Wrestling: Olys punctuate state first
round
Ten Aurora wrestlers move into 5A
quarterfinals
By COURTNEY OAKES
The Aurora Sentinel
Published:
Friday, February 20, 2009 1:54 AM MST
DENVER
| LaDaris Mungin has grown tired of
taking third place at tournaments, which
he has on several occasions this season.
After the first day of the Class 5A
state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi
Center, the Gateway junior is still in
the running for first.
Mungin opened an outstanding 3-1 showing
by the Olys with the upset of the
tournament among 31 Aurora wrestlers —
who went 10-21 in first-round action —
as he beat second-ranked Ely Martinez of
Pine Creek 8-4 in overtime of a
130-pound preliminary match. Martinez
came into the match with a 25-1 record.
“This feels great; you have to do better
than your last state tournament, and I
went two and out last year,” said
Mungin, who scored only one point in two
losses in the 2008 tournament.
“When I win, Radio (152-pounder Justin
Freeman) has to win, so at least we know
we have two.”
Freeman did indeed win later by beating
Cherokee Trail’s Ethan Hales 6-5,
gaining some momentum from Mungin’s
performance.
Mungin — who was hit in the eye and
couldn’t see for portion of the first
period — railed 4-0 in the second
period, but got a reverse to cut the
deficit in half and tied it with a
takedown early in the third. He kept
Martinez from winning with an escape and
the match went to overtime.
The two went to the mat and Mungin
employed a gator roll move that Gateway
coach Jeremy Hoffman drilled his team on
in practice, taking Martinez down and
getting two back points for the victory.
Mungin, who improved to 32-8 on the
season, only found out where Martinez
was ranked after the match.
“Coaches don’t tell you that because
they don’t want you to know,” Mungin
said. “All the records look identical
down here.”
Mungin will face Central of Grand
Junction’s Daniel Rodriguez (38-4) in
the 5A quarterfinals, which begin at 1
p.m. Friday.
He’ll have plenty of company in the
quarterfinals, including teammates
Freeman and 145-pounder Brent Willis,
who pinned Rocky Mountain’s Alex Carlson
to win his first state match. Senior
160-pounder Ronato Fierro almost gave
the Olys an even bigger upset than
Mungin’s, losing a tight 8-7 decision to
top-ranked Jake Wilson of Arapahoe.
Besides Willis, a number of first-time
qualifiers won their first state
matches, including Cherokee Trail
sophomore Chris Buccieri (103 pounds),
Eaglecrest’s Dan Moore (112 pounds),
Regis’ John Crowley (152 pounds) and
Smoky Hill’s Shawn Miller (160 pounds).
Grandview senior Eric Wilson, last
season’s 5A state champion at 112
pounds, moved a step closer to a shot at
the 119-pound title with a pin of
ThunderRidge’s Bryant Monahan. Overland
senior 135-pounder Josh Christopher — a
returning state placer — and Grandview
senior 215-pounder Penn Wade rounded out
Aurora's 10 first-round winners.
Quarterfinals winners wrestle again in
the semifinals at 7:15 p.m. for a chance
at the state finals, which are scheduled
for 6:30 p.m. Feb.21.
CLASS 5A STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Aurora state wrestling first-round
results
103 pounds
Upper bracket
Ryan Adams (Standley Lake) dec. William
Montrey (Aurora Central), 9-5
Lower bracket
Chris Buccieri (Cherokee Trail) dec.
Rudy Peterson (Durango), 6-0
112 pounds
Upper bracket
Cory Mitze (Mountain Range) dec. Matt
Ritz (Eaglecrest), 8-3
Lower bracket
Mike Sikorski (Pine Creek) pinned John
Godin (Grandview), 5:29
Dominic Madril (Pomona) maj. dec.
Phillip Nguyen (Aurora Central), 13-5
119 pounds
Lower bracket
Jeremy Luna (Rocky Mountain) dec. Jeff
Ibanez (Aurora Central), 8-6
Eric Wilson (Grandview) pinned Bryan
Monahan (ThunderRidge), 5:01
125 pounds
Upper bracket
Carter McElhany (Coronado) tech. fall
Collin Gorham (Cherokee Trail), 15-0
Jeff Gonzales (Fruita-Monument) dec.
Michael Balagna (Grandview), 3-2
130 pounds
Upper bracket
LaDaris Mungin (Gateway) dec. Ely
Martinez (Pine Creek), 8-4 (OT)
Lower bracket
Dan Moore (Eaglecrest) pinned Dustin
Wilson (Douglas County), 3:47
135 pounds
Lower bracket
Josh Christopher (Overland) dec. Zach
Short (Central G.J.), 11-4
Andrew Onorato (Regis) dec. Jesse Werth
(Fort Collins), 5-1
140 pounds
Upper bracket
Trevor Brumley (Mountain Range) dec.
Zach Atencio (Regis), 10-9
145 pounds
Upper bracket
Brent Willis (Gateway) pinned Alex
Carson (Rocky Mountain), 3:48
Casey DeMarrias (Northglenn) dec. Powell
Slinkard (Regis), 6-4
Lower bracket
Lance Jeffries (Loveland) pinned Gage
Fell (Eaglecrest), 2:50
152 pounds
Upper bracket
Justin Freeman (Gateway) dec. Ethan
Hales (Cherokee Trail), 6-5
Lower bracket
Jacob Deaguero (Adams City) dec. Josh
Starr (37-6) (Grandview), 10-3
John Crowley (Regis) maj. dec. Derek
Stearns (Northglenn), 12-4
Steven Kelly (Ponderosa) maj. dec. Matt
Meyer (Smoky Hill), 12-3
160 pounds
Upper bracket
Jake Wilson (Arapahoe) dec. Renato
Fierro (Gateway), 8-7
Shawn Miller (Smoky Hill) pinned Hunter
McGuinnis (Rangeview), 3:30
Bryce Thurston (Chaparral) tech. fall
Jordan Johnson (Eaglecrest), 17-2
Lower bracket
Bryce Dunkelberger (Mountain Range) dec.
Greg Conrardy (Cherokee Trail), 3-0
171 pounds
Upper bracket
Kyle Flynn (Northglenn) dec. Gordie
Pisciotta (Regis), 9-5
189 pounds
Upper bracket
Casey Norgard (Rocky Mountain) dec. Enos
Ozekin (Grandview), 6-0
215 pounds
Upper bracket
Penn Wade (Grandview) pinned Zach Beach
(Douglas County), 3:41
Lower bracket
Donny Haupt (Pomona) maj. dec. Ben
Jordan (Cherokee Trail), 12-4
