Regional wrestling preview
High school wrestlers will compete all over the state this weekend at regional tournaments to determine who will get their shot at glory during next weekend’s state championships at Ball Arena.
All seven local programs (five boys and two girls) will be a part of the action Friday and Saturday as they look to punch their tickets to the season’s finale in Denver. The top four placers in each weight class at each regional will qualify for state.
Here is a look at each regional that includes a local team:
Boys
Class 5A Region 1
Site: Horizon High School, Thornton
Teams: Loveland, Arvada West, Arapahoe, Boulder, Chatfield, Denver North, Denver South, Horizon, Mountain Range, Pomona, Poudre, Ralston Valley, Rock Canyon, Valor Christian, Vista Ridge.
What to know: This regional features the No. 1 team in the state (Pomona) and the No. 4 team (Chatfield), but the Red Wolves have several opportunities to advance to state. The leading candidates include Dominik Ortiz, who is ranked third in the region at 120 pounds. Ortiz finished fifth at state last year. Also for Loveland, Christian Carroll is ranked second in the region at 144s, Bryce Hayman is ranked third at 190s, and Brennan White is ranked fifth at 165s.
Class 4A Region 1
Site: Thompson Valley High School
Teams: Thompson Valley, Air Academy, Battle Mountain, Gateway, Hinkley, Littleton, Lutheran, Mesa Ridge, Pueblo Central, Pueblo County, Pueblo East, Pueblo South, Pueblo West, Westminster.
What to know: This regional features the No. 1 (Pueblo East) and No. 2 (Air Academy) teams in the state, but the host Eagles have several wrestlers capable of qualifying for state. Thompson Valley is ranked No. 9 in the state. Ty Eversman is ranked first in the region and third in the state at 144s. Wyatt Malara is ranked first in the region and first in the state at 165s. Anthony Castillo is ranked third in the region at 106s. Micah Keller is ranked third at 138s. Jackson Eversman is ranked second 150s and Landry Suarez is ranked second at 190s.
Class 4A Region 3
Site: Windsor High School
Teams: Mountain View, Aurora Central, Bear Creek, Cheyenne Mountain, George Washington, Golden, Longmont, Montbello, Montrose, Sand Creek, Skyline, Thomas Jefferson, Thornton, Windsor.
What to know: The highest-ranked team in this regional is Windsor at No. 7, and the Mountain Lions have a couple of wrestlers with opportunities to advance to state. Kael Kreutzer is ranked second in the region at 285s, while Connor Mann is ranked fourth at 215s.
Class 3A Region 1
Site: Eaton High School
Teams: Berthoud, Resurrection Christian, Bennett, The Classical Academy, Eaton, Estes Park, Fort Morgan, Liberty Common, Platte Valley, Sterling, Timnath, Weld Central, Wellington.
What to know: Four of the top 10 teams in the state are included in this regional, including No. 2 Eaton. Still, both Berthoud and Resurrection Christian have opportunities to get one or more wrestlers through to state. Resurrection Christian’s Samuel Stockton, the defending 3A state champion at 285s, is ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 1 in the state. Also for the Cougars, Josh Stockton is ranked second at 175s and Carter Gillespie is ranked fifth at 150s. For Berthoud, Donovan Farrell is ranked first in the region and first in the state at 215s, Jaxon Ficarra is ranked third at 175s, and Jonathan Miller is ranked fifth at 120s.
Girls
Class 5A Region 1
Site: Poudre High School, Fort Collins
Teams: Loveland, Broomfield, Coronado, Denver East, George Washington, Grand Junction Central, Heritage, Mead, Pine Creek, Poudre, Roosevelt, Standley Lake, ThunderRidge.
What to know: Two of the top 10 teams in the state are in this regional. Grand Junction Central, last year’s state champion, is No. 2, while Pine Creek is No. 9. Loveland, last year’s state runner-up, is ranked No. 15, however the Red Wolves have several opportunities to get wrestlers to state. Amiyah McGee is ranked first at 100s. Delaney Divine is ranked No. 1 at 105s and defending state champion Saydee Lussenhop is ranked No. 1 at 110s. Maddie Wilcken is ranked second at 125s, Alyssa White is ranked third at 140s, and Nora Lacey is ranked third at 155s.
Class 4A Region 1
Site: Yuma High School
Teams: Berthoud, Brush, Burlington, Canon City, Estes Park, Fort Lupton, Fort Morgan, Liberty Common, Liberty Joes, Platte Valley, Sedgwick County/Fleming, Severance, Sterling, University, Valley, Weld Central, Wheat Ridge, Wiggins, Wray, Yuma.
What to know: This regional features two of the top four teams in the state in No. 2 Sedgwick County/Fleming and No. 4 Severance, but Berthoud has a couple of wrestlers with strong chances to qualify for state. Julia Schnell, who was second at state last year as a freshman, is ranked first in the region at 120s. Nina Sing is ranked second at 115s.
