DENVER — To say Fowler’s Dahlton McGhee is having a career year would be a bit of an understatement.
After failing to qualify for the state wrestling tournament as a freshman and not placing as a sophomore and junior, McGhee is one win away from one of the most remarkable turnarounds in state history.
After his win over Wray’s Jayce Reser in the Class 2A 195-pound semifinals, he’s just one match away from claiming his first state championship and also running the table for the 2017-18.
McGhee improved his record to 41-0. Not bad for a guy who wrestled at 152 as a freshman and 160 as a sophomore and junior.
He’ll take the mat at Pepsi Center with the rest of the finalists on Saturday. The Parade of Championship is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. and championship matches will begin at 7.
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Wray has a big lead in the 2A title quest:
Wray is closing in on its first state wrestling championship since 1988. The Eagles, who have won 11 in their history, lead the 2A team race with 134.5 points.
Rocky Ford, the defending champion, sits in second with 105.5 points. Cedaredge is third with 94.5, just ahead of Paonia (94). Fowler is fifth with 75.5.
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Alamosa heads the 3A team chase:
Alamosa is on top of the race for the 3A team championship. The Mean Moose are way out in front with 120 points. Eaton and Lamar are tied for second with 85 points.
Berthoud (70 points) is fourth, while Pagosa Springs (69) is fifth.
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Notables:
Wray’s Cade Rockwell knocked out defending 2A 113 champion Dillon Jaramillo of Rocky Ford with a pin in overtime of their semifinal match.
Brush junior Wyatt Pfau handed Valley sophomore Jaziah Whaley (42-1) his first loss of the season in advancing to the 3A 152 final.
Javier Gonzalez of Valley knocked off a returning champ in the 3A 120 quarterfinals, beating Jacob Duran of Fort Lupton with a 5-3 decision. He fell to Ethan Andrade of Lamar in the semifinals.
Conifer freshman Cayden Condit, the lone female qualifier, advanced to the second round of the consolations after defeating The Classical Academy junior Brendan Johnston via forfeit. She battled in the second-round consolation, tying the match up late, but ultimately lost a 6-4 decision.
Josh Flanagan watched a few years ago as his brother made history at the state wrestling tournament. Macoy, a senior in 2016, tied the state record by winning 51 matches in a senior year as Valley won its second-straight team title.
Now, Josh is looking to do something that even his record-setting brother didn’t pull off in his career.
Josh is going for his second state championship. He won the 170-pound title last year and as the state tournament kicked-off on Thursday, began his quest to go back-to-back. If there’s any pressure, though, it’s all self-inflicted.
“I put a little bit of pressure on (myself) because people put a lot of pressure on me,” Flanagan said. “I know that I can do it again, so they expect me to do it again.”
A victory by pin over Del Norte’s Ruben Agosto in the first round has the younger Flanagan on track to have some bragging rights over big brother.
“I would say being a two-time state champ is a little better than having an undefeated record and going 51-0,” Josh said. “I kind of wanted to try that this year but fell a little short. I’m not sure how he did it. I think that winning two would be a little better than that but he’s a great wrestler.”
Flanagan is set to face Lamar’s Lucas Tinnes in the quarterfinals Friday morning.
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Notables
Cayden Condit. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)
Conifer freshman Cayden Condit, the lone female qualifier at this year’s state tournament, was pinned in her first-round match by Alameda freshman Davion Chavez in 1:24. Condit will face The Classical Academy junior Brendan Johnston in the consolation bracket on Friday.
Wray leads the 2A team race with 40 points after prelims. Cedaredge (32 points) sits in second, with Rocky Ford (30.5) third. Paonia is fourth with 23 points, and Fowler (18) is fifth.
Eaton is on top of the 3A team race through the first round, leading with 31 points. Berthoud and Lamar are tied for second with 24 points each. Pagosa Springs (22 points) and Alamosa (21.5) are also firmly in the hunt for the team title.
In 3A’s 106-pound bracket, Trinidad’s Alberto Felthager knocked off the top seed, Santana Hernandez of Weld Central, with a 5-3 decision in the first round. Felthager placed fourth in his region last weekend.
Lyons’ Keegan Bean pinned Ellicott’s Matthew Brant in 26 seconds. He’s the defending champ in 2A 182. That was the fastest pin of the 2A/3A prelims.
Rocky Ford’s Greg Garcia matched Bean’s fastest pin with a takedown of Highland’s Micheal Johnson at 2A 285 in 26 seconds.
Each of the returning champions in 2A (there are four) and 3A (where there are three) advanced to their quarterfinals.
Likewise, the two unbeaten wrestlers in 2A are onto the quarters, and three three unbeatens in 3A also advanced.
The 2A and 3A tournaments continue on Friday with the quarterfinals and first-round consolation matches at 9:30 a.m. The semifinals (7 p.m.) and second-round consolation (5:30 p.m.) matches are on Friday evening.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The 2017 all-state football 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 vote of head coaches across the state.
Players were placed onto the first-team, second-team and honorable mention based upon the number of votes they received. In 5A-1A, spots were reserved for linemen and one kicker/punter, while 8-man reserved spots for linemen.
CHSAA does not determine who makes or doesn’t make the team; they are created entirely from the results of the coaches’ vote.