Undefeated guys to watch
Greenwood goes for four-peat
Poudre’s Jacob Greenwood is on the cusp of becoming the 21st wrestler in Colorado high school history to win four state titles, and the first from Fort Collins to do so. The senior is 31-3 and is the top-ranked wrestler in the 5A 145-pound bracket; brother Job (37-5 at 132) and cousin Brody Lamb (40-3 at 138) are also capable of deep tournament runs.
Pomona, Grand Junction title chase
Pomona and Grand Junction, the programs that have been billed as the 5A team title front-runners since the preseason, both lived up to those expectations and may keep the crowd on the edge of its seat well into Saturday night. According to On The Mat wrestling guru Tim Yount, the two-time defending Panthers from Arvada are projected for a half-point win over the Tigers. While having a blemish on your record isn’t necessarily a bad thing — many of the state’s top wrestlers took losses at premier in- and outof-state tournaments — there’s always a little something extra on the line when an undefeated season is up for grabs. According to CHSAA assistant commissioner Bert Bergmann, heading into the tournament there are two perfect wrestlers in 2A (Dahlton McGhee, Fowler; Sky Carlson, Soroco), three in 3A (Anthony Quintana, Buena Vista; Jaziah Whaley, Valley; Logan Church, Delta), three in 4A (Dominick Serrano, Windsor; Andrew Alirez, Greeley Central; Jacob Williams, Silver Creek) and two in 5A (Cohlton Schultz, Ponderosa; Josiah Rider, Grand Junction).
Pueblo County three-peat?
It’s going to be tough for any team in any classification to outshine the two-time defending champion Hornets this weekend, as coach Eddie Soto’s crew qualified 10 guys for state, including three defending state champions in junior Brendon Garcia (42-2 at 106), senior Josiah Nava (34-10 at 120) and senior Dante Garcia (25-2 at 220).
Several on path to three-peat
A handful of wrestlers are going for their third title: Alirez (22-0 at 4A 145), a Greeley Central junior, Pomona junior Theorius Robison (36-1 at 5A 132), Ponderosa junior Schultz (46-0 at 5A 285) and Pueblo County’s Garcia, in addition to Castle View senior Malik Heinselman (42-2 at 5A 120), Grand Junction senior Josiah Rider (32-0 at 152) and Lakewood senior Gabe Dinette (35-2 at 5A 160).