Matt Stiasny understands why he and the rest of the Dove Creek wrestlers were hardly given a second thought coming into the Class 2A state championships. He also knows that is about to change.
The Bulldogs have just three individual champions and no team titles in school history, and they barely cracked the top 20 in the state team race last season. But eight Dove Creek wrestlers qualified this season, and six cruised through the first round of competition with pins Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
“We are such a small school (93 students),” Stiasny said. “There are some schools with classes that are bigger than our whole school. … It’s nice to come into a big tournament and, boom, start winning all these matches.
Pretty soon people start asking, “Who are these guys?” Stiasny said.
Stiasny (37-3), who owns a state record in football with seven punts returned for touchdowns, bloodied Jared Oestman of Wray before pinning him in the second period to win his first-round match at 160 pounds.
Stiasny’s twin brother, Eric, notched a first-period pin against Center’s Adam Warsh at 152 pounds, and the Bulldogs hope that underdog status gives way to even more victories.
“We are a small school; nobody’s heard of us. They don’t even recognize our letter jackets,” Eric Stiasny (33-9) said.
That’s not a complaint. In fact, Dove Creek coach Shane Baughman said flying under the radar might catapult the Bulldogs to the top.
“This team likes to be overlooked,” Baughman said. “They like to come in and surprise people.”
Grant Hobbs (40-1) started Dove Creek off right by pinning Hayden Uhland of Eads at 103 pounds, and freshman Colten Huskey (39-0) remained undefeated after pinning Antonio Casias of Antonito at 119 pounds.
Senior 135-pounder Andrew Riddell (36-1) barely broke a sweat in his 46-second match against Wray’s Justin Lueth, and 215-pounder Braiden Banks (28-10) beat Jeb Stoltzfus of Custer County.
Hobbs, for one, wants to be the fourth Bulldog to win a title after finishing second as a sophomore.
“Second place wasn’t good enough for me,” he said. “I want to move up that totem pole.”
In other matches, two-time state champion Kevin LeValley of Limon started his way to a third title with a quick pin of Sargent’s Zach Harmon at 140 pounds. LeValley (39-0) owns titles at 119 and 130 pounds, and his past experience at this colossal tournament is an asset.
“I know what it feels like to wrestle in front of all these people, and I know the Pepsi Center,” LeValley said. “Wrestling is my thing.”
Merino’s Ross Brunkhardt (37-2), also a two-time champion, moved through his first-round match with a technical fall of Crowley County’s Brogan Walters in his pursuit of another title at 152 pounds.
Brunkhardt could face Meeker’s Joe LeBlanc (32-2) in the final. LeBlanc, the 145-pound champion last season, pinned Sargent’s Bubba Marquez in the first period.
Brandon Morris (171 pounds) and Tucker Lane (215), two returning champions from Nucla, needed a combined 58 seconds to move past the first round.
Results
Team scores – Rocky Ford 32, Paonia 28 1/2, Dove Creek 24, Dolores 23, Nucla 23, Merino 22 1/2, Akron 17, Meeker 17, Sargent 15, John Mall 13 1/2, Lyons 13 1/2, Wray 12, Center 11 1/2, Simla 9, Grand Valley 7 1/2, Antonito 7, Del Norte 7, Calhan 6 1/2, Sanford 6, Swink 6, Wiggins 6, Arrupe 5, Soroco 5, Baca County 4, Cheyenne Wells 4, Holly 4, La Veta 4, Limon 4, North Park 4, Sangre De Cristo 3 1/2, Crowley County 3, Fowler 3, Holyoke 3, Cripple Creek-Victor 2, Dolores Huerta 2, Eads 2, Fleming 2, Norwood 2.
103 pounds – Marcus Springer, Wiggins, bye; Ty Sickels, Nucla, maj. dec. Brian Hamacher, Simla, 8-0; Edwin Cruz, Del Norte, maj. dec. Ethan Kinner, Hilltop Baptist, 14-3; Justin Iacovetto, Soroco, dec. Bryant McCustion, Fowler, 6-1; Brett Brunner, Dolores, dec. Aaron Aragon, Rocky Ford, 12-5; Drew Richey, Wray, dec. Carlos Valverde, Dolores Huerta, 10-5; Grant Hobbs, Dove Creek, pinned Hayden Unland, Eads, 3:39; Chase Chesterman, Merino, dec. Gilbert Hernandez, Center, 6-4. 112 – Daniel Espinoza, Antonito, maj. dec. Tyler Lundquist, Rocky Ford, 11-0; Matt Cushman, Lyons, dec. Chris Beanland, Dove Creek, 4-0; Domingo Abraham, Dolores Huerta, dec. Tyler McCracken, Eads, 14-10; Mark Bejarano, Paonia, dec. Jon Carlile, Hilltop Baptist, 2-0, OT; Jason Trout, Merino, dec. Stephan Boleng, Rangely, 6-0; Brian Valencia, Swink, dec. Andrew Cisneros, John Mall, 5-3; Joel Schlegel, Soroco, maj. dec. Eddie Urban, Wiggins, 11-3; Julio Prieto, Sargent pinned James Folk, Calhan, 3:35. 119 – Wacey Smith, Merino, pinned Junior McDonald, Fowler, 1:03; Brad Dillon, Nucla, pinned Nick Gonzales, Sargent, 3:42; Matt Maestas, Rocky Ford, pinned Cody Braz, Wray, 2:38; Josh Prescott, Meeker, pinned Steven Aragon, Dolores Huerta,
3:48; Wade Beiriger, Center, tech. fall Lukas Wiggins, Paonia, 18-1; Hunter Uhland, Eads, dec. Michael Romero, Wiggins, 7-0; Colten Huskey, Dove Creek, pinned Antonio Casias, Antonito, 2:46; Niles Barnett, Fleming, dec. Branson Bartlett, Peyton, 8-2; 125 – Richard Apodaca, Arrupe Jesuit, dec. Kyle Stout, Meeker, 5-2; Cory Pearson, John Mall, dec. Josh Lopez, Fowler, 8-5; Hugh Hardman, Norwood, dec. Brandon Lohr, Lyons, 9-2; Ambrose Garcia, Sanford, dec. Zach Goldsberry, Las Animas, 8-4; Josh Hernandez, Rocky Ford, pinned Cory Stanfield, Custer County, 2:40; Tony Chesnik, Paonia, maj. dec. Kenny Read, Wray, 13-4; Max Cruz, Del Norte, pinned Canaan Mitchek, Cheyenne Wells, 3:41; Dustin Weitzel, Dolores, pinned John Brown, Merino, 5:01. 130 – Chris Holzworth, Fowler, maj. dec. Matt Cain, Grand Valley, 11-1; Daniel Coffey, Lyons, pinned Mario Diaz, Sargent, 3:22; Drake Smith, Dolores, pinned Richard Maestas, Holly, 3:22; Justin Mitchell, Sanford, pinned Chris Gebauer, Akron, 4:25; Jordan Davison, Wray, pinned Matt Ortega, Del Norte, 1:02; Roston Steiner, Meeker, dec. Travis Schwindt, Rocky Ford, 4-3; Jared Nelson, John Mall, tech. fall Adam Erker, Wiggins, 17-1; Devon Raswold, Simla,
maj. dec. Ty Spangler, Nucla, 14-3. 135 – Andrew Riddell, Dove Creek, pinned Justin Leuth, Wray, :48; Michael Hamacher, Simla, dec. Mike Reynolds, Sargent, 4-2; Lance Gallegos, Arrupe Jesuit, maj. dec. Andy Jensen, Norwood, 16-7; Matt Harmon, Rocky Ford, dec. Andrew Abeyta, Antonito, 7-3; Mario Cendejas, Center, pinned Jake Pinello, Peyton, 2:59; Nate Gaston, Paonia, pinned Tyson Herrick, Revere, 1:29; Kole Neugebauer, Holly, pinned Jonathan Aguirre, John Mall, 2:27; Jake Harris, Dolores, maj. dec. Cole Feltcher, Akron, 11-0. 140 – Zack Meyer, John Mall, pinned Andy Taylor, Stratton, 1:12; Dylan Glover, Calhan, maj. dec. Jacob Guynes, Dove Creek, 10-1; Kevin LeValley, Limon, pinned Zach Harmon, Sargent, :43; Cody Miles, Grand Valley, pinned Dustin Bohlander, Holly, 2:32; Josh Galloway, Dolores, dec. Daniel Ornelas, Rocky Ford, 8-7; Frank Christianson, Akron, maj. dec. Travis Phillips, Center, 13-5; Shane Smith, Paonia, pinned Kevin Lindholm, Eads, 1:47; Jonathan Franklin, Holyoke, maj. dec. Tyler Ransom, South Park. 145 – Alfonso Casias, Antonito, pinned Brandon Cordova, Eads, 2:25; Austin Gollobith, North Park, pinned Austin Amen, Merino, 3:09; Jeron Aragon, Rocky
Ford, pinned Ben Peters, Custer County, 3:08; Justin Busch, Grand Valley, tech. fall Calvin Denbo, Akron, 20-5; Mikey Swigert, Dolores, pinned J.P. Juranek, Limon, 4:53; Matt Scherrer, Simla, pinned Justin Noga, John Mall, :51; Cody Clark, Meeker, maj. dec. Kevin Dilka, Wiggins, 15-3; Andrew Pauley, Sargent, pinned Logan Arambel, Holly, 3:15. 152 – Tyler Long, Rocky Ford, dec. Josh Conde, Holyoke, 6-1; Andy Laiminger, Paonia, pinned Ben Rucher, Custer County, 2:42; Ross Brunkhardt, Merino, tech. fall Brogan Walters, Crowley County, 17-0; Eric Stiasny, Dove Creek, pinned Adam Warsh, Center, 1:37; Henry Sanchez, La Veta, pinned Isaac Haskins, Hayden, 3:16; Carlos Vasquez, Lyons, tech. fall Todd Stauffer, Calhan, 24-4; Joe LeBlanc, Meeker, pinned Bubba Marquez, Sargent, 1:52; Brad Gobel, Akron, pinned Cameron Lowe, Holly, 1:59. 160 – Chris Schweizer, Rocky Ford, pinned Vincent Dupont, Antonito, 1:03; Kyle Campbell, Akron, dec. Coy Letlow, Hayden, 7-6, OT; Adam Klecker, Sargent, pinned Jeff Markle, Simla, 5:45; Eric Bejarano, Paonia, tech. fall Josh Ackerman, Lyons, 17-2; Israel Garay, Wiggins, pinned Drew Riegel, Meeker, 1:37; Brigham Walters, Crowley County
, maj. dec. Kyle Hughes, Rye, 8-0; Matt Stiasny, Dove Creek, pinned Jared Oestman, Wray, 3:08; Shawn Cogburn, Baca County, dec. Kyle Woods, Custer County, 5-3. 171 – Brandon Morris, Nucla, fall Jonathan Ortiz, John Mall, :19; Isaiah Flores, Wiggins dec. Dustyn Arde, Simla, 9-4; Eli Schnoor, Sargent, maj. dec. Tim Taylor, Hayden, 13-3; Jacob Jurney, Rocky Ford, pinned Jarred Hirschfield, Lyons, 1:34; Nathan Schmidt, Merino, pinned Garrett Neill, Holly, 2:49; David Brown, Sangre de Cristo, tech. fall Doug Dembowski, Rangely, 17-2; Tanner Kern, Cheyenne Wells, pinned Paul Campfield, Wray, 2:39; Tanner Ridgway, Paonia, pinned Cole Myers, Center, :23. 189 – Eric Vialpando, John Mall, dec. Drew Clay, Limon, 4-3; Stryker Lane, Nucla, pinned Nathan Chavez, Rocky Ford, 3:10; Dillon Davisson, Akron, pinned Brian Olomon, Custer County, 1:15; Chris Reynolds, Swink, pinned Barry Klotz, West Grand, 1:57; Shane Shaw, Baca County, dec. Shawn Custer, Paonia, 7-3; Travis Bowling, Lyons, pinned Carlos Lopez, Center, 5:14; Jeff Overton, Meeker, pinned Ryan O’Lear, Calhan, 1:05; Cody Arrick, Cripple Creek-Victor, dec. Steven Turecek, Byers, 10-5. 215 – Floyd Chavez, Center,
pinned Dennis Morgan, Soroco, 5:08; Josh Olsen, Calhan, tech. fall Brandon Gobel, Akron, 19-4; Tucker Lane, Nucla, pinned Matt Vial, Cripple Creek-Victor, :39; Jason Bowey, Merino, maj. dec. Ramiro Dominguez, Fowler, 15-7; Andy Schweiter, Rocky Ford, pinned Christian Hornung, Stratton, :28; Braiden Banks, Dove Creek, pinned Jeb Stoltzfus, Custer County, 4:35; Dex Cure, Wray, pinned John Griffen, Simla, 1:47; Korey Kennedy, Paonia, pinned Israel Armijo, John Mall, 2:15. Hwt. – Chris Kennedy, Paonia, bye; Tate Minton, Wray, dec. Ernie Rael, Centennial, 7-2; Brock Freidenberger, Rocky Ford, pinned Aaron Elliott, Mancos, 1:31; Brian Gobel, Akron, pinned Jesse Montoya, Dolores Huerta, :47; Bryan Crespin, John Mall, dec. Josh Stone, Fleming, 4-2; Cody Brunty, Nucla, dec. Josh Miller, Calhan, :59; Coby Amen, Merino, pinned Jeff Kessler, Custer County, :26; Don Powell, Dolores, pinned Quint Shaw, Baca County, 5:52.
