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Photo by Courtney
Oakes/Aurora
Sentinel & Daily Sun
Grandview sophomore
Patrick Brown, top,
works on the top
against Ponderosa’s
Daniel Kelly in the
Region 1 112-pound
championship match
Feb. 11 at Arapahoe
High School. Brown
led late, but Kelly
rallied for a 7-3
victory. Brown is
one of seven Wolves
and 15 total state
qualifiers from four
Aurora teams who
came out of that
region to compete at
the state wrestling
tournament Feb.
16-18 at the Pepsi
Center.
For more photos like
this go to the
Aurora Sentinel Photo
Gallery |
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Many paths lead wrestlers to state
There’s nothing quite like making a
first appearance at the state wrestling
tournament.
Fourteen of the 23 Aurora wrestlers who
made it through regional qualifying will
get their first look at the awesome
sights and sounds when they take the
massive expansive of mat laid out at the
Pepsi Center Feb. 16-18.
Nine state veterans also made it through
regionals, including Region 1 champions
Jon Brascetta and Curtis McNary of
Grandview, and Rocco DePaolo of
Eaglecrest.
The Wolves led the way for Aurora with
seven 5A state qualifiers, followed by
Eaglecrest and Regis with four each,
Rangeview with three and Aurora Central,
Gateway, Overland and Smoky Hill one
each. Cherokee Trail earned one slot in
the 4A tournament.
Nobody’s excitement could match that of
state newcomers like Rangeview senior
Brandon Johnson, who let the entire gym
at Arapahoe High School know how happy
he was Feb. 11 during the Region 1
tournament.
“I’m so pumped; I’m finally going
downtown,” the 189-pounder said after
pinning Grand Junction’s Robert Tucker
in 1 minute, 26 seconds to take third
place.
“I’ve had this is in my head from the
first day of practice three months ago,
and I did what I had to do. Maybe only
the people who knew me thought I could
do it, but it’s my senior year, so I had
to.”
Johnson lived in Pennsylvania until last
year and never made it to the state
tournament when he was there. He’s still
unranked and certainly unheralded going
into state, but that doesn’t bother him
in the slightest.
Rangeview’s state contingent of three
also includes 152-pound senior Brian
Doyle, whose initial state trip is as
sweet as possible because he earned it
via a wrestleback.
Doyle got his extra life when
Ponderosa’s Criag Keefover lost the
third-place match. He wasted little
time, handling Keefover 22-12 to join
Johnson and 215-pounder Zach Curtis —
who won in a wrestleback after losing in
the third-place match — in Raiders’ red
at state.
“I’m so excited; one match, I had to win
to go,” Doyle said. “When I got him on
his back in the first period, I was
loving it. I can’t wait to get to
state.”
Senior Harison Frawley would have joined
them, but his first state trip
evaporated with a 7-6 double-overtime
loss in wrestlebacks.
“Those close matches were almost too
much for my old heart,” Rangeview coach
Tim Corby said. “But they showed me they
are men of character, so I couldn’t be
happier.”
Grandview finished third as a team with
its seven qualifiers, four of which will
make their Pepsi Center debuts. Freshman
Eric Wilson (103 pounds), sophomore
Patrick Brown (regional runner-up at
112s), senior Addison MacDonald (140s)
and senior Jon Simpson (171s) join
veterans Brascetta, McNary and
160-pounder Matt Lucherini.
Wilson didn’t know how realistic it
would be for him to make state as a
freshman, but things started to click
for him a couple of weeks before
regionals. He ended up third in the
region after beating Eaglecrest’s Ruben
Markarian.
“I started noticing that I was moving
really good about two weeks ago,” said
Wilson, who goes into state 22-12. “It
also helps to have the guys we have in
the room. They are a big factor in me
getting better and getting to state.”
Brown lost his regional championship
match to Ponderosa’s Daniel Kelly, but
he still came away with a berth at state
in his first year up from the Wolves’
junior varsity. He ended up in a tough
part of the 112-pound state draw with
top-ranked Geoff Meng of Monarch likely
waiting in the quarterfinals, but he’s
fared well against all comers this year.
MacDonald and Simpson both make their
state debuts as seniors. Simpson came
into the tournament with a record of
just 7-10 overall, but ended up third
with a 9-6 win over
“When you work hard, it usually turns
out OK,” said Simpson, one of only two
wrestlers with sub-.500 records in his
bracket.
“I probably got looked over because of
my record, and I probably will at state,
too. But I’m going to place. You don’t
go to lose.”
Though Brascetta is making his fourth
trip to state, he was as excited as a
first-timer after winning the 145-pound
regional championship. His spirits were
buoyed because he handled Ponderosa’s
Patrick Armstrong 13-2 in a match-up
that pitted the No. 1 and No. 2
wrestlers against each other a week
before state.
The two wrestled a close match a couple
of weeks earlier at the Top of the
Rockies tournament, but this time it was
all Brascetta from start to finish.
His older brother Dan lost in the
145-pound state championship match last
season, so Brascetta wants to do the
family proud. His brother will be on
hand at Pepsi Center.
“It makes me even more excited to get to
state knowing I beat a kid I should see
in the finals,” said Brascetta, who is
28-3 on the year.
“I talked to my brother and he told me
there’s no way (Armstrong) can close the
gap on me in one week. I’m not really
feeling any pressure, I’m just going to
show up and wrestle like I always do.”
McNary at 152 pounds is looking forward
to this state meet in particular because
it gives him a last chance to place.
He’s gone into previous state
tournaments in good shape, but he’s been
kept off the podium.
Now 20-1 and fully recovered from an
elbow blowout he suffered in football,
McNary is psyched for state. He rallied
to pin Arvada West’s Ryan Sanchez with
0.1 second left to win his second
regional championship.
“We have a history at Grandview where a
couple of guys make it all four years,
and it really starts to come together
senior year,” McNary said.
Lucherini will be thankful to be a part
of the state tournament after what he
went through at regionals. Seeded first
at 160 pounds, Lucherini was pinned
twice and had to win his fifth-place
match against tough A.J. Matthews of
Eaglecrest to get a shot at wrestlebacks.
He did it, then easily pinned
Ponderosa’s Mac Cunningham in
wrestlebacks.
Because of the slip he’ll have to face
regional champion Logan Johnson of
Mitchell in the first round, but he’s
glad to get the chance.
“This is my senior year and I worked way
too hard not to get here,” Lucherini
said. “I was ranked and it would have
been ridiculous to be ranked and not go
to state.”
Eaglecrest’s contingent of four includes
only one first-timer in Markarian.
DePaolo makes his fourth trip to state,
Nathan Childers his third and Ryan
Olvera his second.
Markarian drew Northglenn freshman
Philip Grout, who brings an impressive
32-3 record to his first state
appearance.
DePaolo is a state regular who is in the
midst of his finest season. He’s 40-1 on
the year and the top seed in the
130-pound bracket after pinning
Arapahoe’s Matt Croshal in 1:28 to win
the Region 1 championship.
“I’m feeling a little bit of pressure
this time because everybody’s gunning
for me and wrestling their best against
me,” DePaolo said.
DePaolo has an interesting potential
matchup in the second round against
Grand Junction Central’s Steve Reynolds,
a former state runner-up, but the
opposite half of the bracket is much
more stacked.
Childers had the weight of expectations
on him after two previous state trips,
and he seemed relieved after taking
fourth at 125 pounds in regionals.
He didn’t face all-world Henry Cejudo in
the regional, but would meet the
national champion from Coronado in the
quarterfinals if he makes it that far.
“It’s awesome to have competition like
Henry to wrestle against,” Childers said
of the 21-0 Cejudo. “Everybody makes
mistakes though, so you never know what
could happen. It’s state, time for me to
step it up.”
Olvera’s banished the tentativeness that
occasionally hit him last year, and
appears ready to be a factor in the
135-pound class after a third-place
showing at regionals.
Regis has a returning state qualifier in
135-pounder John Hooper, but Region 2
runner-up Matt Strohm (160), Ryan
McKinnell (189) and Pasha Tabatabai
(152s) are first-timers.
Their debuts were made tougher with
their respective draws. Raiders coach
Brent Bieshaar cringed when he saw where
his wrestlers ended up.
“Honestly, I hate our matchups,”
Bieshaar said. “We didn’t get any
breaks. This time of year you have to be
good to be at state, but you can
definitely get helped by a good draw.”
Among single wrestlers, Aurora Central
160-pounder Servando Heredia makes his
third state appearance after he was the
only Trojan to survive Region 4 in
Colorado Springs.
Heredia’s new aggressive approach had
him on the verge of winning the regional
title before losing late. The senior has
a reservoir of state experience to draw
on if needed.
“Servando’s been a different kid the
last couple of weeks,” Central coach
Conrad Parra said. “He’s only been
dominated once all year, and he has
plenty of experience at state.”
Overland junior Stephen Stahl could be a
major factor in the heavyweight bracket
in his first state trip. He lost a
disappointing decision to Rangeview’s
Justin Craig in the regional
quarterfinals, but pinned his final
three opponents to take third.
“I think Stephen can be the darkhorse,”
Overland coach Ruben Medina said. “He’s
a real level-headed kid who doesn’t have
a lot of pressure on him.”
Stahl is confident going into state
after surviving the punishing Region 1
field.
“If I can make it here, I can make it at
state,” Stahl said. “I’m looking forward
to it already.”
Sophomore 112-pounder Nolan Myers was
the Region 2 runner-up after falling to
Meng. But he still earned Smoky Hill’s
first state berth since Jovan Mays went
in 2004.
Buffaloes coach Aron Weber is trying
make his 32-6 wrestler’s state debut
smooth.
“This will all be new to Nolan for sure,
but he’s earned the right to be there,”
Weber said. “He’s got a great work
ethic, so I think he has a shot at
finishing in the top six.”
Gateway’s Almir Hodzic (160 pounds)
makes his 5A state debut, while Cherokee
Trail 189-pound junior Kimball Jordan
carries the Cougars’ flag into his first
4A tournament.
The Raiders took sixth place as a team
with three first-time qualifiers and a
second-timer in junior 135-pounder John
Hooper. Junior Matt Strohm was the No. 1
seed at 160 pounds and he got through to
state, as did 152-pound junior Pasha
Tabatabai and 189-pound senior Kyle
McKinnell.
Almir Hodzic represents Gateway after
making his way through the 160-pound
field at Region 3, while the same weight
bracket will include Aurora Central’s
Servando Heredia from Region 4.
Cherokee Trail junior Kimball Jordan
made the 4A bracket at 189 pounds. For
the second year in a row, the Cougars
qualified a single wrestler for state.
Senior Devin DeAntonis couldn’t earn a
return trip in Region 2 action at
Mullen.
Aurora first-round state matches
At Pepsi Center, Feb. 16
CLASS 5A
103 pounds
Upper bracket
Ruben Markarian, jr., Eaglecrest (26-14)
vs. Philip Grout, fr., Northglenn (32-3)
Lower bracket
Eric Wilson, fr., Grandview (22-12) vs.
Paul Montoya, soph., Brighton (33-7)
112 pounds
Upper bracket
Patrick Brown, soph., Grandview (29-7)
vs. Brandon Ford, jr., Rampart (25-8)
Lower bracket
Nolan Myers, soph., Smoky Hill (32-6)
vs. Alonzo Montoya, fr., Brighton (26-8)
125 pounds
Upper bracket
Nathan Childers, sr., Eaglecrest (35-7)
vs. Tyler Gorek, jr., Arvada (35-8)
130 pounds
Upper bracket
Rocco DePaolo, sr., Eaglecrest (41-1)
vs. Cory Gournic, sr., Columbine (30-11)
135 pounds
Upper bracket
John Hooper, jr., Regis (34-6) vs. Jason
Ericsson, sr., Bear Creek (30-13)
Lower bracket
Ryan Olvera, soph., Eaglecrest (34-10)
vs. Phil Schmedeman, sr., Douglas Co.
(25-8)
140 pounds
Lower bracket
Addison MacDonald, sr., Grandview
(23-11) vs. Mike Conklin, jr., Fort
Collins (37-5)
145 pounds
Lower bracket
Jon Brascetta, sr., Grandview (28-3) vs.
Ryan Kyllonen, fr., ThunderRidge (20-17)
152 pounds
Upper bracket
Pasha Tabatabai, jr., Regis (34-12) vs.
Ryan Sanchez, sr., Arvada West (29-4)
Lower bracket
Brian Doyle, sr., Rangeview (24-9) vs.
Matt Murphy, Chaparral, jr., (33-8)
Curtis McNary, sr., Grandview (20-1) vs.
Jared Cruz, sr., Grand Junction Central
(19-7)
160 pounds
Upper bracket
Servando Heredia, sr., Aurora Central
(25-13) vs. Jon Montgomery, sr., Palmer
(31-9)
Almir Hodzic, sr., Gateway (23-11) vs.
Logan Hancock, sr., Grand Junction
Central (34-7)
Lower bracket
Matt Lucherini, sr., Grandview (28-8)
vs. Logan Johnson, sr., Mitchell (36-3)
Matt Strohm, jr., Regis (38-5) vs. Lee
Nadeau, sr., Fort Collins (29-3)
171 pounds
Lower bracket
Jon Simpson, sr., Grandview (10-11) vs.
Brennan Whitman, sr., Poudre (17-3)
189 pounds
Lower bracket
Kyle McKinnell, sr., Regis (35-8) vs.
Brandon Johnson, sr., Rangeview (17-8)
215 pounds
Lower bracket
Zach Curtis, sr., Rangeview (27-11) vs.
Robert Hoffschneider, jr., Columbine
(25-7)
275 pounds
Upper bracket
Stephen Stahl, sr., Overland (24-10) vs.
Mike McKnight, sr., Heritage (19-3)
CLASS 4A
189 pounds
Lower bracket
Kimball Jordan, jr., Cherokee Trail
(24-13) vs. Tyler Pierandozzi, sr.,
Golden (28-7)
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