Chalk up a pair of regional champions and five state qualifiers for the 2015 Durango High School wrestling team.
Patrick Cunnion and Matthew Lavengood dominated their competition at the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 4A Region 4 wrestling tournament to win regional championships and earn another trip to next week’s state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver. They are two of the five DHS wrestlers that will go to state.
“It’s a great accomplishment for this team. The guys worked their tails off all year long,” DHS head coach John Gurule said. “We’re proud we placed eight at regionals and have the five state qualifiers.”
Lavengood wrestled less than 4 minutes in three matches at regionals. The 120-pound senior qualified for his fourth consecutive state tournament with an impressive 15-0 technical fall win in the regional championship match against Patrick Hanna of Discovery Canyon. He was up 12-0 after one period and quickly ended it with a near fall in the second. He earned quick pin victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals, too. He now is 32-3 overall this season.
“It’s a great way to roll into state. I want to keep it going. Four more to get to that title,” said Lavengood, son of Steve and Tamra Lavengood. “I didn’t feel much pressure. It’s my senior year, and I’m going out and doing the best I can.”
It was Lavengood’s first regional championship since his freshman season. He took second as a sophomore and third as a junior.
Cunnion pinned his way to state, with three pins in three matches. He finished his final just 1:14 into the first period by beating Discovery Canyon’s Kendall Carter. He also is 32-3 entering state.
“It’s a great feeling. This was one of my goals, and I’m happy I accomplished it,” said Cunnion, son of Kelly and Peter Cunnion. “It’s a good confidence-booster going into state.”
It was a big weekend for Cunnion, who lost a couple of tough matches at the league championship duals a week ago. He’ll now look to improve on last year’s fourth-place finish at state.
“Last weekend was a big learning lesson, to say the least. It fueled my fire, and I came out even stronger,” he said. “Last week was crummy, but I think it helped me very much.
“I’m fired up to go to state, take it one match at a time and get my state title.”
Hunter Hall began Saturday with a tough 4-3 loss in the 126-pound semifinals against Michael Ramirez of Pueblo South. But Hall didn’t let the loss determine the rest of his day or season. He bounced back with an 8-1 decision against Jasper Biddy of Discovery Canyon. In the third-place match, Hall took a close 5-3 decision against Palisade’s Austin Bernal. Hall, a senior who now is 31-16, will make his second consecutive trip to the state tournament.
“He’s an outstanding worker,” Gurule said of Hall. “He’s looking to go up to state and battle.”
Tristan Martinez, a 113-pounder, earned a trip to the Pepsi Center with a third-place finish at regionals. After losing a quarterfinal Friday, he bounced back with four consecutive wins to punch his ticket and improve his overall record to 23-21 this season. He started Saturday morning with a pin with 5 seconds remaining in the second period against Golden’s Matt Jessup. He went on to earn a 10-1 major decision against Standley Lake’s Ryan Dang, and he won his third-place match 9-2 against Coleby Arellano of Pueblo South.
“We all knew Tristan had the ability to come out and wrestle like he did at regionals. He has worked hard to peak at this time of year,” Gurule said.
Cameron Jacobs lost a consolation semifinal 7-0 to Pueblo South’s Andrew Martinez, but he answered back with a pin at the end of the second period in the fifth-place match against Evergreen’s Connor Williams. He then earned a chance to wrestle for fourth place and a spot in the state tournament against Chris Padilla of Montrose. Jacob’s didn’t waste his opportunity, earning a pin 1:49 into the first period. He’ll enter the 106-pound bracket at state with a 21-25 record.
“When we saw the breakdown, we knew Cameron had a great shot to get to state,” Gurule said. “He came out and wrestled back a match against a Montrose kid who beat him last week. He truly earned his way into state.”
DHS will begin competition at the state tournament Thursday in Denver.
“We had a great weekend, but there is one more goal out there,” Gurule said.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
