Since 1936, when it was first sanctioned, there really haven’t been that many upsets in prep wrestling. It’s that kind of a sport. But there was a significant stunner at the 80th Colorado tournament Saturday night at the Pepsi Center.
Jacob Greenwood, a 126-pound freshman at Poudre in Fort Collins, was the biggest surprise champion in any of the four classifications. He took down defending champion Ryan Deakin of Legacy in Broomfield 8-6 in overtime to win the Class 5A title and may have drawn the loudest reaction from a light crowd.
Greenwood, who said he dreamed of winning four titles back he was younger and his father would take him to the tournament, took the first step in a large way. He’s also Poudre’s first champion in a dozen years.
“It’s pretty great,” a surprisingly calm and collected Greenwood said. “Actually, last night’s (victory) was a little more exciting.”
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In Friday’s semifinals, he downed Broomfield’s Darek Huff, who would have faced Deakin for a fifth time this season. A year ago, on the way to the 113 title, Deakin downed Cherry Creek’s Matt Finesilver five times.
Greenwood also had lost 6-0 to Deakin, who was 91-1 coming into the match, in a Windsor dual tournament.
So will he be more excited Sunday morning?
“Possibly. Maybe,” he said.
Impalas coach Barrett Golyer almost couldn’t talk, but said of Greenwood: “The big thing was his heart. He kept coming.”
Deakin appeared in command, as usual, and led 6-0. However, Greenwood came alive, took control, tied it late in regulation, then won with a takedown 15 seconds into OT.
“This is great,” Greenwood said.
Elsewhere, Pomona made an early bid to unseat Arvada West as freshman Dayton Marvel (106), junior Tomas Gutierrez (113) and senior Travis Torres (120) won in succession.
Finesilver rebounded from last season to take a title with a major decision at 132, and Grand Junction’s Isaac Rider pinned Arvada West’s Bennie Pachello in 4:14 as the Wildcats struggled early and Jefferson County rival Pomona crept within 151.5-149.5.
However, at 152, defending 145 champion Payton Tawater made quick work of Rocky Mountain’s Roman Ortiz. Tawater pinned him in 1:21 and clinched a second consecutive team title for the Wildcats.
“It’s great,” coach Ron Granieri said. “But it gets harder every year.”
A-West had dropped its first three final matches, including at 145, where Rocky Mountain’s Danny Murphy pinned the ‘Cats’ Jimmy Rothwell.
But A-West’s heavier stars later capped the team victory.
Grand Junction’s Jacob Trujillo (45-0) walked away with his third championship. He made it back-to-back titles at 160 with a major decision and gave the Tigers their state-leading 68th individual championship.
And Pomona’s Deyaun Trueblood, a junior transfer from Gateway in Aurora, won his second title. In 2015, he won at 160. He nabbed this season’s 170 crown.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
Class 5A championship results
Team scores — 1. Arvada West 163.5 2. Pomona 153.5 3. Grand Junction 113.0 4. Pine Creek 87.5 5. Rocky Mountain 71.0 6. Fruita 60.0 7. Cherry Creek 54.0 8. Chaparral 52.5 9. Ponderosa 52.0 10. Legacy 51.0 11. Mountain Range 48.0 12. Coronado 44.5 13. Adams City 42.5 14. Northglenn 39.0 15. Poudre 36.0 16. Ralston Valley 32.5 17. Central G.j. 32.0 18. ThunderRidge 28.0 19. Douglas County 27.0 19. Grandview 27.0 21. Mountain Vista 23.0 22. Loveland 19.0 23. Horizon 18.0 23. Rangeview 18.0 23. Regis 18.0 26. Doherty 17.0 27. Lakewood 16.0 27. Legend 16.0 29. Broomfield 15.0 30. Lincoln 14.0 30. Monarch 14.0 32. Arapahoe 13.0 32. Liberty 13.0 34. Centaurus 12.0 35. Castle View 10.0 36. Aurora Central 9.0 36. Denver East 9.0 38. Brighton 8.0 38. Greeley West 8.0 40. Eaglecrest 7.0 40. Heritage 7.0 42. Hinkley 5.0 43. Cherokee Trail 4.0 43. Palmer 4.0 43. Thornton 4.0 46. Fairview 3.0 46. Ft. Collins 3.0 46. Prairie View 3.0 49. George Washington 2.0 50. Boulder 0.0 50. Chatfield 0.0 50. Ftn Ft. Carson 0.0 50. Gateway 0.0 50. Rampart 0.0 50. Rock Canyon 0.0 50. Smoky Hill 0.0.
106 pounds — Dayton Marvel, Pomona, 33-9, Fr. , dec. Hunter Matney, Ponderosa, 41-4, So., 3-2
113 Pounds — Tomas Gutierrez, Pomona, 43-5, Jr. dec. Cody Fatzinger, Arvada West, 38-7, So., 6-4.
120 Pounds — Travis Torres, Pomona, 40-1, Sr. maj. dec. Jackson Huffman, Horizon, 38-4, Jr., 10-2.
126 Pounds — Jacob Greenwood, Poudre, 37-4, Fr. dec. Ryan Deakin, Legacy, 46-2, Jr., 8-6 OT
132 Pound — Matt Finesilver, Cherry Creek, 47-3, Jr. maj. dec. Jason Romero, Pomona, 34-9, So., 11-2.
138 Pounds — Isaac Rider, Grand Junction, 45-5, Sr. pinned Bennie Pachello, Arvada West, 40-9, Sr., 4:14.
145 Pounds — Danny Murphy, Rocky Mountain, 32-1, Sr. pinned Jimmy Rothwell, Arvada West, 34-6, Sr., 4:28.
145 Pounds — Danny Murphy, Rocky Mountain, 32-1, Sr. pinned Jimmy Rothwell, Arvada West, 34-6, Sr., 4:28.
152 Pounds — Payton Tawater, Arvada West, 42-3, Sr., pinned Roman Ortiz, Rocky Mountain, Sr., 39-4, 1:21.
160 Pounds — Jacob Trujillo, Grand Junction, 45-0, Sr. maj. dec. Robert Gambrell, Douglas County, 43-9, Sr., 12-4.
170 Pounds — Deyaun Trueblood, Pomona, 37-8, Jr. dec. Taylor Bergquist, Arvada West, 45-5, Sr., 5-3.
182 Pounds — Konnor Schmidt, Rocky Mountain, 39-2, Sr. dec. Trenton Schultz, Mountain Vista, 40-6, So., 2-1.
195 Pounds — Jacob Seely, Fruita Monument, 42-0, Sr. tech. fall Matthew Stanley, ThunderRidge, 44-4, Sr., 16-0.
220 Pounds — Devin Rothrock, Arvada West, 30-0, Sr. pinned Tyler Zook, Grand Junction, 40-5, Sr., 1:10.
Heavyweight — Dane Drimmer, Chaparral, 43-4, Sr. dec. Taylor White, Pine Creek, 42-9, Sr., 5-4.
