ALAMOSA – A total of 35 wrestlers from the San Luis Valley have qualified for their respective state tournaments in tournament action this past weekend.
The State Tournament takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver.
Class 3A Region 2
Alamosa won the Class 3A Region 2 Tournament which took place in Glenwood Springs. The Mean Moose scored 204 points, which was five points better than second-place Moffat County.
Alamosa qualified nine wrestlers for state, which included five regional finalists. Dempsey Gibbs (120) and Kyler Liddell (150) were both champions, while Jeremiah DeLaCerda (106), Dyson Woodward (132) and Donovan Valdez (144) were all second.
The remaining Mean Moose qualifiers were Dario Valdez who was third at 126, James Sanchez who was third at 285, Anthony Griego who was fourth at 113, and Sage Rockcastle who was fourth at 138. Rockcastle had to win a wrestle-back to qualify.
Class 3A Region 4
Centauri finished third in the Class 3A Region 4 Tournament which occurred at the Classical Academy in Colorado Springs. The Falcons scored 165 points behind Brush with 240 ½ and Pueblo Central with 213.
Six Falcons qualified for state including five finalists. Matthew Salazar (106), Josh Polkwoske (165) and Erik Mestas (175) all won championships, and Aundree Chavez (113) and Riley Valdez (120) were both runners-up.
The remaining qualifier was Parker Buhr who was fourth at 138.
One more Centauri wrestler, Ivan Lopez (144) lost in a wrestle-back.
Class 2A Region 3
Monte Vista placed fourth at the Class 2A Region 3 Tournament which was at Otero College’s McDivitt Center in La Junta. The Pirates scored 134 points, which was behind Buena Vista with 199, Rocky Ford with 198 ½ and Trinidad with 148 ½.
Monte Vista had seven qualifiers including four finalists, all of whom placed second. The list includes Damian Lopez (126), DeAngelo Archuleta (138), Jeremiah Baumgardner (157), Jaxon Martinez (175) and Matthew Wright (285).
The remaining qualifiers were Kevin Cisneros, who was third at 132, and Jacob Pacheco who was fourth at 150.
Sargent placed eighth with 78 ½ points. The Farmers had two qualifiers in Garrett Thompson who was second at 144 and Trenton Lovelace who was second at 215.
Sierra Grande/Centennial was 10th with 35 points. The Panthers had one qualifier in Reyin Goudace who was fourth at 285.
They almost had a second qualifier, however, Garrick Pettigrew (106) lost a wrestle-back.
Del Norte finished 11th with 32 points and it had two qualifiers. Going to state for the Tigers are Paul Neal who was fourth at 144, and Wyatte McLehaney who was fourth at 190.
Antonito and Mountain Valley had no qualifiers. The Trojans finished 12th with 16 points, and the Wolves were 13th with 11.
Class 2A Region 4
Center finished third at the Class 2A Region 4 Tournament in Rye. The Vikings scored 165 ½ points placing behind Cedaredge with 266 and Highland with 175 ½.
Center qualified six wrestlers including four finalists. Aaron Valadez won the 144-pound championship and Martin Palma won the 157-pound championship, while Jordan Duran (106) and Jesus Valadez (165) were both second.
The remaining qualifiers included Lorenzo Trujillo who was third at 138, Devin Thompson who was third at 175 and Francisco Villa who was fourth at 113.
Girls Region 4
The Alamosa girls wrestling team finished 11th at the Region 4 Tournament at Battle Mountain High School in Edwards. The Lady Mean Moose scored 35 points.
Sarah DeLaCerda was the only local girl state qualifier as she finished second at 110 pounds.
