|
Photo by Courtney
Oakes/Aurora Sentinel &
Daily Sun
Eaglecrest senior Rocco
DePaolo, top, won the
130-pound championship
against Pomona’s Trevor
Schuch Jan. 28 at the
Abraham Lincoln
Invitational. DePaolo is the
state’s top-ranked wrestler
in 5A and is also No. 1 in
the Region 1 tournament Feb.
10-11 at Arapahoe.
For more photos like this go to
the
Aurora Sentinel Photo Gallery |
 |
 |
Photo by Courtney
Oakes/Aurora Sentinel &
Daily Sun
Grandview senior Jon
Brascetta, top, took down
Aurora Central’s Donnie
Featherman in the 145-pound
final of the Rangeview
Invitational Jan. 7.
Brascetta is the No. 1 seed
in Region 1, while
Featherman is seventh in the
Region 4 field at Doherty.
For more photos like this go to
the
Aurora Sentinel Photo Gallery |
|
Wrestlers try to get to final period
Nine city teams vie for trips to state at
Pepsi
By Courtney Oakes
The
Aurora Sentinel and Daily Sun
Region 1 will have one less team than the other
three in Class 5A state wrestling qualifying
Feb. 10-11.
With only 15 squads instead of 16 thanks to
Hinkley dropping out, the fight for the four
available state spots in 14 weight classes will
be slightly easier for the group at Arapahoe.
It will also be easier given the team chase
basically ends when three-time defending 5A
champ Ponderosa walks in the gym doors. But
wrestlers from Eaglecrest, Grandview, Overland
and Rangeview could have plenty of individuals
punching their tickets to the Pepsi Center Feb.
16-18 when Colorado’s wrestling world assembles
for the state tournament.
Regis and Smoky Hill are both among the Region 2
group at Green Mountain, while Gateway is in the
Region 3 tournament at Legacy, and Aurora
Central heads to Colorado Springs where Region 4
convenes at Doherty. In 4A, Cherokee Trail stays
in the area at Mullen for Region 2 action.
Prelims in each tournament are Feb. 10, with
finals scheduled for the afternoon of Feb. 11.
The following is a region-by-region look at
Aurora teams:
Region 1
The region with the heaviest Aurora
representation also includes several of the
city’s best teams in Eaglecrest, Grandview and
Rangeview.
Grandview qualified eight wrestlers for state
and won the first regional championship in
school history last year behind five individual
winners. Coach Greg Maestas’ team won the
Centennial League championship and went 15-2 in
duals, but repeating as a regional champ would
take an amazing effort considering Ponderosa’s
overwhelming talent. Behind national champion
Henry Cejudo at 125 pounds, Coronado will be
chief among the teams fighting with the Wolves
for second.
“It’s tough with Ponderosa and Coronado in
there, but our goal is a top-three finish,”
Maestas said. “Our goal is to try to qualify as
many as we did last year.”
Grandview is led by three returning regional
winners in seniors Jon Brascetta, Curtis McNary
and Matt Lucherini, all of whom received No. 1
regional seeds. On The Mat rates Brascetta and
McNary — who’s returned with a vengeance the
past few weeks after a football-related elbow
injury — the top wrestlers in the state at 145
pounds and 152s, respectively. Lucherini is
ranked No. 9 at 160 pounds, but ended up seeded
above defending state champ Ian Heinisch of
Ponderosa.
Sophomore 112-pounder Patrick Brown’s great
varsity debut earned him the No. 2 seed. C.J.
Busby at 135s, seeking state for the first time
as a senior, got a No. 3 seed.
Maestas also sees possibilities from the group
of Eric Wilson (103), Tyler McGoffin (125),
Addison MacDonald (140), Jon Simpson (171) and
freshman Penn Wade (215).
If Eaglecrest wrestles strictly to its seeds,
coach Sparky Adair will take a contingent of
five Raptors to state. However with some young,
developing wrestlers and a few others coming on
after recovering from injuries, the number could
be higher.
They could also be lower, of course, but Adair’s
pretty confident in his core group at least.
That’s headed by senior Rocco DePaolo, 5A’s
top-ranked 130-pounder who has suffered just one
loss all season.
DePaolo placed fifth at state last year and has
developed the demeanor to perform on the big
stage.
“It’s hard to be ranked high like that and have
everybody watching you,” said Adair, who hopes
DePaolo is aggressive at regionals. “But Rocco’s
said, ‘I’m done getting nervous, I just want to
wrestle.’ He’s wrestling hard in the practice
room. He just needs to understand that if just
goes, he’s OK.”
The Raptors have two other previous state
qualifiers in 125-pounder Nate Childers and
135-pounder Ryan Olvera. Childers is seeking his
third trip to the Pepsi Center and is seeded
second behind Cejudo in the tough group at 125s.
He was seeded above Adams City’s A.J. Maestas
despite Maestas comfortably winning their
head-to-head match earlier this year. Olvera
surprised by making state last year and has
developed the mentality needed to weather the
tough road through regionals. He has nearly 30
wins on the season.
On the lower end of the lineup, Ruben Markerian
(103), Josh Neuberger (112), Dan Moore (119) and
Brian Eakin (140) are potentials. On the upper
end, senior A.J. Matthews (160) and oncoming
sophomore Aaron Gallagher at 215s can’t be
discounted.
“I’d say three is realistic, but as many as
seven could happen,” Adair said. “We’ve had some
kids come a long way, but some of them haven’t
been here before. This is obviously a tough
regional in a lot of places, but I think we can
win matches.”
Tim Corby’s Rangeview team is filled with
seniors down to their last chance to make state,
so they will lay it all on the line at regionals.
The Raiders haven’t quite wrestled up to the
potential Corby knows they have in them, but
desperation might bring it all out.
Two state qualifiers are back in 119-pounder
Adam Jerome and 215-pounder Zach Curtis, both of
whom are more than capable of returning. Ken
Spotts (130), Harison Frawley (135), Brian Doyle
(145), Jason Harrison (152) and James Gardner
(171) have been building for this moment.
Overland had a tough dual record under new coach
Ruben Medina, but senior 152-pounder Nathan
Zeleski is among the Trailblazers who could find
their way through.
Region 2
Aurora might fare well in the Region 2
tournament at Green Mountain, although there are
three ranked teams there in loaded Chaparral,
Grand Junction Central and Wasson.
Regis and Smoky Hill might not be factors in the
team chase, but there are plenty of individuals
on both squads who might move on. The Buffaloes
have had just two state qualifiers in the past
three seasons, while the Raiders have only one
qualifier back after losing four-timer Bryan
Zerr to graduation.
Coach Brent Bieshaar isn’t worried about where
Regis will fit in as a team, but with seven
wrestlers boasting at least 27 victories — six
of them seeded in the top four — they have a
potential to place in the top five.
“Chaparral and Grand Junction Central are real
deep; they are seeded 1-2-3 all over the place,”
Bieshaar said. “Those teams have seen some great
competition, so I think it will be those two
horses and the rest of us battling after that.
We’ve wrestled 30 duals this year, so we got a
lot of matches. Hopefully we are ready.”
Leading the way for the Raiders is junior Matt
Strohm, the state’s fourth-ranked 160-pounder
and the region’s top seed with a record of 35-4.
Strohm lost in regional wrestlebacks last year
by a single point, denying him his first state
trip.
Budding sophomore Danny Bieshaar (35-4, 23 pins)
at 112 pounds and junior John Hooper, a
returning state qualifier with a 31-5 mark, are
members of the 30-win club along with junior
Pasha Tabatabai (30-11) at 152s and Kyle
McKinnell (32-7) at 189s.
Junior Ryan Tauer at 215 pounds was 27-11, and
is formidable with a tireless motor. Sophomore
Brian Pavlakovich also won 27 matches and is
seeded No. 6 at 171s.
At the beginning of the year, Smoky Hill coach
Aron Weber believed Region 2 would be a good
place for his youth-laden team.
It appears wide open at several weights in this
group, but sophomore 112-pounder Nolan Myers
appears a good bet for Smoky Hill. Myers,
unranked despite a 29-5 record, is seeded third
behind Danny Bieshaar.
Region 3
Gateway faces Region 3, which has four teams
ranked in On the Mat’s top 11 in Bear Creek,
Brighton, Centaurus and host Legacy. The Olys’
best bets are 125-pounder James Craft and
160-pounder Almir Hodzic.
Hodzic recently placed sixth at the Abraham
Lincoln Invitational, and has around 20 wins on
the season. He has some quality wins to his
credit, including a defeat of Regis’ Strohm.
Craft is also over .500, but is in a group that
includes five of the top 13-ranked wrestlers.
Region 4
Aurora Central has to trek to Doherty in
Colorado Springs for Region 4 action, but coach
Conrad Parra is optimistic that the journey will
be fruitful for state representation. He has two
returning state qualifiers in Darwin Pineda and
Servando Heredia, plus some oncoming youngsters
that could help the Trojans match or surpass
last year’s five qualifiers.
Parra, who came to the Trojans from 3A Fort
Lupton, isn’t quite sure what to expect in his
first taste of regionals at the 5A level.
Central also hasn’t been able to see teams that
are coming from far away like Durango, so it
will be a feeling out process early.
“I think we have two really good shots, and then
the possibility of two to four more if things go
right,” said Parra, whose team finished second
to Brighton in the Skyline League after losing a
season-ending dual to the Bulldogs.
“We’ve beaten higher seeds in a couple of
weights, so you never know. But we also lost
some matches we should have won.”
Fifth-seeded Pineda is in a tough class at 130
pounds that includes Doherty’s Chris Branch and
Thornton’s Seiji Hashimoto, but he’s beaten the
No. 4 wrestler during the season. At 23-12 on
the year, Heredia is the second seed and is in
line to qualify for state for a third time.
Mitchell’s Logan Johnson is No. 1.
Steve Nguyen went 22-6, but that percentage was
only good enough for the fourth seed at 112s
with two of the state’s top three-ranked
wrestlers on hand. Ricardo Villalobos’ 21-14
mark was good, but with Loveland’s No. 1 Tyler
Graff leading the way, he’s only ninth at 119s.
Sophomore Daniel Armijo (15-14) is just one
match over .500 at 140s, but only two of the six
wrestlers seeded in front of him won 60 percent
of their matches. Junior 145-pounder Donnie
Featherman is in his first year of wrestling,
but has impressed in several tournaments and has
a win over the fourth-seeded wrestler from
Pomona under his belt. Oncoming Eric Goodwin at
152s is hoping to qualify for state in his
senior year despite an 8-18 record.
Class 4A
Region 2
Cherokee Trail is the city’s lone 4A entrant and
will have to go through a group at Mullen that
includes three of the state’s top 10 teams in
Broomfield, Pine Creek and Thompson Valley.
The Cougars had the first state qualifier in
school history last year in Devin DeAntonis, and
they again appear strongest on the higher end of
the lineup this time around.
DeAntonis made state at 215s last year, but
didn’t win a match once he got there. He’s
seeded fourth in regionals this year after a
20-6 regular season. Junior 189-pounder Kimball
Jordan went 20-12 and was undefeated in Skyline
League duals all year.
That pair, along with 140-pound sophomore Daniel
Jordan, seem to have Cherokee Trail’s best
chances of qualifying.
The seedings went about as expected for
first-year coach John Jordan, who has just seven
wrestlers entered in the field because injuries
have ravaged the rest of his lineup. He hopes to
take three or more Cougars to the Pepsi Center.
“I think we’re coming together, and everybody
has a good attitude in practice,” Jordan said.
“The boys are working hard and realizing this is
when it counts.”
For a full list of teams in each region,
visit www.aurorasentinel.com
Class 5A
Region 1 (at Arapahoe)
Teams: Adams City, Arapahoe, Arvada West, Cherry
Creek, Coronado, Eaglecrest, Fruita Monument,
Grand Junction, Grandview, Lakewood, Overland,
Palmer, Ponderosa, Rangeview
Region 2 (at Green Mountain)
Teams: Arvada, Boulder, Central of G.J.,
Chaparral, Denver East, Denver North, Denver
West, Fairview, Geo. Washington, Green Mountain,
Highlands Ranch, Monarch, Montbello, Regis,
Smoky Hill, Wasson
Region 3 (at Legacy)
Teams: Bear Creek, Brighton, Centaurus,
Chatfield, Ft. Collins, Gateway, Heritage,
Horizon, Legacy, Lincoln, Mountain Vista,
Northglenn, Poudre, Standley Lake, ThunderRidge,
Wheat Ridge
Region 4 (at Doherty)
Teams: Air Academy, Aurora Central, Columbine,
Dakota Ridge, Doherty, Douglas County, Durango,
Kennedy, Lewis-Palmer, Loveland, Mitchell,
Pomona, Rampart, Rocky Mountain, Thornton
Class 4A
Region 2 (at Mullen)
Teams: Alameda, Broomfield, Cherokee Trail,
Denver South, Englewood, Liberty, Mesa Ridge,
Mullen, Pine Creek, Ranum, Ridge View Academy,
Thomas Jefferson, Thompson Valley, Westminster,
Widefield, Woodland Park |
