, and Reed did the same a year ago.
Since 2003, 10 wrestlers have joined the four-timers club. In 2004 and 2005, a pair of four-time champions were crowned.
That said, winning four in a row is a hurdle most do not get the chance to clear. After all, it says something that only 18 individuals have wrestled their way to the top since Montrose’s Bob Thompson first did it from 1956-59.
“There’s just so many things – injuries, grades, all kinds of stuff has to be taken into account,” Watt said. “Winning one of them is hard. Winning four of them is a monumental task.”
Meeker brings 10 state qualifiers to Denver this weekend. The Cowboys finished second to Rocky Ford a year ago by just three points.
Watt said the squad isn’t going to be consumed by how many points are accumulated during the tournament.
“We kind of look at it a little different. Each kid does their best,” Watt said. “We don’t put a lot of pressure on the kids over the team title. We just ask each kid to go out and do their best and the team score takes care of itself.”
Rocky Ford leads 2A with 12 state qualifiers headed into Pepsi Center. Hotchkiss brings 11, followed by Centauri and Meeker with 10 each. John Mall junior Jonathan Andreatta (120 pounds) and Paonia senior Bo Pipher (145) are each seeking a third state title.
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Class 5A
After finishing as the runner-up in each of the previous two state tournaments, Pomona is in a good position to come away with its first crown since 2013. The Panthers lead all 5A programs with 12 state qualifiers, followed by Adams City with 10.
Pomona has a pair of returning state champions in Tomas Gutierrez (120) and Dayton Marvel (132). Gutierrez will be pursuing a third state championship.
Class 4A
Maybe the most intriguing classification comes in 4A, where four individuals have the opportunity to claim a third state title in a row.
Discovery Canyon’s Sam Turner (138), Pueblo County’s Hunter Willitts (152), Thompson Valley’s Parker Simington (160) and Fort Morgan’s Toby McBride (285) each have two titles under their belts. Willitts is the only junior in the group.
Five wrestlers are undefeated on the season, and seven schools have at least 11 state qualifiers. Defending champion Thompson Valley qualified nine and has two returning champions; 2015 runner-up Pueblo County is bringing 12 and has four state champions in the lineup.
Greeley Central and Pueblo West qualified 13 individuals each.
Additionally, Mountain View sophomore Kaley Barker is set to become the seventh girl to compete at the state wrestling tournament. She’ll compete in the 106-pound bracket.
Class 3A
Two-time defending champion Valley taking will be taking 12 individuals to the tournament. One of those representing the Vikings though is senior Macoy Flanagan (170), who brings a 47-0 mark into the tournament. With four victories, he would tie the state record held by Bennett’s Josh Miller for the most wins in a season at 51.
Berthoud’s Jimmy Fate (160) and Weld Central’s Dalton Robertson (182) are each chasing a third state title. Berthoud qualified 13 individuals, including defending champions Fate and Chad Ellis (195). Eaton and Platte Valley each qualified 11 and Lamar will bring 10.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
Tim Yount of On The Mat provides weekly wrestling rankings for teams and individuals in all weight classes. To see individual rankings, you can subscribe to On The Mat’s full rankings.
To subscribe via PayPal, choose your subscription option on this page click on the corresponding PayPal button. To subscribe by mail or fax and pay by personal check, click here for a printable subscription form. Email Tim Yount at tim@onthematrankings.com with questions.
To purchase individual weeks of the rankings (as opposed to the entire season), you will need to use the printable subscription form and pay by check. The season ranking subscriptions are offered at a discounted rate.
