Lafayette – Steven Haddock’s thoughts about his championship match didn’t do the drama much justice.
The 171-pound Longmont wrestler went into overtime against Paul Cabbage of Rio Rancho, N.M., gave up an escape and appeared gassed and done.
Then Haddock did something that would have made any of the Three Stooges proud. He pawed at Cabbage’s head and got him to duck just enough to execute a takedown en route to a dramatic 7-5 decision.
“I just tried to do my best,” Haddock said leaning against a wall at Centaurus High School. “It felt pretty good.”
Rio Rancho didn’t need the points in the end as it won the prestigious 29-team Top of the Rockies tournament, topping Class 5A defending state champion Ponderosa, which finished second.
Rio Rancho crowned two champions, as did Loveland and Broomfield. Alamosa put three at the top of the podium, led by two- time state champion Sonny Yohn.
Yohn won here for the second time in four tries with a 13-3 major decision over Legacy standout Nick Bauman. Yohn said it had been a while since he had gone the full six minutes and realized he still had some conditioning work to do before state.
“After a while you start expecting to win, that’s why it’s not so much of a shock,” said Yohn, a two-time state champion. “It will definitely make the ride home a lot easier.”
Cody Yohn survived a knock into a table to win the 160-pound weight class, and Jesse Meis got things started for the Mean Moose with a win at 103s.
Loveland was led by Tyler Graff, who was named the tournament’s outstanding wrestler for his win in the 130-pound final.
Graff, a two-time state champion and ranked No. 1 in the United States, handled Rio Rancho’s Max Ortega, a two-time state champion and No. 7 nationally, with a 17-3 major decision. Graff led 4-1 after the first period and was up comfortably 9-1 heading into the third.
Indians teammate Josh Kreimier won the highly competitive 112-pound weight class. Kreimier jumped out to a 9-0 lead on Ponderosa’s Steven Kelly but had it cut to 9-6 before he pulled out a 12-6 decision.
“I felt too comfortable in the first period,” Kreimier said. “I went out going after him with my best, and then I just kind of gave up and wanted the win – that’s all I wanted. I should have just got where my heart was and went all the way through it.”
The two pins in the final went to Broomfield’s Cory Casady (140 pounds) and Thornton’s Marcus Felker (heavyweight).
Casady led Arrupe Jesuit’s Lance Gallegos 9-8 with 31 seconds remaining before he nearly rolled into trouble. Casady kept his momentum and rolled Gallegos into danger and stuck him with four seconds left.
