Denver Post staff writer Jon E. Yunt takes a look ahead at the action in high school sports:
WRESTLING REGIONALS
Class 5A
Region 1 at Eaglecrest appears to be the one to watch. Six-time team champion Ponderosa, with state champs Jake Snider and Daniel Kelly, appears to be on track for No. 7. Smoky Hill (Region 2), Legacy (Region 3) and Central (G.J.) (Region 4) serve as the other host sites.
In Grand Junction, the hosts’ Matthew Gurule is the defending 103-pound champ; Rocky Mountain’s Casey Norgard (171) is another returning state winner.
Class 4A
Northridge in Greeley, which would seem to fit in the Northern Region at Fossil Ridge, instead will travel to Elizabeth and compete in the Denver Region. Go figure. Four of the five returning state champs — Broomfield’s Gabe Gomez, Conifer’s Travis Himmelman, two-timer Dale Shull of Fort Lupton and Northridge’s Justin Gonzales — will be in Elizabeth. Another oddity: Defending 3A champion Roosevelt, led by two-time champ Dan Frank, will be in Montrose. The RoughRiders will be without 171-pound champion Nathan Heuer, who was diagnosed this week with a form of lymphoma.
Class 3A
Lamar’s 103-pound champion Josh Jaime and La Junta’s Kurtis Romero are familiar with each other. They will meet again at the Central Region in Peyton. Florence’s talented duo of Nate Halpin and Matt Addington will bring the Huskies to Centauri in the Southern Region. Gunnison and Brush serve as the other two hosts.
Class 2A
The Western Slope has been the hub of small-school wrestling. A team from the other side of the Continental Divide has won the title each of the last six seasons. Palisade will host the Western Region, which includes Norwood’s two- time state-winning tandem of Hugh Hardman and Stryker Lane. La Veta, Akron and CSU-Pueblo’s Massari Gym will be the other sites.
