Chad Terry has been thinking about last year’s one-point loss in the 103-pound finals of the 2A state wrestling tournament since it happened.
So imagine how the Hayden sophomore feels in the aftermath of his 7-6 loss to Alex Peña of Ignacio in the 119-pound semifinals Friday night at the Pepsi Center. Especially considering he was four points ahead with 10 seconds remaining.
Peña, who won the 112-pound championship as a freshman last year, scored a quick takedown and three back points in the closing seconds to advance.
“I feel for him (Terry). I don’t even know how to explain it right now,” Hayden head coach Ty Camilletti said. “He got caught. We needed to do something. We needed to handle that last 10 seconds different. He should’ve circled, stay away from the game. Not stay away, but wrestle smarter.”
Peña hit the same underhook takedown seconds earlier, but both wrestlers were out of bounds. Given a chance to do it again, Peña didn’t miss.
“You just never know,” Peña said of getting his second chance. “I guess you just have to lay it all out there.”
You could say the same thing for Wiggins as a team. The Tigers qualified six wrestlers into Friday’s semifinals, with all of them, including defending champions Kohl Knutson (171) and Tyler Davis (189), reaching the finals. That puts Wiggins in first place in the team standings with 137 points, 22 ahead of Burlington and within striking distance of an eighth team title and first since 2002.
“We’ve been riding these six all year long. They’ve had an outstanding season, outstanding tournament. We’ll take our chances tomorrow,” said Wiggins head coach Dave Croissard, who also has Buddy Watson (130), Dalton Marini (145), Aaron Erker (152) and Kyle Pollock (heavyweight) in tonight’s finals.
Four other returning state champions advanced to the finals, which will include a showdown at 160 pounds between defending champion Mike Lozano of Holly and Paonia’s Justin Smith, the 145-pound champion in 2008.
Joining Pollock as the only undefeated wrestler in the 2A finals is Treyben Letlow of Hayden at 215 pounds. He faces Burlington’s Mike Satterly, the 189-pound champion in 2008, for the championship.
Class 2A title matches
103 pounds — T-Lane Mazzola, Hayden, Fr. (29-8) vs. Ray Rodriguez, Rocky Ford, Soph. (37-9)
112 — Robert Darnell, Holly, Soph. (27-3) vs. Mark Edmonds, Holyoke, Soph. (28-2)
119 — Alex Pena, Ignacio, Soph. (25-2) vs. Waylon Cordova, John Mall, Sr. (32-7)
125 — Bon Kinder, Burlington, Sr. (36-2) vs. Andrew Scherrer, Simla, Sr. (34-6)
130 — Devon Rose, Rangely, Sr. (35-4) vs. Buddy Watson, Wiggins, Jr. (40-1)
135 — Chad Stroh, Holyoke, Sr. (30-1) vs. Ty Pfeiff, Crowley County, Soph. (22-4)
140 — James Drinkhouse, Paonia, Sr. (18-2) vs. Wyatt Barber, Merino, Sr. (29-1)
145 — Lane Crumley, Akron, Jr. (35-1) vs. Dalton Marini, Wiggins, Soph. (23-4)
152 — Travis Witherell, Rangely, Sr. (33-5) vs. Aaron Erker, Wiggins, Sr. (36-2)
160 — Justin Smith, Paonia, Sr. (37-4) vs. Mike Lozano, Holly, Jr. (37-2)
171 — Kohl Knutson, Wiggins, Sr. (24-6) vs. Tuff Gibson, Merino, Jr. (27-6)
189 — Tyler Davis, Wiggins, Sr. (34-1) vs. Justin Guynes, Dove Creek, Sr. (40-3)
215 — Mike Satterly, Burlington, Sr. (31-1) vs. Treyben Letlow, Hayden, Jr. (35-0)
285 — Kyle Pollock, Wiggins, Sr. (31-0) vs. Isaiah Churchwell, Burlington, Sr. (32-2)
