NIWOT — Alex Klopp’s right arm probably feels about 4 inches longer than his left now.
And for good reason. The Yuma sophomore had it seemingly ripped off Saturday in his 112-pound final at the Boulder Valley Invitational against Frederick’s Mike Ashton.
In a sport in which pain is a quiet companion, Klopp yelled out several times as Ashton stretched the arm over Klopp’s head. The match was stopped as he was attended to trailing 3-0 in the second period.
With his arm hanging like spaghetti, Klopp rallied with a takedown in the final 20 seconds for a 7-5 victory.
“Toughest sport out there,” Klopp said pragmatically.
He certainly knows, and is enjoying being a relative unknown since he wrestled in Wyoming last year. But Klopp went 36-6 at Lander Valley, won the 103-pound state title and aims to be like his older brothers, both multiple state placers and one a two-time state champion.
Klopp and Nick Lovell gave the Indians two weight winners at Niwot High School, but the team race was won by Silver Creek, which topped the 15-team field with 207 points despite going 0-5 in the finals.
Frederick placed second with 154 points, but got the most from its 10 wrestlers and went 4-1 in the finals. Caleb Downs, Zach Champlin, Tyler Parker and returning state placer Josh Martinez won their weights for the Warriors.
Parker won here for the third time by scoring a 16-4 major decision over Erie’s Clay Bunker in the 140-pound final.
“I’ve never been a pinner,” Parker said. “Usually I get tech falls . . . takedowns is my thing.”
The most anticipated finals came at 189 and 215 pounds.
At 189 it was Boulder’s Max Wessell, ranked No. 1 in Class 5A, facing Niwot’s Paco Retana, ranked No. 2 in 4A, for the third time this season. The cautious start by both wrestlers fell apart in the final 19 seconds of the first period. Wessell released Retana to start the third period, putting himself down 9-8, but he scored a takedown and near fall to win 13-10.
“It’s just as hard every time because he’s so unpredictable,” Wessell said. “You don’t know what to do (and) you can’t really develop a game plan. All you can do is wrestle really smart against a guy like that because he’s really unorthodox.”
At 215, Eaton’s Bryce Kammerzell won a 7-3 decision over Niwot’s Jacob Arellano.
The night began with perhaps the best pin of the finals, as Boulder sophomore Babalu Jones stuck Silver Creek’s Danny Bishop in 5 minutes, 34 seconds. Jones, who was 5 when adopted from India, caught Bishop high on his back and turned it into victory.
“I grabbed something, and somehow I got the arm and the leg and he’s stuck there,” Jones said. “Don’t even know how it happened.”
BOULDER VALLEY INVITATIONAL
Team scores — Silver Creek 207, Frederick 154, Boulder 142, Fairview 138, Monarch 133, Niwot 131 1/2, Yuma 125, Smoky Hill 110, Holy Family 105, Erie 90 1/2, Eaton 46 1/2, Golden 45, Estes Park 41, Lyons 41, Platte Valley 38, Nederland 4.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES
103 pounds — Babalu Jones, Boulder, pinned Danny Bishop, Silver Creek, 5:34; 112 — Alex Klopp, Yuma, dec. Mike Ashton, Frederick, 7-5; 119 — Caleb Downs, Frederick, pinned Connor Murtha, Boulder, 3:10; 125 — Quinn McGehan, Fairview, pinned Brandon Knudson, Silver Creek, 5:25; 130 — Nick Stager, Niwot, dec. C.T. Robinson, Silver Creek, 3-2; 135 — Zach Champlin, Frederick, dec. Justin Nemmers, Silver Creek, 8-2; 140 — Tyler Parker, Frederick, maj. dec. Clay Bunker, Erie, 16-4; 145 — Jordan Smith, Platte Valley, dec. Cameron Jabbari, Boulder, 6-0; 152 — Josh Martinez, Frederick, tech. fall John Sandoval, Holy Family, 15-0; 160 — Ryan Valadez, Lyons, dec. Teller Junak, Monarch, 7-4; 171 — Nick Lovell, Yuma, dec. Caleb Thompson, Silver Creek, 8-5; 189 — Max Wessell, Boulder, dec. Paco Retana, Niwot, 13-10; 215 — Bryce Kammerzell, Eaton, dec. Jacob Arellano, Niwot, 7-3; Hwt. — Kirk Owens, Smoky Hill, dec. Dakota Gulley, Golden, 3-2.
THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
103 pounds — William Casey, Estes Park, dec. Tyler Ashton, Frederick, 7-5, OT; 112 — Chris Chavez, Fairview, pinned Jake Burke, Erie, :20; 119 — Michael Chavez, Fairview, pinned Casey Crescentini, Erie, 4:18; 125 — Jared Ferrera, Monarch, dec. Jon Sidhu, Smoky Hill, 8-6; 130 — Jordan Sprouse, Yuma, def. Caleb Bowman, Fairview, by forfeit; 135 — Travis Arnold, Fairview, dec. Michael Luca, Holy Family, 8-3; 140 — Colt Robinson, Silver Creek, pinned Joe Tucker, Monarch, :51; 145 — Joey Valenzuela, Silver Creek, def. Cory Mowbray, Smoky Hill, by forfeit; 152 — Austin Banks, Erie, pinned Jon Korf, Yuma, 2:02; 160 — Double forfeit (Rob Lopez, Niwot; King Medlin, Holy Family); 171 — Wes Snyder, Monarch, dec. Dylan Turley-Rule, Boulder, 8-6, OT; 189 — Jefry Nunez , Smoky Hill, dec. Mike Hattel, Monarch, 8-6, OT; 215 — Ben Bechard, Silver Creek, pinned Joe Tyo, Monarch, :28; Hwt. — Landon Nolting, Niwot, pinned Victor Caranza, Boulder, 4:46.
