Seven area wrestlers will make their way to the Pepsi Center in Denver this week for the Colorado wrestling state championships, beginning Thursday, Feb. 18.
In Class 2A, Dove Creek senior Case Baughman, Dolores junior Brandon Ward and junior Richard Martinez and senior Drew Morgan of Mancos all punched their tickets to the state tournament with Top 4 finishes in the Class 2A Region 1 tournament at Colorado Mesa University over the weekend.
At 132 pounds,Dove Creek Senior Case Baughman rolled through the regional, pinning his first three opponents and then taking down Ignacio’s Tyler Beebe in the championship match by a 4-0 decision.
“He’s starting to wrestle probably the best of the year,” said Dove Creek head coach Shane Baughman. “He’s coming together right here and peaking at the right time, so that’s important.”
Baughman is familiar with the state tournament. He finished sixth place his freshman year, fifth as a sophomore, and third last year as a junior.
But in his fourth and final trip to the Pepsi Center – he’s got his sights on the gold.
Dolores junior Brandon Ward was the Bears’ only state qualifier, winning the 113-pound class with a 4-0 record.
Ward got a bye to start, and then won by pin, but he had to work in the semifinal match against Garrett Beck of Panoia in order to move into the championship match.
“He got caught by the kid from Paonia in the semis,” Gallaher said. “The kid caught him on a takedown attempt and turned him and scored eight points on him in the first period, but Brandon battled back to beat him 12-9.”
After escaping with a 12-9 win, Ward pinned Alex McCracken of Cedaredge in the championship match to secure his first place finish.
Last year, Ward finished in third place at 106 pounds, but like Baughman, he intends to improve on his previous performance.
“He definitely wants to move up this year and get into that championship round,” said head coach Dane Gallaher. “It’s pretty impressive to be able to do that parade of champions, so that’s where we’ve had our goals set all year.”
The Mancos Blue Jays will be sending two grapplers to Denver, as junior Richard Martinez and senior Drew Morgan each punched their tickets to state.
At 120 pounds, Martinez finished 3-1 and second place at regionals, with his sole loss coming in the championship match to Sheridan Harvey of Meeker in a narrow 5-4 decision.
“The Harvey kid is a tough kid, ranked number three in the state,” said Mancos head coach Grant Hobbs. “Richard had a good game plan, but he gave up a takedown and went to his back in a cradle and gave up that big five-point move. That bit us there.”
But Martinez’ second place finish was still good for a trip to Denver, and Hobbs believes the loss in the championship match will motivate him this weekend.
“Losing a tough match five to four, that gives you that extra drive going into the state tournament,” said Hobbs. “So hopefully that inspires him and gets him on to the placing stage at the next level.”
The Jays’ other state qualifier was Morgan, who finished 5-1 and third place in the 152-pound class.
Morgan had a bye to begin, but fell to Nych Deleon of Rangely in a 6-5 decision in his second match, sending him to the consolation side.
But from there, Morgan won three straight matches to wrestle all the way back to the third place match.
“Gutsy,” Hobbs said of his performance. “The kid just came alive.”
In the third place contest, Morgan met back up with Deleon, but in their second meeting, Morgan came out on top in a close 13-12 win to finish in third place.
“Drew went out there and it was a totally different match,” said Hobbs. “He came out, he opened up, he scored points and really just wrestled a solid match.”
Competing in the Class 3A Region 4 tournament in Montrose, the Montezuma-Cortez Panthers qualified three members of their squad for the state tournament.
Freshman Matthew Broughton was the Panthers’ top finisher, going 4-0 and taking home first place in the 120-pound class.
“He’s tough,” said head coach Shad Bellmire. “He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. He’s going to meet some tougher kids at state but I know that he’s up for the occasion.”
Junior Josh Ramos and senior Victor Perez will join Broughton in Denver, as both finished fourth in the regional.
At 138 pounds, Ramos fell in his semifinal match against Taylor Winch of Bayfield and had to wrestle his way back.
“Josh was up I think around seven points against Bayfield,” explained Bellmire. “And he just got caught and ended up getting pinned. So he’ll learn from it, and he’s going to state and he’s looking forward to wrestling him again, that’s for sure.”
Ramos won his next match, but then dropped the third place contest to Raul Lopez of Eagle Valley. But in the deciding fourth place match, Ramos secured his state qualifying spot by pinning Diego Madrigal from Sheridan.
Heavyweight Victor Perez also took fourth place, finishing with a 4-2 record.
“Victor wrestled tough,” said Bellmire. “He had the Olathe kid pinned twice but couldn’t finish it, and that kid was the top seed in the bracket and one of the top in the state. Victor is starting to get everything together and is peaking at a good time now.”
The state championships begin on Thursday, Feb. 18 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.