By some accounts, Jeff Brown, Nick Adams and Tommy George probably had no right being at the Pepsi Center on Thursday afternoon.
Nonetheless, the freshmen trio from Discovery Canyon (a school for students K-9) found themselves competing at the Class 2A state championships. And they fared pretty well.
It is just a small sign the first-year program is headed in the right direction.
While head coach Ron Sukle said his team had to focus more on the basics than most programs this season — 10 of his 14 wrestlers had never set foot on a mat — it was the challenge of building from the bottom up that intrigued him.
“It’s kind of why I took the job,” Sukle said. “It’s a unique opportunity.”
Discovery Canyon, which has just 118 students enrolled for this school year, plans to add 10th grade next year before moving toward a K-12 enrollment, Sukle said. But this season was all about providing the building blocks for the future.
“It’s been a pretty good experience,” said George, a 119-pounder who posted a 3-0 opening-round decision over Norwood’s Seth Gabardi. “It’s had its ups and downs.”
Thursday would be classified as one of those ups.
Besides George (28-7), Adams (28-3) also advanced to today’s second round with a 12-0 major decision over Rangely’s Ryan Petty at 112 pounds. And while Brown, a second-year wrestler, was pinned by Rocky Ford’s David Garcia late in the second period, just being at state was an invaluable experience.
The next step is to continue the growing process at home.
“To be a successful program you have to have a feeder system,” said Sukle, who will rely on middle schools to build his team. “We’re optimistic, hopeful for the future.”
After the first day, Grand Valley leads the team race with 34 points, followed by Wiggins at 23 while tournament-favorite Paonia is tied with Burlington for third with 20.
Returning champions Drew Richey (34-4, 112 pounds, Wray), Hugh Hardman (37-1, 140, Norwood) and Stryker Lane (16-0, 215, Norwood) were victorious.
The only other undefeated wrestler in the class, 112-pounder Justin Iacovetto (24-0) of Soroco, advanced with a 7-2 decision over Sedgwick’s Trevor Herrick.
Chris Curtice (16-17) of Paonia, one of 25 wrestlers to come in the 2A field with a losing record, scored one for the underdogs, taking a 6-5 decision of Todd Richardson (20-11)of Dolores Huerta at 103 pounds.
Class 2A | Preliminaries at Pepsi Center
Team scores – Grand Valley 34, Wiggins 23, Paonia 20, Burlington 20, Wray 16, Antonito 14, Holyoke 13 1/2, Merino 13 1/2, Rangley 13, Akron 13, Dove Creek 12, Norwood 12, John Mall 11 1/2, Dolores Huerta 11, Stratton 11, Eads 11, Soroco 10, Rocky Ford 10, Dolores 8, Hayden 8, Byers 8, Nucla 7, Hilltop Baptist 7, Crowley County 7, Center 6, Lyons 6, Fowler 6, Discovery Canyon 5, Del Norte 4, La Veta 4; Colorado D&B 4, Fleming 3 1/2, Manzanola 3, Las Animas 2, Simla 2.
103 pounds — David Garcia, Rocky Ford, pinned Jeff Brown, Discovery Canyon, 3:59; Keagan Arnold, Nucla, pinned, James Thompson, Cripple Creek, 2:46, Devan Hase, Merino, tech. fall Nick Hammes, Holly, 15-0; Cody Duran, Antonito, pinned Scott Armbruster, Hayden, 2:47; Chris Curtice, Paonia, dec. Todd Richardson, Dolores Huerta, 6-5; Andrew Murphy, Burlington, dec. Gabe Gonzales, Akron, 16-9; Devon Rose, Rangely, pinned Steven Velasquez, Center, 3:26; Cody Fry, Eads, dec. Brian Strong, Holyoke, 6-4.
112 — Steven DeHerrera, Center, dec. Angelo Gauna, Rocky Ford, 6-5; Nick Adams, Discovery Canyon, maj. dec. Ryan Petty, Rangely, 12-0; Edwin Cruz, Del Norte, pinned Cody Gordon, Burlington, 1:15; Drew Richey, Wray, pinned Jared Doll, Meeker, 4:25; Buddy Watson, Wiggins tech. fall Preston Bonine, Paonia, 18-2; Kevin Torres, Manzanola, maj. dec. Brendon Brown, Sargent, 14-2; Justin Iacovetto, Soroco, dec. Trevor Herrick, Sedgwick County, 7-2; Garrison Ortiz, Dolores Huerta, dec. Tyler Pelley, Kiowa, 8-2.
119 — Jerrod Busch, Grand Valley, dec. Eddie Urban, Wiggins, 10-3; Carlos Valverde, Dolores Huerta, dec. Grant Suto, Rocky Ford, 6-0; Chad Stroh, Holyoke, tech. fall Chad Bradbeer, Paonia, 16-0; James Hanson, Colo. D&B, pinned Ryan Martinez, Antonito, 1:53; Ethan Kinner, Hilltop Baptist, maj. dec. Kevin Sober, Crowley County, 15-2; Chase Chesterman, Merino, dec. Clint Sampson, Meeker, 8-4; Bon Kinder, Burlington, pinned Stuart Maldonado, John Mall, 1:40; Tommy George, Discovery Canyon, dec. Seth Gabardi, Norwood, 3-0.
125 — Levi Gonzales, Soroco, pinned Justin Korbelik, Burlington, 3:41; Dillon McCombs, Wiggins, pinned Jacob Segura, Dolores Huerta, 3:52; Brett Brunner, Dolores, pinned T.J. Hernandez, Crowley County, 3:17; Jon Duran, Antonito, dec. Justin Buena, Holyoke, 11-7; Chris Gebauer, Akron, pinned David Erlich, Sargent, :45; J.R. McDonald, Fowler, dec. Mark Bejarano, Paonia, 7-1; Clayton Archuleta, Antonito, tech. fall Blayne Richards, Sedgwick County, 16-1; James Drinkhouse, Grand Valley, pinned Aaron Hernandez, Rocky Ford, 3:02.
130 — Layne Crumley, Akron, pinned Kirt Achenbach, Custer County, 1:54; Ryan Gallegos, Grand Valley, pinned Bryan Hamacher, Simla, :50; Richie Bailey, Hilltop Baptist, pinned Josh Archer, Wray, 2:59; Lukas Wiggins, Paonia, dec. Steven Herrera, Rocky Ford, 8-7; Cameron Penny, Burlington, dec. Josh Sparks, Dove Creek, 8-6; Wyatt Barber, Merino, pinned Trent VanBibber, Sargent, 2:34; Ty Sickels, Nucla, pinned Tyler Fox, Eads, 3:54; Ryan Kirby, Byers, pinned Brian Aguirre, John Mall, 1:59.
135 — Javier Garcia, Wray, dec. Perry Forster, North Park, 6-5; Mason Smith, Rocky Ford, pinned Antonio Casias, Antonito, 3:49; Colten Huskey, Dove Creek, pinned Dallas McCombs, Wiggins, 1:56; Jonathan Aguirre, John Mall, pinned Colin Eberhart, Burlington, 3:55; Donnie White, Fowler, pinned Josh Walden, Custer County, 2:31; Jared Tonder, Grand Valley, pinned Harrison Johnson, Fleming, 3:31; Ron Ortivez, La Veta, pinned Mike Mullin, Simla, 2:22; Travis Witherell, Rangely, dec. Matt Swim, Byers, 6-2.
140 — Nick Smith, Meeker, pinned Stephen Kimbrel, La Veta, 3:43; Michael Hamacher, Simla, dec. Aaron Erker, Wiggins, 11-5; Hugh Hardman, Norwood, pinned Alex Sample, John Mall, :53; Jon Reid, Akron, dec. Chancy Taylor, Burlington, 5-3; Zach Goldsberry, Las Animas, dec. Mitchel Harryman, Merino, 5-0; Chris Beanland, Dove Creek, pinned Jose Luis Olivas, Center, 1:22; Tyler Eberhardt, Lyons, dec. Tyler Neel, Rocky Ford, 4-2; Matt Cain, Grand Valley, pinned German Chavez, Centennial, 2:42.
145 — Josh Prescott, Meeker, pinned Jack Herrell, Fowler, 5:41; Stephen Jackson, Wray, dec. Chance Cooley, Sargent, 8-1; Richard Mestas, Holly, pinned Ryan Cramer, Rangely, 5:13; Byron Davis, Stratton, maj. dec. Anthony Sheppard, Custer County, 10-2; Luke Garrett, Holyoke, maj. dec. Brock Yingling, Hilltop Baptist, 13-4; Mitch Doolin, Hayden, pinned James Dwyer, Cheyenne Wells, 2:21; Daniel Coffey, Lyons, pinned Matthew Ticas, Center, 1:58; Justin Smith, Paonia, dec. Matt Harmon, Rocky Ford, 7-5.
152 — Nick Segura, Dolores Huerta, dec. Jared Oestman, Wray, 10-3; Christian Holcomb, Rangely, maj. dec. Emery Crump, Rocky Ford, 14-1; Ozz Amen, Merino, pinned Brian Ruddle, South Park, 2:29; K.C. Martin, Paonia, pinned Mitchel Mueller, Swink, 1:39; Mikey Lozano, Holly, maj. dec. Eric Schell, West Grand, 9-0; Andrew Abeyta Antonito, pinned Adam Erker, Wiggins, 54; Tyler Miles, Grand Valley, pinned A.J. Allumbaugh, Crowley County, 1:51; Andy Taylor, Stratton, pinned Ben Peters, Custer County, 3:33.
160 — Austin Adamson, Eads, pinned Blaine DeHerrera, Dolores Huerta, 5:32; Francisco Delgadillo, Paonia, dec. Kendall Monasmith, Akron, 11-7; Brogan Walters, Crowley County, maj. dec. Adam Welsh, Center, 18-8; Josh Galloway, Dolores, pinned David Brachtenbach, Stratton, 3:20; Jake Schroeder, Wiggins, pinned Keane Raley, Rangely, 4:27; Adam Wallin, Burlington, pinned Vincent DuPont, Antonito, 3:13; Cody Miles, Grand Valley, pinned Matt Lenz, Wray, 2:39; Nick Jurney, Rocky Ford, dec. Aaron Garcia, Mountain Valley, 12-6.
171 — Devon Brown, Paonia, pinned Aaron Williams, Mountain Valley, :52; Jarod Stone, Fleming, tech. fall Seth Burnett, Baca County, 17-1; Mario Garcia, Dolores Huerta, pinned Ty Spangler, Nucla, 2:32; Benj Vigil, Akron, maj. dec. Tyler Lewis, Swink, 12-3; Tyler Davis, Wiggins, tech. fall Zac Garcia, Rocky Ford, 18-1; Tyler Harris, Grand Valley, pinned Cole Myers, Center, 1:54; Kevin Lindholm, Eads, maj. dec. Warren Braz, Wray, 10-0; Nick Halcomb, Rangely, pinned Jon Ortiz, John Mall, 1:26.
189 — Alonso Rodriguez, Dolores Huerta, maj. dec. Brennan Hottinger, Akron, 15-5; Dennis Morgan, Soroco, pinned Cory Ronas, Calhan, 1:37; Steven Turecek, Byers, pinned Paul Martinez, Mountain Valley, :36; Garrett Smith, Eads, dec. Ethan Alexander, Norwood, 5-1; Mike Satterly, Burlington pinned Jonathan Smith, Paonia, 3:06; Kohl Knutson, Wiggins, pinned Jordan Miranda, South Park, 2:52; Coy Letlow, Hayden, pinned Charlie Cruz, Crowley County, 1:57; Paul Campfield, Wray, pinned Nicholas Northup, La Veta, :47.
215 — Carlos Lopez, Center, pinned Adam Montoya, Fowler, :56; Braiden Banks, Dove Creek, pinned Reed Jablonski, Sedgwick County, 2:49; Isaiah Churchwell, Burlington, pinned James Smalley, La Veta, :37; Levi Garrett, Holyoke, maj. dec. Steven Falk, Nucla, 14-2; Christian Hornung, Stratton, pinned Coltin Ostermiller, Grand Valley, 1:31; Kord Benson, Holly, pinned Marcos Diaz, Sargent, 1:31; Stryker Lane, Norwood, pinned Tyson Urrutia, Merino, 1:15; Dylan Sisneros, Antonito, pinned Levi Beaver, Kiowa, 3:22.
Heavyweight — Kyle Pollock, Wiggins, pinned Bill Blankenship, Calhan, :37; Joe Joyner, Grand Valley, pinned Martin Diaz, Sargent, 2:54; Bill Gray, Crowley County, pinned Austin Lopeman, Limon, 2:30; Darrel Jensen, Norwood, pinned Chad Gatliff, Dolores Huerta, 2:27; Bryan Crespin, John Mall, pinned Kenny Westfall, North Park, 4:27; Colton Houghtelling, Holyoke, pinned Cory Roberts, Baca County, 1:33; John Hinton, Paonia, pinned Derric Franklin, La Veta, :29; Jeremy Lund, Wray, pinned Regi Mardril, Colo. D&B, 3:50.
