Justin Gonzales laughed pretty well for a kid with the weight of west Greeley on his shoulders.
The junior from Northridge and his coaches had a sneaking suspicion the Class 4A state wrestling team title might come down to his 145-pound match Saturday at the Pepsi Center.
His opponent, Ryan Buck, was carrying the hopes of second-place Fort Morgan. While both wrestlers paced before their match, Buck scowled and Gonzales just laughed.
“That’s my style,” said Gonzales, who would defeat Buck 4-2 to avenge a loss in regionals and effectively clinch Northridge’s first team title in the program’s history. “You just got to relax and have fun with it. I thank my coaches for cutting jokes to keep me relaxed. I was stressing up here. By 125s I was pulling my hair out.”
Gonzales joined teammates Easton Ramirez, who scored a pin in 34 seconds, and two-time champion Tim Saucedo as individual champions as the Grizzlies scored 161 1/2 points to Fort Morgan’s 151.
Fort Morgan’s Matt Chavez scored perhaps the biggest upset with a 9-6 decision over returning champion Cory Casady of Broomfield in the 152s.
Two three-time champions were crowned, beginning with Fort Lupton senior Saul Guerrero, who needed overtime to defeat Greeley West freshman Nathanial Garcia for the 135 title. Guerrero, who became the fourth three-timer in school history, was awarded a stalling point with 10 seconds remaining to force overtime, where he scored a takedown.
“That shot was so scary,” said Guerrero, who watched teammate Dale Shull (125 pounds) win his second title.
Alamosa 171-pound senior Cody Yohn won his third title with aplomb as he scored an 18-2 technical fall on Northridge’s Derek Vasquez. Yohn joined his brother, Sonny, as a three-timer and will join him next season at Minnesota. Having Sonny sitting matside was extra special for Cody.
“Hands down. Having him in my corner, especially now that he’s a Minnesota wrestler and a big dog,” said Cody, who became the fifth three-timer at Alamosa and 49th individual champion.
Alamosa teammate Jesse Meis finally enjoyed the kind of celebration he envisioned after another dominating victory in the 103 weight class. Meis, a senior who joins brothers Brandon and D.J. as Mean Moose champions, won his second state title a year after enduring a nightmare.
Meis thought he earned a technical fall in the final last year, relaxed and was stuck on his back before things were straightened out. On Saturday, Meis, who wrestled at 112 until late in the season, was masterful in scoring a 10-0 major decision over Broomfield junior Jerry Huff.
“It feels a lot better this year,” Meis said.
Pueblo West senior Tony Chavarria, a standout on the Cyclones championship football team, capped a 29-0 season with a 6-4 overtime victory over Liberty’s Brandon Martz in the 189 final.
Class 4A
Team scores — Northridge 161 1/2, Fort Morgan 151, Alamosa 114, Broomfield 105 1/2, Berthoud 90 1/2, Greeley Central 70 1/2, Fort Lupton 69 1/2, Pueblo West 67, Montezuma-Cortez 56, Thompson Valley 54, Pueblo South 52 1/2, Delta 50, Longmont 49, Conifer 44 1/2, Greeley West 44, Palisade 35, Ridge View Academy 31, Rifle 29, Prairie View 28, Englewood 27, Thomas Jefferson 23, Elizabeth 21 1/2, Liberty 20, Mesa Ridge 19, Widefield 18, Pueblo Centennial 17, Fountain-Fort Carson 16 1/2, Pueblo Central 15, Glenwood Springs 14, Silver Creek 13 1/2, Moffat County 13, Mountain View 10, Steamboat Springs 10, Fossil Ridge 9, Ranum 9, Cañon City 7, Montrose 7, Rock Canyon 6, Windsor 6, Falcon 5 1/2, Mullen 5, Mountain Range 4 1/2, Cherokee Trail 2, Frederick 2, Pueblo County 2, Sierra 2, Cheyenne Mountain 1, Niwot 1, Skyview 1.
103 pounds — Jesse Meis, Alamosa, Sr. (42-2), maj. dec. Jerry Huff, Broomfield, Jr. (27-3), 10-0.
112 — Gabe Gomez, Broomfield, Jr. (34-11), dec. Joseph Martinez, Greeley West, Jr. (36-6), 11-9.
119 — Travis Himmelman, Conifer, Fr. (44-5), dec. Vinnie Sanchez, Pueblo West, So. (35-6), 3-0.
125 — Dale Shull, Fort Lupton, Jr. (42-3), pinned Brandyn Wahlert, Berthoud, Jr. (38-3), 1:42.
130 — Nick Ludwig, Berthoud, Sr. (39-3), pinned Sam Soto, Fort Morgan, Sr. (27-4), 5:59.
135 — Saul Guerrero, Fort Lupton, Sr. (39-3), dec. Nathanial Garcia, Greeley West, Fr. (44-2), 5-1, OT.
140 — Easton Ramirez, Northridge, Sr. (37-4), pinned Justin Samora, Montezuma-Cortez, Jr. (38-2), :34.
145 — Justin Gonzales, Northridge, Jr. (39-3), dec. Ryan Buck, Fort Morgan, Sr. (26-2), 4-2.
152 — Matt Chavez, Fort Morgan, Sr. (26-3), dec. Cory Casady, Broomfield, Sr. (36-4), 9-6.
160 — Johnny Ortega, Thompson Valley, Sr. (39-1), dec. Patrick Gomez, Northridge, Jr. (38-5), 11-5.
171 — Cody Yohn, Alamosa, Sr. (42-1), tech. fall Derek Vasquez, Northridge, Sr. (37-12), 18-2.
189 — Tony Chavarria, Pueblo West, Sr. (29-0), dec. Brandon Martz, Liberty, Sr. (15-8), 6-4, OT.
215 — Joe Hochanadel, Fort Morgan, Jr. (40-3), dec. Justin Williams, Englewood, Jr. (34-6), 5-4.
Heavyweight — Tim Saucedo, Northridge, Sr. (40-1), dec. Bob Switzer, Longmont, Sr. (33-7), 6-1.
