Seamus Waples is a name that’s going to stand out anywhere this side of Ireland.
The young man behind the name, however, probably doesn’t need the help anymore.
The 152-pound senior from Mullen improved to 36-1 this season with a 17-3 major decision over Windsor’s Justin Donahoo in the first round of the Class 4A state wrestling tournament Thursday night at the Pepsi Center.
Waples is a one of the favorites to win the weight class, which would be special, considering he first picked up the sport as a 103-pound freshman, when he was seventh on coach Vince Massey’s depth chart.
“I wanted to give it a shot, and then when everybody didn’t think I had a shot, it made me want to stay with it,” Waples said.
But what of all the losses and lack of mat time early on?
“I guess I spent four years trying to prove someone wrong,” he said with a grin that flashes so quick it’s probably involuntary.
On the surface, the wiry 6-footer isn’t in an unusual position, having his best season a year after placing sixth as a 130-pound junior. But that was Joey Waples, not Seamus, the birth name he decided was cool enough to go back to.
He will tell you about that just before he pulls out a knitted penguin cap he wears with grinning pride.
“He’s fun to have around,” said Massey, who credits Waples with his transformation through hard work and camps.
“In terms of going from nothing to where he’s gone, he’s probably tops coming out of Mullen,” Massey said. “Nobody has gone this far. We’ve had some kids make it to state and place, but we’ve never had kids that are just this good.”
Against Donahoo, Waples finally broke through a tough first period with a late five-point sequence. Wiggling out of Donahoo’s takedown attempt, Waples fell back onto the Windsor junior and spun around into an improvised single-leg cradle.
Waples was up 13-1 by the end of the second period and was narrowly denied a technical fall in the third.
Tech falls were on the menu for returning champion Cody Yohn of Alamosa, who won 15-0, and 4A’s lone undefeated grappler, Nick Navaratil of Moffat County, who won his 189-pound match 17-1.
Returning champions Dale Shull of Fort Lupton and teammate Saul Guerrero cruised through the first round, as did Broomfield’s David Marone and Alamosa two-time champion Sonny Yohn.
4A RESULTS
Preliminaries
At the Pepsi Center
Team scores – Alamosa 28, Broomfield 23 1/2, Northridge 21 1/2, Rifle 18, Moffat County 17 1/2, Pueblo West 16 1/2, Berthoud 15, Greeley Central 13 1/2, Thompson Valley 13, Fort Morgan 11, Windsor 11, Palisade 10, Englewood 9 1/2, Mountain View 9, Mullen 9, Cañon City 8, Cheyenne Mountain 8, Conifer 8, Eagle Valley 8, Pueblo South 7, Fort Lupton 6, Prairie View 6, Widefield 6, Pueblo East 5 1/2, Elizabeth 4, Greeley West 4, Harrison 4, Longmont 4, Montezuma-Cortez 4, Pueblo County 4, Rock Canyon 4, Pueblo Central 3 1/2, Sierra 3 1/2, Delta 2, Evergreen 2, Fountain-Fort Carson 2, Frederick 2, Golden 2, Ranum 2, Skyline 2, Steamboat Springs 2, Thomas Jefferson 2, Woodland Park 2.
103 pounds – Jesse Meis, Alamosa, tech. fall Jimmy Zahtila, Thompson Valley, 17-0; James Martinez, Rifle, pinned Jacob Mechlin, Niwot, 3:11; Jerry Huff, Broomfield, tech. fall Jaime Granillo, Pueblo Central, 17-1; Chad Strakbein, Eagle Valley, dec. Robbie Orban, Silver Creek, 9-1; Casey Lynn, Montezuma-Cortez, pinned Marcus Lucero, Berthoud, 2:43; Gilbert Garcia, Prairie View, dec. Joe Martinez, Ranum, 10-0; Francisco Diego, Fort Morgan, bye; Stephen Prejean, Widefield, dec. Andy Mares, Pueblo South, 5-4.
112 – Victor Sanchez, Pueblo West, pinned Wesley Shingleton, Palisade, 4:31; Brandyn Wahlert, Berthoud, pinned Dustin Brown, Cherokee Trail, 2:28; Derek Ruiz, Pueblo South, dec. Cory Vigil, Moffat County, 6-5; Zach Maes, Mullen, pinned Robert Pickrell, Northridge, 5:30; Gabe Gomez, Broomfield, pinned Jordan Wagner, Longmont, :37; Bryce Scumbiato, Pueblo County, pinned Clint Richardson, Montrose, 1:35; Dale Shull, Fort Lupton, pinned Corey Valle, Alameda, 2:25; Dalton Kelley, Alamosa, dec. Ritchie Mata, Ralston Valley, 11-4.
119 – Jeremy Aguero, Pueblo South, dec. James Fightmaster, Fossil Ridge, 10-0; Brice Boling, Moffat County, dec. Connor Haney, Mullen, 12-3; Vinnie Sanchez, Pueblo West, dec. Eric Zamora, Fort Lupton, 5-3; Nate Fisk, Conifer, pinned Tim Hellon, Widefield, :19; James Conrardy, Rifle, pinned Ryan Melorango, Ranum, 1:35; Graeden Saldo, Berthoud, dec. Donovan Troup, Cheyenne Mountain, 12-0; Gavin Garza, Elizabeth, dec. Josh McGirl, Thompson Valley, 9-8; Duell Kelley, Alamosa, dec. Blayne Walker, Fort Morgan, 12-2.
125 – James Rowell, Thompson Valley, dec. Andrew Wright, Montezuma-Cortez, 10-4; Brian Wilson, Prairie View, dec. Nick McCorkel, Northridge, 15-2; Jake Breslin, Moffat County, pinned Musie Ghebremeskel, South, 3:46; Nick Ludwig, Berthoud, pinned Chad Pompa, Pueblo South, :42; Mark Bement, Windsor, pinned Isaac Hernandez, Pueblo County, 6:13 OT; Cody Goldschmidt, Elizabeth, dec. Shea Bogardus, Mesa Ridge, 13-6; Jordan Garcia, Pueblo West, dec. Paul Alva, Sterling, 5-1; Ryan Trujillo, Broomfield, dec. Lucas Harvey, Palisade, 3-1.
130 – Kyle Holman, Alamosa, dec. Cody MacAnich, Broomfield, 13-1; Matt Kincheloe, Moffat County, dec. Riley Lindemann, Niwot, 16-7; Lawrence Lopez, Pueblo Central, tech. fall Matt Nordlander, Thomas Jefferson, 15-0; Saul Guerrero, Fort Lupton, dec. Justin Samora, Montezuma-Cortez, 9-4; James Harvey, Eagle Valley, dec. Michael Rangel, Greeley Central, 6-3; Logan Bunch, Cheyenne Mountain, pinned Steven Fischler, Widefield, 3:04; Samuel Soto, Fort Morgan, pinned Wes Okonzak, Golden, 4:36; Derek Smith, Mullen, dec. Kyle Newton, Pueblo West, 6-3.
135 – Eric Mortensen, Broomfield, dec. Brandon Newton, Pueblo West, 3-1; Scott Schaeffer, Greeley Central, tech. fall Kyle Davis, Palisade, 17-0; David Cordova, Sierra, tech. fall Nick Ehret, Mesa Ridge, 15-0; Curtis Martinez, Mountain View, dec. Jesse Johnson, Montezuma-Cortez, 12-11; Houston Mader, Steamboat Springs, dec. Jeff Lambert, Niwot, 5-4; Josh Lucero, Fountain-Fort Carson, dec. Jason Horne, Thompson Valley, 8-6; Justin Gonzales, Northridge, pinned Travis Stickney, Conifer, 2:45; Bryce Penn, Englewood, tech. fall Matt Mestas, Alamosa, 16-1.
140 – Brandon Bulhman, Rifle, dec. Josh Elder, Englewood, 8-4; Spenser Sadlo, Berthoud, pinned Ron Singer, Alamosa, 1:48; Cory Casady, Broomfield, dec. Sam Snyder, Montrose, 15-4; Drake Huggans, Northridge, pinned Mike Tovo, Fountain-Fort Carson, 1:19; Matt Basquez, Pueblo East, dec. Scott Soto, Fort Morgan, 5-1; Rhys Ackart, Woodland Park, dec. J.J. Winkler, Ralston Valley, 13-6; Rodney Hesse, Greeley Central, tech. fall Marc Guerrero, Pueblo West, 16-0; Jeff Phillips, Thompson Valley, pinned Levi Weber, Moffat County, 5:04.
145 – Mick Ramsey, Broomfield, dec. Angelo Giron, Fort Lupton, 5-1; Derek Fruetel, Rifle, dec. Steve Young, Pueblo West, 4-3; Easton Ramirez, Northridge, pinned Brady Evans, Widefield, 2:40; Justin Keys, Pueblo East, tech. fall Mike Vaggalis, Conifer, 16-1; Austin Stubaus, Cheyenne Mountain, pinned David Gallegos, Montrose, 1:44; Ryan Fountain, Frederick, dec. Jon Cheek, Liberty, 7-0; Donovan Archuleta, Alamosa, dec. Ty Tatman, Delta, 8-4; Esai Magdeleno, Greeley Central, dec. Joe Buena, Mesa Ridge, 10-2.
152 – Matt Chavez, Fort Morgan, dec. Sam Payne, Liberty, 17-6; Joey Gomez, Golden, dec. Thomas Garza, Mountain Range, 7-0; Seamus Waples, Mullen, dec. Justin Donahoo, Windsor, 17-3; Luke Laurita, Delta, dec. Delfino Martinez, Pueblo West, 7-1; Tim Long, Rifle, pinned Vince Contreras, Pueblo County, 3:24; Derek Vasquez, Northridge, dec. Jarrod Purvis, Mesa Ridge, 4-2; Chris McWhorter, Pueblo South, dec. Michael Dickinson, Montrose, 12-6; Kent Blackburn, Mountain View, dec. Daniel Jordan, Cherokee Trail, 10-2.
160 – Landon Barnes, Palisade, pinned Bruce Ries, Pueblo East, 1:24; Rudy Chavez, Fort Morgan, dec. Brandon Martz, Liberty, 3-2; Cody Yohn, Alamosa, tech. fall Abram Dennis, Rifle, 15-0; David Gossett, Skyline, dec. Sam VanHorn, Thompson Valley, 10-4; Jairin Potter, Englewood, dec. Jeremy Paz, Greeley Central, 4-3; Chris Gilman, Evergreen, dec. Sean McMullen, Cheyenne Mountain, 4-2; Patrick Gomez, Northridge, tech. fall Josiah Graham, Broomfield, 17-0; Dwight Miller, Pueblo West, dec. Adrian Gallegos, Montrose, 5-2.
171 – Brice Wolf, Greeley Central, pinned Tyler Rossow, Glenwood Springs, 3:37; Davi Martinez, Alamosa, pinned Charlie Kazee, Mesa Ridge, 3:47; Tyler Thompson, Rifle, dec. Joe Hochanadel, Fort Morgan, 4-3; Tony Cabello, Harrison, pinned Matt Carey, Ridge View Academy, 4:35; Johnny Ortega, Thompson Valley, pinned Daniel Suriani, Fountain-Fort Carson, :32; Steven Haddock, Longmont, pinned Tim Farlow, Palisade, 2:21; Mike Ross, Pueblo West, tech. fall Justin Williams, Englewood, 16-0; Trenton Duarte, Moffat County, pinned Terence Salazar, Northridge, 5:59.
189 – Nick Navaratil, Moffat County, tech. fall Brian Leistikow, Fossil Ridge, 17-1; Tony Chavarria, Pueblo West, dec. J.J. Velarde, Ridge View Academy, 15-5; Josh Larson, Windsor, dec. Brian Key, Rifle, 14-0; Kraig Reiter, Cañon City, pinned Fulton Crabtree, Widefield, 3:31; Sonny Yohn, Alamosa, pinned Cole Jackson, Liberty, 1:00; Brendan Best, Eagle Valley, dec. Josh Rangel, Greeley Central, 12-2; Mike Dellatto, Thompson Valley, dec. John Jackson, Cheyenne Mountain, 12-3; Aaron Wagler, Palisade, dec. Lance Mijares, Northridge, 16-13.
215 – Justin Waterman, Greeley West, pinned Cory Mast, Falcon, :40; Caleb Sisneros, Palisade, pinned Alfonzo Moore, Thomas Jefferson, 4:24; Martin Hughes, Rock Canyon, pinned Garrett Mullins, Windsor, 4:33; Tom Owsiany, Conifer, pinned Kevin Davis, Mesa Ridge, 3:22; David Marone, Broomfield, pinned Josh Satterwhite, Moffat County, 1:12; Rico Garcia, Cañon City, pinned Fabian Guerrero, Fort Lupton 4:44; Matt Fernandez, Englewood, pinned Stefan Morelli, Golden, 3:19; Blake Steiert, Mountain View, pinned Bo Martinez, Pueblo West, 4:49.
Hwt. – Nick Zissimos, Broomfield, dec. Matt Goldbach, Evergreen, 12-0; Kyle Graulus, Fort Morgan, dec. Brad Taillon, Fountain-Fort Carson, 4-2; Moises Alcala, Ranum, dec. Wes Owens, Palisade, 9-4; Darren Christopher, Windsor, pinned Jarret Martinez, Pueblo County, 1:56; Vicente Apodaca, Alamosa, dec. Alfonso Serna, Frederick, 10-0; Mike Hawkins, Thomas Jefferson, dec. Joe Zaba, Golden, 9-4; Tim Saucedo, Northridge, pinned Gerald Trujillo, Pueblo Centennial, 3:23; Brenden Loesel, Widefield, pinned David Hickson, Moffat County, 2:34.
