The Japanese writing tattooed on each of Steven Vigil’s elbows says a lot about the life of the Ridge View Academy senior.
Love on the right. Hate on the left.
“Because there are people that I love and people that I hate,” Vigil said, a bit sheepishly.
Perhaps they speak better of Vigil’s past, which included a state championship as a 103-pound freshman at Rocky Ford before he brushed too many times with the law and was sentenced to Ridge View, a juvenile facility in Watkins.
“It’s normal, really, but in the back of my head it’s like, ‘I get another chance,’ so I’m going to take advantage of it,” Vigil said Thursday after he pinned Mountain Range sophomore Trevor Brumley in 1 minute, 36 seconds in the first round of the Class 4A state tournament.
Vigil still wears his Rocky Ford headgear and “still bleeds red and gold,” according to his father, Steve Vigil.
Weekend passes allow Steven to visit his family. Ridge View, which is a charter school run by DPS, houses anywhere up to 500 kids who have been appointed by the state. They go through a boot camp, run 12 miles a week and get a chance to straighten things out.
“We don’t take violent offenders, we don’t take sexual offenders, but we do take repeat offenders,” Rams coach Mel Oliveros said.
Also representing the Rams is 215-pound senior JJ Velarde, formally of Chaparral, who pinned favored Palisade junior Caleb Sisneros.
“There’s not a day goes by that I’m not mad at myself for the things I did,” Velarde said. “To be able to be here, in my environment, in my domain, with the people I know and love, it’s just awesome.”
Nine of the 10 returning champions prevailed, and 103-pound Conifer freshman Tony Peña improved to 39-0 by pinning Alex Abreu of Rock Canyon.
The crowded 135-pound bracket thinned out one of its three returning champions when Pueblo South junior Jeremy Aguero lost an 8-6 decision to Fossil Ridge senior Nathan Lecher.
Lecher tied the score 6-6 with an escape late in the third period and then pounced with less than 10 seconds remaining when Aguero went for a takedown. Lecher shrugged off Aguero’s high attempt and grabbed the legs of last year’s 119-pound champion in time for the victory.
“I was hoping to come in without (facing a returning champion), but it’s nice to get him out of the way and keep going,” Lecher said. “I got a couple more.”
If things go perfectly, Lecher would only have to face one more returning champion, as Greeley Central’s Scott Schaeffer and Fort Lupton’s Saul Guerrero are in the upper bracket.
Class 4A | Preliminaries at Pepsi Center
Team scores — Fort Morgan 32 1/2; Broomfield 24 1/2; Northridge 22 1/2; Alamosa 17; Berthoud 15 1/2; Greeley Central 14; Montezuma-Cortez 14; Thompson Valley 14; Delta 13; Pueblo West 13; Palisade 12; Fort Lupton 10; Longmont 10; Greeley West 9; Widefield 9; Mountain View 8; Rideview Academy 8; Thomas Jefferson 8; Elizabeth 7 1/2; Mesa Ridge 7; Conifer 6; Englewood 6; Pueblo Central 6; Pueblo South 6; Pueblo Centennial 5; Glenwood Springs 4; Liberty 4; Mullen 4; Prairie View 4; Ranum 4; Rifle 4; Windsor 4; Fountain-Fort Carson 3 1/2; Silver Creek 3 1/2; Canon City 2; Cherokee Trail 2; Frederick 2; Pueblo County 2; Steamboat Springs 2.
103 pounds — Jesse Meis, Alamosa maj. dec. Larry Schmuesser, Rifle, 19-5; Garrett Vasquez, Mountain View fall Eric Aguilar, Ranum, 1:21; Tony Pena, Conifer fall Alex Abreu, Rock Canyon, 3:31; Robbie Workman, Berthoud dec. Tanner Taylor, Thompson Valley, 2-1; Jerry Huff, Broomfield fall Anthony Deleon, Fort Lupton, 2:48; Alex Baca, Pueblo Central dec. Casey Thornton, Palisade, 8-6; Francisco, Diego, Fort Morgan fall Mike Velasquez, Abraham Lincoln, 1:19; Casey Lynn, Montezuma-Cortez fall Timothy Urenda, Pueblo South, 5:45.
112 — Gilbert Garcia, Prairie View fall Alex Sadlo, Berthoud, 3:37; Stephen Prejean, Widefield fall Clinton Richards, Montrose, 6:32; Joseph Martinez, Greeley West fall Andy Mares, Pueblo South, 4:59; Aaron Lujan, Delta dec. Evan Duran, Thomas Jefferson, 10-5; Kole Chadwick, Montezuma-Cortez fall Derek Gonzales, Westminster, 2:54; Abrum Griego, Pueblo Centennial dec. Elias Garcia, Skyview, 6-3; Gabe Gomez, Broomfield tech fall Chad Strakbein, Eagle Valley, 15-0; Aaron Aragon, Pueblo Central fall Chuy Melendez, Northridge, 1:49.
119 — Graeden Sadlo, Berthoud tech fall Robert Prejean, Widefield, 18-0; Bryce Sciumbato, Pueblo County dec. Cory Vigil, Moffat County, 10-3; Cortland Hacker, Broomfield dec. Mathew Ornelas, Fort Lupton, 13-6; Vinnie Sanchez, Pueblo West maj. dec. James Martinez, Rifle, 8-0; Travis Himmelman, Conifer dec. Derrick Ruiz, Pueblo South, 4-2; Matt Francis, Thomas Jefferson fall Antonio Alarid, Fossil Ridge, 4:55; Dalton Kelley, Alamosa dec. Jesse Blakely, Montezuma-Cortez, 11-9; Jimmy Zahtilla, Thompson Valley dec. Caleb Downs, Frederick, 10-5.
125 — Jordan Wagner, Longmont dec. Josh McGirl, Thompson Valley, 6-4; Clint Ross, Pueblo County fall Nate Fisk, Conifer, 1:14; Dale Shull, Fort Lupton fall Gabe Guerrero, Ranum, 1:14; Michael Baumann, Palisade maj. dec. Cameron Apodaca, Mountain Range, 15-6; Chad Pompa, Pueblo South maj. dec. Charlie Griffith, Moffat County, 11-3; Brandyn Wahlert, Berthoud fall Alex Groditski, Thomas Jefferson, 4:51; Gavin Garza, Elizabeth dec. Domingo Abraham, Pueblo Centennial, 7-5; Blayne Walker, Fort Morgan dec. T.J. Sarcomo, Widefield, 8-6.
130 — Michael Rangel, Greeley Central dec. Cody Goldschmidt, Elizabeth, 12-7, OT; Duell Kelley, Alamosa tech fall Matt Norlander, Thomas Jefferson, 17-2; Sam Soto, Fort Morgan maj. dec. Lucas Harvey, Palisade, 17-5; Jordan Gutierrez, Broomfield dec. Carlos Cruz, Sierra, 14-7; Jordan Garcia, Pueblo West fall Keontae Julien, Mesa Ridge, 4:29; Drake Smith, Montezuma-Cortez dec. Robert Pickerell, Northridge, 10-3; Steven Vigil, Ridge View Academy fall Trevor Brumley, Mountain Range, 1:36; Nick Ludwig, Berthoud fall Colby Kluesner, Conifer, 3:32.
135 — James Conrardy, Rifle fall Joaquin Marquez, Ranum, 1:22; Scott Schaeffer, Greeley Central fall Zack Roscoe, Falcon, 1:23; Ryan Neilson, Elizabeth tech fall Shea Bogardus, Mesa Ridge, 21-4; Saul Guerrero, Fort Lupton fall Brian Wilson, Prairie View, 1:24; Nathan Lecher, Fossil Ridge dec. Jeremy Aguero, Pueblo South, 8-6; Ben Yohe, Thompson Valley dec. Matt Hutton, Ralston Valley, 10-3; Nathanial Garcia, Greeley West dec. Lawrence Lopez, Pueblo Central, 5-2; Ryan Trujillo, Broomfield dec. Wesley Shingleton, Palisade, 5-2.
140 — Justin Samora, Montezuma-Cortez fall Andres Pacheco, Pueblo Central, 1:49; Rodney Heese, Greeley Central maj. dec. Mick Ramsey, Broomfield, 12-1; Kyle Holman, Alamosa maj. dec. Matt Kincheloe, Moffat County, 18-7; Scott Soto, Fort Morgan fall Chad Myers, Liberty, 4:49; Nick Ehret, Mesa Ridge maj. dec. Braydon Zink, Sterling, 12-2; Tyler Gieck, Delta fall Brad Newton, Pueblo West, 1:34; Easton Ramirez, Northridge fall Josh Ruby, Widefield, 2:39; Houston Mader, Steamboat Springs dec. Jose Cos, Falcon, 4-3.
145 — Ryan Buck, Fort Morgan fall Troy Vernon, Moffat County, :17; Jeff Phillips, Thompson Valley dec. Ron Singer, Alamosa, 7-1; Kyle Davis, Palisade dec. Justin Donahoo, Windsor, 12-7; Bryce Penn, Englewood dec. Roman Aragon, Pueblo Central, 7-3; Eric Mortenson, Broomfield maj. dec. Kenneth Quaranta, Cheyenne Mtn., 8-0; Justin Gonzales, Northridge fall Cade Garrison, Montrose, 5:56; David Shawcroft, Pueblo South maj. dec. Antony McKain, Ranum, 13-2; Ryan Fountain, Frederick dec. Trent Stickney, Conifer, 10-4.
152 — Matt Chavez, Fort Morgan fall Anthony Baidoo, Sierra, 3:20; Brady Evans, Widefield dec. Mike Vaggilus, Conifer, 8-6; Dylan Contreras, Greeley Central dec. Thomas Garza, Mountain Range, 4-3; Tanner Barnes, Palisade maj. dec. Josh Elder, Englewood, 10-0; Cory Casady, Broomfield fall Trent Book, Eagle County, 1:30; Jake Schabinger, Berthoud dec. Dominic Gaitan, Alamosa, 10-6; Daniel Jordan, Cherokee Trail dec. Sam Snyder, Montrose, 4-2; Drake Huggams, Northridge fall Dwight Miller, Pueblo West, 4:26.
160 — Johnny Ortega, Thompson Valley fall Justin McMahon, Mountain Range, 1:45; Rudy Chavez, Fort Morgan fall Lance Tsosie, Glenwood Springs, 3:19; Taylor Barnett, Alamosa tech fall Matt Burton, Englewood, 16-0; Danny Robinson, Silver Creek tech fall Abram Dennis, Rifle, 22-6; Luke Laurita, Delta maj. dec. Tom Eachus, Fossil Ridge, 13-0; Antonio Andrini, Pueblo Centennial maj. dec. Chris Salazar, Thomas Jefferson, 17-5; Patrick Gomez, Northridge tech fall Braxton Franz, Montrose, 18-2; Josh Vantine, Broomfield dec. Bo Martinez, Pueblo West, 4-1.
171 — Devin Hightower, Widefield maj. dec. Jesse Brown, Falcon, 12-0; Tyler Rossow, Glenwood Springs fall Brian Leistikow, Fossil Ridge, 5:03; Cody Yohn, Alamosa received a bye; Brice Wolf, Greeley Central maj. dec. Jordan Passehl, Montrose, 13-2; Zach Fischer, Elizabeth dec. Nathan Ornelas, Fort Lupton, 6-4; Mike Ross, Pueblo West dec. Josiah Graham, Broomfield, 3-2; Derek Vasquez, Northridge maj. dxec. Ty Tatman, Delta, 14-5; Sam VanHorn, Thompson Valley dec. Andre Andrini, Pueblo Centennial, 9-3.
189 — Tony Chavarria, Pueblo West fall Austin Shipley, Mesa Ridge, :50; Kohl Martin, Windsor fall Nick Croissant, Glenwood Springs, 1:26; Mike Dellatto, Thompson Valley dec. John Jackson, Cheyenne Mountain, 4-0; Ryker Haddock, Longmont fall Clancy Garoutte, Montrose, 4:46; Aaron Wagler, Palisade fall Paco Retana, Niwot, 5:20; Daniel Suriani, Ftn.-Ft. Carson tech fall Zach Eckman, Broomfield, 16-0; Justin Waterman, Greeley West maj. dec. Brian Key, Rifle, 10-0; Brandon Martz, Liberty fall Jake Eggett, Rock Canyon, 3:44.
285 — Moises Alcala, Ranum fall McCabel Ayres, Montezuma-Cortez, :45; Kyle Graulus, Fort Morgan fall Mellus Carney, Ftn.-Ft. Carson, 3:40; Joe Carroll, Mullen fall Greg Orosz, Glenwood Springs, 2:32; Bob Switzer, Longmont fall Jarrett Martinez, Pueblo County, 2:51; Vincente Apodaca, Alamosa dec. Jared Wikre, Berthoud, 4-3; Kevin Davis, Mesa Ridge fall Dallas Daniels, :50; Tim Saucedo, Northridge fall Ben Angel, Falcon, 4:49; Michael Hawkins, Thomas Jefferson fall Brandon Franklin, Montrose, 1:12.
