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By Shannon
Davidson/Aurora
Sentinel &
Daily Sun
Grandview
senior Jon
Brascetta,
left, holds
down
Ponderosa's
Patrick
Armstrong in
the Class 5A
145-pound
championship
match of the
state
wrestling
tournament
Feb. 18 at
the Pepsi
Center in
Denver.
Brascetta
took
Armstrong
down four
times in the
match for an
8-4
decision. He
became the
first state
champion in
Grandview
history.
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photos like
this go to
the
Aurora
Sentinel
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Gallery
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By Shannon
Davidson/Aurora
Sentinel &
Daily Sun
Grandview
senior
Curtis
McNary,
left, has
his hand
raised by
the referee
Feb. 18 at
the Pepsi
Center after
winning the
5A 152-pound
championship
at the state
wrestling
tournament.
McNary won a
3-1 decision
over
Poudre’s
Brandon
Doyle in
overtime.
For more
photos like
this go to
the
Aurora
Sentinel
Photo
Gallery
|
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Wolves crown two mat champs
Brascetta, McNary win
back-to-back titles to enter
Grandview record book; eight
Aurora wrestlers place at Pepsi
Center
By Courtney Oakes
The Aurora Sentinel and Daily
Sun
DENVER | Wrestling pride spread
throughout the city during this
weekend’s Class 5A state
wrestling tournament.
Eight wrestlers from five city
schools earned places in the
three-tournament that wrapped up
Saturday night at the Pepsi
Center, topped by state
championships from Grandview
seniors Jon Brascetta and Curtis
McNary.
Brascetta won a 10-4 decision
over Ponderosa’s Patrick
Armstrong at 145 pounds, and
152-pounder McNary followed with
a 3-1 overtime win over Poudre’s
Brandon Doyle to give the school
its first-ever state champions.
They also were the first Aurora
wrestlers to stand atop the
winner’s podium since
Rangeview’s Roger Baker won the
215-pound title in 2002.
“I’m really happy for both of
them,” said Grandview coach Greg
Maestas, who also got a
fourth-place finish from
160-pounder Matt Lucherini.
“This is great for them, it’s
great for the school and it’s
great for the program,” added
Maestas. “It’s really something
we can build on.”
Eaglecrest senior Rocco DePaolo
made the 130-pound final, but
Wasson’s Jesse Cruz pinned him
late in the third period. The
Raptors also got a fourth-place
finish from 125-pounder Nathan
Childers.
Unheralded Gateway 160-pounder
Almir Hodzic created a stir with
a first-round upset of Grand
Junction Central’s Logan Hancock
and went on to take fifth.
Rangeview’s Brandon Johnson was
similarly overlooked at 189
pounds, but he fought his way to
sixth place in his first state
tournament appearance. Regis’
John Hooper lost a 3-2 decision
in the 135-pound third-place
match.
Grandview had two finalists in
2005, but both Brascetta’s older
brother, Dan, and Stephen Eberle
both came up short. With his
older brother, currently a
wrestler at Oregon State, in the
stands, Jon Brascetta dominated
Armstrong for the second week in
a row. He had three takedowns in
the second period to build a
commanding lead.
“This is just unreal; I can’t
even describe it,” said
Brascetta, who finished 32-2
overall. “Last year was when Dan
took second, it was so amazing.
But this tops it.”
Brascetta, who placed third last
year at 135 pounds, completed a
dominating state tournament in
which he wasn’t taken down once
in four matches. He won by tech
fall (a margin of 15 points)
over his first three opponents.
McNary’s run was much more
improbable, as he went all the
way to a state championship
after three years of failing to
place at state.
McNary blew out his right elbow
early in Grandview’s football
season, but decided to wrestle
in the second half of the
season. He ended the year with a
record of 24-1, suffering his
only loss at the Top of the
Rockies meet against Alamosa’s
Cody Yohn, who on the adjacent
mat at Pepsi Center won the 4A
152-pound title.
In his championship match
against Doyle, McNary scored a
takedown in the final seconds of
overtime to break a 1-1 tie.
“I’ve been wrestling for 13
years and this is my senior
year, so this is a great way to
end it,” McNary said. “The elbow
almost kept me out, but I’m so
glad I came back.”
McNary credited much of his
success to having Brascetta as a
workout partner in practice.
DePaolo and Cruz each entered
the 130-pound final with just
one loss each, and they battled
through a scoreless first five
minutes. Cruz then earned two
points for a reversal and caught
DePaolo in a fierce cradle,
holding him down for a pin with
29 seconds left in the third.
It was a symmetrical end to the
season for DePaolo, who lost his
season-opening match in Rio
Rancho, N.M., then won 44 in a
row before he went down to Cruz.
“I lost my first one and I lost
my last one,” DePaolo said.
“That’s going to stick with me
for a long time. I was
confident, but he caught me in a
real tough move.”
5A state wrestling tournament
Top-10 Team scores —
Ponderosa 158, Wasson 87,
Chaparral 73.5, Bear Creek 71,
Brighton 70, Centaurus 70,
Grandview 63.5, Thornton 59.5,
Pomona 59, Legacy 51, Poudre 51
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