Goetsch's pin gives Centaurus the win

By Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News

Originally published 09:38 p.m., February 16, 2008
Updated 09:38 p.m., February 16, 2008

LITTLETON - Knowing amounted to believing for Cody Goetsch of Centaurus in Friday’s Class 5A, Region 4 state qualifying wrestling tournament at Columbine High School.

Goetsch was well aware of his team’s situation heading into his 189-pound match against Justin Whirlow of Durango. A loss and it could probably enable Grandview to win the tournament title by a mere .5-of a point.

That was because he and Centaurus coach, Cisco Gonzales, figured that Grandview heavyweight, Cody Gillmore, would more than likely pin his opponent, LeRoy Vigil of Adams City in their 285-pound match. And, that’s just what happened with Gillmore pinning Vigil in 3:02.

But Goetsch made sure Centaurus would come out on top when he pinned Whirlow in 1-minute, :11 seconds to secure, not only his individual championship, but also the team title for the Warriors as well over No. 10 Grandview.

Goetsch’s victory enabled Centaurus, ranked No. 7 by On The Mat, to finish the tournament with 183.5 points to Grandview’s eventual 178.0. Heritage finished third with 147 points.

Grandview, however, crowned three champions and will be taking eight wrestlers to the Pepsi Center for next weekends state tournament. Centaurus won two championships and qualified five. Heritage will send seven to state, but the Eagles did not crown an individual champion in any weight class.

“I did know what the situation was going in and I just went out and did what I had to do,” said Goetsch, 31-12 and who is ranked No. 7. “I’ve never wrestled (Whirlow) before, but knew that I had to beat him for us to get a team title and get one for myself. This is just a great night for all of us.”

Dominic Valenzuela, who is ranked No. 1 at 125, was the second winner for Centaurus, but it took a little more time than expected. His opponent, Gabriel Metzler, ranked No. 8, had to overcome several timeouts to treat a bad bloody nose.

“It was actually a good match as he’s a good kid,” said Valenzuela, who improved to 18-4. “It was kind of frustrating. I would just get going and the refs would stop it because of the blood. But I just kept my head right and used the time to my advantage.

“I was out the first half of the season with a shoulder injury and was only seeded third coming in,” Valenzuela said. “I knew this tournament was going to be a challenge, but deep inside my head I knew that to be the best I had to believe in myself.”

Beside the win by Gillmore, who is ranked No. 2 at his weight, Grandview’s Eric Wilson won at 112, beating Durango’s Ty Penning, 3-1, and Patrick Brown, holding the No. 6 ranking, won at 135. Brown defeated Lakewood’s Travis Rios, 15-5.

“To have Cody Goestch go out and wrestle the way he did was just awesome,” Gonzales said. “We don’t win there, Grandview wins by half-a-point as you know that Gillmore is going to pin his opponent.

“Cody definitely knew our situation, but we let the kids know what the situations are,” Gonzales said. “He went out and did what he needed to do for himself and the team. I was surprised, though, that Garrett Lanham lost because I think he is the best kid in the state at his weight. He just got caught right off the beginning and never was able to recover.”

Lanham, who is ranked No. 2 at 160, lost to Lakewood’s No. 4 Mike Morgan, 9-5 in their 160-pound match. Perhaps, though, it is not a great surprise. After all, Morgan is ranked No. 4 and will take a 36-3 record into the state tournament.

While it was disappointing not to win the region title, Grandview coach Greg Maestas was upbeat and now looking forward to the state tournament.

“Going in we knew that we had to win all three of our matches and Centaurus had to lose three,” Maestas said. “They win the 189-pound match, we knew it was too late. It was a case of should of, could of, would of.

“We qualified eight and we got the three champs, so we just want to go down and win some matches and see what happens,” Maestas said. “Ponderosa, Grand Junction and Loveland are all pretty tough and it will be interesting to see what happens downtown.”

Fruita, which finished eighth in the team points among the 16 teams, came away with two champions. Phillip Colby, who is deaf, won the 145-pound title beating Fairview’s Scott Lohndorf, 7-4. Alex Rodriquez won the 215-pound title for the Wildcats also beating his Fairview opponent, Dan Nepustil, 4-1.

Colby will take a 38-1 record into the state tournament as well as his No. 2 ranking. He lost to Palisade’s Kyle Davis in his second match of the season, but has since reeled off 37 straight wins.

“Phillip kind of modeled himself after Joe Meinert, our 152-pound champion last year,” said Fruita Monument coach Jim Stockert. “They were workout partners and Phillip saw what dedication Joe had and what he had to do to prepare himself with the work ethic. He spent the whole fall drilling, lifting weights and getting better so when the wrestling season came around he could be doing what he is doing.

“He was down 4-0 tonight and was able to rebound,” Stockert said. “He’s had matches this season where he has been caught, but he’s been able to come back.”

As strange as it might seem in a regional tournament, there was only one wrestle back for a trip to the state tournament. In this case, Douglas County’s Robby DePontbriand pinned Grandview’s Josh Starr in 4:01 at 140-pounds.

Class 5A, Region 4

Columbine High School

Team results: Centaurus 183.5, Grandview 178.0, Heritage 147, Mitchell 134, Douglas County 125.6, Lakewood 122, Durango 120, Fruita Monument 102.5, Fairview 96.5, Adams City 75.5, Dakota Ridge 67, Cherry Creek 56.5, Horizon 52, Columbine 27, Hinkley 0, Kennedy 0.

Championship matches

103 - Elias Rosales, Lakewood, def. Josh Hamacher, Douglas County, 16-2. 112 - Eric Wilson, Grandview, def. Ty Penning, Durango, 3-1. 119 - Stas Kardas, Dakota Ridge, def. Graham Hebert, Centaurus, 8-6. 125 - Dominic Valenzuela, Centaurus, def. Gabriel Metzler, Mitchell, 7-1. 130 - Daryl Jackson, Mitchell, def. R.J. Gaither, Columbine, 11-4. 135 - Patrick Brown, Grandview, def. Travis Rios, Lakewood, 15-5. 140 - Trevis Ryle, Mitchell, def. Jake Holley, Heritage, 8-0. 145 - Phillip Colby, Fruita Monument, def. Scott Lohndorf, Fairview, 7-4. 152 - Ryan Swanson, Douglas County, pinned Taylor Termentozzi, Fruita Monument, 2:31. 160 - Mike Morgan, Lakewood, def. Garrett Lanham, Centaurus, 9-5. 171 - Trey Pratt, Horizon, pinned Tolan Durrant, Heritage, 4:32. 189 - Cody Goetsch, Centaurus, pinned Justin Whirlow, Durango, 1:11. 215 - Alex Rodriquez, Fruita Monument, def. Dan Nepustil, Fairview, 4-1. 285 - Cody Gillmore, Grandview, pinned LeRoy Vigil, Adams Ctiy, 3:02.

Third-place matches

103 - John Godin, Grandview, pinned Leroy Delgado, Centaurus, 1:29. 112 - Gabe Manigonian, Heritage, def. Aaron Ortiz, Adams City, 6-2. 119 - Justin Frazer, Lakewood, def. Mike Hernandez, Mitchell, 7-5. 125 - Daniel Toledo, Durango, def. Michael Miller, Heritage, 9-1. 130 - Drew Dondelinger, Centaurus, def. Gavin Patt, Fairview, 7-2. 135 - Kaleb Shumaker, Douglas County, def. Billy Holifield, Heritage, 9-5. 140 - Rhett Breed, Durango, pinned Robby DePontbriand, Douglas County, 4:00. 145 - Curt Barr, Mitchell, def. Ronnie Goodman, Durango, 7-6. 152 - Eloy Martinez, Adams City, def. Bryce Lucerini, Grandview, 5-2. 160 - Frank Sandoval, Durango, def. Cody McCutcheon, Grandview, 11-0. 171 - Steve Martinez, Dakota Ridge, def. Daniel Peters, Lakewood, 6-2. 189 - Jacob Bomareto, Grandview, def. Jason Marts, Dakota Ridge, 3-2 (ot). 215 - Penn Wade, Grandview, def. Ali Kayeni, Heritage, 7-3. 285 - Austin Scheufele, Centaurus, def. Al Erle, Heritage, 10-6.

Wrestleback (winner qualifies for state)

140 - Robby DePontbriand, Douglas County, pinned Josh Starr, Grandview, 4:01.