2/21/2008 10:57:00 PM   
CLASS 5A STATE
WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
At the Pepsi Center, Denver

Team scores
- 1. Ponderosa 27, 2. Loveland 20, T3. Centaurus 17, T3. Centaurus 17, 5. Rocky Mountain 15.5, 6. Lakewood 13, T7. Coronado 12, T7. Grand Junction 12, T7. Grandview 12, T7. Poudre 12, 11. Pomona 10.5, T12. Denver East 10, T12. Northglenn 10, T12. Rampart 10, 15. Brighton 8.5, T16. Air Academy 8, T16. Lewis-Palmer 8, T18. Central (G.J.) 6, T18. Douglas County 6, T18. Durango 6, T18. Fruita Monument 6, T18. Pine Creek 6, T18. ThunderRidge 6, 24. Heritage 5, T25. Boulder 4, T25. Dakota Ridge 4, T25. Fort Collins 4, T25. Mitchell 4, T25. Sand Creek 4, T25. Wasson 4, 31. Palmer 3.5, T32. Adams City 3, T32. Doherty 3, T32. Standley Lake 3, T35. Arapahoe 2, T35. Arvada West 2, T35. Aurora Central 2, T35. Chaparral 2, T35. Gateway 2, T35. Highlands Ranch 2, T35. Horizon 2, T35. Regis 2, T35. Smoky Hill 2

Aurora first-round matches

103 pounds


Mark Dubberly (Legacy) pinned William Montrey (Aurora Central), 2:29

Junior Romero (Denver East) dec. John Godin (Grandview), 10-7

112 pounds

Eric Wilson (Grandview) dec. Rian Fry (Brighton), 7-2

125 pounds

Nolan Myers (Smoky Hill) dec. Gabriel Metzler (Mitchell), 2-0

130 pounds

Tito Laureles (Rocky Mountain) pinned Josh Christopher (Overland), 5:50

Steven Kelly (Ponderosa) tech fall over LaDaris Mungin (Gateway), 17-1

Nick Wells (Doherty) maj. dec. Joe Jones (Smoky Hill), 20-9

Nick Burghardt (Coronado) dec. Danny Bieshaar (Regis), 5-3

135 pounds

Patrick Brown (Grandview) pinned Ty Mackey (Rangeview), 1:10

Daniel Armijo (Aurora Central) dec. Zach Atencio (Regis), 14-7

140 pounds

Matt Bethka (Grand Junction) dec. Powell Slinkard (Regis), 5-2

145 pounds

Justin Freeman (Gateway) dec. Alex Escalante (Central (G.J.)), 3-2

152 pounds

Bryce Lucherini (Grandview) dec. Derek Stearns (Northglenn), 10-7

Denzel Washington (Regis) dec. Zach Bekkedahl (Poudre), 9-7

160 pounds

Danny Mitchell (Legacy) pinned Cody McCutcheon (Grandview), 1:23

171 pounds

Adam Katz (Boulder) pinned Ethan Myers (Smoky Hill), 0:59

189 pounds

Joe Giron (Pomona) dec. Jacob Bomareto (Grandview), 5-2

215 pounds

Robert Tucker (Grand Junction) dec. Penn Wade (Grandview), 8-3

Heavyweight

Cody Gilmore (Grandview) pinned Cole Fritz (Pine Creek), 0:24

Wrestling: Regis' Washington stars on opening night
Freshman's upset of Poudre standout highlights city wrestlers in state first round

By Courtney Oakes
The Aurora Sentinel

DENVER | Denzel Washington turned in an Oscar-worthy performance Feb. 21.

He chose not to deliver an acceptance speech. Yet.

Washington, a Regis freshman, made the biggest splash among the 22 Aurora wrestlers in the first round of the Class 5A and 4A state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center, pulling off a 152-pound upset of Poudre's Zack Bekkedahl. Washington (33-7) rallied from an early 4-0 deficit, built a 9-5 lead and held on for the last 45 seconds to deal Bekkedahl - picked to place fifth by On The Mat - just his third loss in 28 matches.

Citing superstition, Washington declined to talk about the match until after the tournament ends on Saturday. Wrestling continues Friday with 4A and 5A quarterfinals at 1 p.m. and consolations following. Semifinals are slated for 7:15 p.m. Placing matches begin at 3 p.m. Saturday and conclude with the championship matches in all classes at 6:30 p.m.

Washington's Regis teammates didn't fare as well, however, as 130-pound No. 2 Danny Bieshaar was upset by Coronado freshman Nick Burghardt, Zach Atencio lost to Aurora Central's Daniel Armijo 14-7 in a 135-pound first-round match and 140-pounder Powell Slinkard was on the short end of a 5-2 decision to Grand Junction's Matt Bethka.

Aurora wrestlers went a combined 9-13 in the first round.

Plenty of other Aurora performances were noteworthy, including Gateway junior Justin Freeman picking up a 3-2 win over Central of Grand Junction's Alex Escalante in his state debut and Cherokee Trail senior Daniel Jordan winning a 4-2 overtime decision in a 4A 152-pound match to become the first wrestler in school history to make the quarterfinals.

Grandview junior Eric Wilson (35-5) rolled on at 112 pounds as expected with a 7-2 decision and teammate Cody Gilmore needed just 24 seconds to record a pin and advance in the heavyweight division. Wilson beat Brighton's Rian Fry and stayed on pace for a semifinal match with top-ranked Jeremy Schmitt of Rocky Mountain.

Patrick Brown and Bryce Lucherini also recorded wins for Grandview, which had four wins in eight first-round matches. Brown pinned Rangeview's lone qualifier, Ty Mackey, in 1 minute, 10 seconds, while Lucherini decisioned Northglenn's Derek Stearns 10-7.

Smoky Hill senior Nolan Myers also advanced with a 2-0 victory over Mitchell's Gabriel Metzler to improve to 41-5.