Serrano continues undefeated run
The medal barely settled around Dominick Serrano’s neck a year ago when the whispers of glory amplified into open conversations. Is this freshman the next Colorado high school wrestler to reach the rarest of levels: a fourtime champion?
Now a year on and a sophomore at Windsor High, Serrano on Friday rolled on at the Colorado state wrestling championships at the Pepsi Center. The 126-pounder pinned Canon City junior James Ruona 51 seconds into the second period to put the cap on a dominating Class 4A semifinal performance.
Serrano is living up to his expectations. After cruising to a
State wrestling
Who: Colorado’s best prep wrestlers
What: Final day of 83rd annual CHSAA state tourney When: Consolations starting at 10 a.m.; Parade of Champions 6:30 p.m. Where: Pepsi Center 50-0 record in winning the 4A title at 120 pounds last year, he is now 32-0 at 126. He has yet to lose in Colorado prep competition. The pressure is compounding.
“Yeah, it is. But my mom calms me down with that,” Serrano said. “She says, ‘No matter what, I will love you the same.’ That takes a lot of pressure off me. She just wants me to do my best. And if not, then it’s a learning lesson.”
The most recent four-time winner came last year when Pueblo County’s Hunter Willits completed the quadfecta at 152 pounds. Serrano is one step from his second, with a long road still to go. His next challenge will come Saturday in the final against Pueblo East junior Ryan Roth, who won an 8-5 decision over Thomas Jefferson freshman Isaias Estrada. Serrano will be a favorite, despite conceding an experience advantage to Roth (37-8).
But Serrano had no trouble against the more experienced Ruona. He jumped to a 2-0 lead 15 seconds in after lifting Ruona off the mat and felling him. He was up 7-0 before Ruona escaped a hold for his first point. Serrano led 11-2 before he used a pull-back move to pin.
“My coach told me to have no fear. So I went out hard and strong,” Serrano said.
His coach, Monte Trusty, echoed the confidence: “He’s a cool cat. He’s relaxed and ready.”
Windsor, which started the semifinal round in second place behind Pueblo East, quickly put three wrestlers into the finals. Brothers Will and Vance VomBaur pushed their way into Saturday’s finals. Will VomBaur (36-1), a junior, took a 5-1 lead over Thompson Valley sophomore Airiel Siegel before wearing him down from the top side to win at 113 pounds.
Vance VomBaur followed on the same mat, but in more dramatic fashion. The freshman 120pounder trailed Pueblo East junior Jace Trujillo 4-3 with just eight seconds remaining. Trujillo had VomBaur held underneath in a front headlock position, but VomBaur shucked him to capture the top position, winning 5-4 in the final seconds.
“He stayed after it and stayed after it,” Trusty said of the younger VomBaur brother. “They’re just two scrapping dudes going after it.”
The Windsor-Pueblo East showdown will ramp up quickly on Saturday, with Serrano facing Roth for the 126-pound title and VomBaur facing East senior Andrew Lucero (45-7) for the 113pound crown.
“When we practice, we don’t shoot for a state championship team,” Serrano said. “We just give it our all.”