Ahead of the championship round that featured Regis Jesuit 195-pounder Grant Neal and Overland 220-pounder Amer Tipura going for state titles, seven Aurora wrestlers found their ways to the medal stand on Saturday at the Pepsi Center.
None of the seven won their final match, but Grandview senior 160-pounder Jordan Brown and Eaglecrest senior heavyweight Mike Howshar led the way with fourth-place finishes.
It was the second place for Howshar in three trips to state, as he improved two spots from last season’s sixth-place result at 285 pounds. Chaparral’s Dale Drimmer kept Howshar from a higher spot by pinning him early in the second period of the 3rd place match.
Brown was thrilled with his performance in his first trip to the state tournament, which ended with an 11-1 major decision loss to Legacy’s Connor Casaday, who beat him for the second time this season.
“I wrestled him (Casaday) earlier in the year and he came out with a different style and was more aggressive, so I wasn’t really ready for his offense,” said Brown, who finished 4-2 at state and 41-10 overall on the season. “My coach just told me go out and have fun, and I guess I did. He was a tough kid and he earned that third place.”
Still, Brown relished his place given how far behind he opened the season in conditioning after coming off football season. He worked hard to get back into wrestling shape and it paid off in his performance at state, which including a 6-1 victory over Ponderosa’s Tanner Olson in the consolation semifinals in which he felt he had his “A” game.
“I pushed through every practice, every rep, doing anything I could do to try and get out there,” he said. “Senior year, I finally did it.”
Overland senior 182-pounder Javier Alonso took fifth in his first state appearance and joined Tipura in giving the Trailblazers two placers, which matched Grandview for the most by any Aurora team.
Four underclassmen got their first look at the medal podium as well, including a pair of freshmen in Gateway 145-pounder Deyaun Trueblood and Grandview heavyweight Josh Vigil-Harrison.
Both ended up sixth at their respective weights, as did Cherokee Trail junior 152-pounder Harley Korte and Smoky Hill junior 220-pounder Dexter Bess.
Bess — who watched former teammate Kirk Owens make it all the way to the heavyweight state championship match last season — finished 3-3 at state, but made huge strides in the last few weeks of the season and it showed against wrestlers he’d lost to recently.
Tipura pinned Bess when the two met at a Centennial League dual a few weeks ago, but Tipura needed overtime for a 4-2 victory when they faced off in the quarterfinals. Legacy’s Skyler McWee scored a 13-4 major decision victory over Bess a week earlier in the Region 1 championship match, but won a tight 4-3 decision in the rematch in the 220-pound fifth-place match.
Korte wrestled his sophomore year on Cherokee Trail’s junior varsity, but made a strong run once he made varsity this season. He won a regional championship and posted victories in his first two state matches — including a 15-12 victory over nemesis Mason Harms of Cherry Creek — before he was stopped in the semifinals by Mountain Range’s Randy Boerner.
He lost his last two matches, including a 10-5 decision to Harms in the 152-pound 5th place match, to finish 34-14.
Vigil-Harrison said he didn’t expect to make state as a freshman, but he was glad to get the experience. He and fellow freshman state qualifier Xavier Cardenas at 113 pounds are part of a talented group of youngsters for coach Greg Maestas’ Grandview team, which should have back a third state qualifier last season in senior-to-be Jaime Cardenas.
All three won at least one match at state, with Vigil-Harrison recording three of them. Two of his losses came to current or former state champions, as he fell to Greeley West’s Austin Waterman in the quarterfinals and was pinned by last season’s heavyweight champion, Mountain Range’s Jorge Rodriguez, in the 5th-place match.
Reach Sports Editor Courtney Oakes at sports@aurorasentinel.com or 303-750-7555
2013 CLASS 5A STATE WRESTLING TOURNAMENT
Saturday, Feb. 23 at Pepsi Center
AURORA THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
160 pounds: Connor Casaday (Legacy) maj. dec. JORDAN BROWN (GRANDVIEW), 11-1
285 pounds: Dane Drimmer (Chaparral) pinned MIKE HOWSHAR (EAGLECREST), 1:13
AURORA FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES
145 pounds: Rashawn Benford (Fountain-Fort Carson) dec. DEYAUN TRUEBLOOD (GATEWAY), 9-8
152 pounds: Mason Harms (Cherry Creek) dec. HARLEY KORTE (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 10-5
182 pounds: Ricky Mahan (Doherty) dec. JAVIER ALONSO (OVERLAND), 12-6
220 pounds: Skyler McWee (Legacy) dec. DEXTER BESS (SMOKY HILL), 4-3
285 pounds: Jorge Rodriguez (Mountain Range) pinned JOSH VIGIL-HARRISON (GRANDVIEW), 1:38