DENVER – A pair of Durango High School wrestlers found their way to the podium on the final day of the CHSAA Class 4A Wrestling State Championships on Saturday at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
Patrick Cunnion finished fourth, and Daniel Gustavson finished fifth.
“I’m real proud of my boys and the way they came out and wrestled this tournament,” DHS head coach John Gurule said. “They competed in every single match that we wrestled. I thought they did a great job all around.”
Patrick Cunnion found himself face to face with the wrestler with the highest winning percentage in Class 4A in the 182-pound third-place match.
Termell Stanley of Mesa Ridge proved why, defeating Cunnion with a pin at the second-period buzzer and pushing him to a fourth-place finish.
Referees convened to make sure the pin was called before time ran out, then Stanley was awarded the win.
“Patrick’s a hard worker,” Gurule said. “We know what he’s capable of inside that wrestling room. This weekend, he showed it.”
Cunnion defeated Pueblo South’s Mitchell Chavez 7-3 in the consolation semifinals and Windsor’s Brandon Brauser 9-4 in the third round of the consolation bracket.
Daniel Gustavson ended his high school wrestling career with a win in the fifth-place match at 220 pounds in Class 4A. He pinned Demetrius Zissimos from Broomfield 27 seconds into the second period.
Zissimos led 2-0 after the first period, then Gustavson chose to start the second on top. He broke Zissimos down and circled around for the pin.
“I just went with what coach told me to do,” said Gustavson, son of Catherine and Dan Gustavson. “Just took advantage of what the kid gave.
“I’m happy.”
Those two matches closed out Gurule’s first season as the Demons’ head coach.
“Going into our offseason I’m going to work as hard as I can until every single one of our kids has his hand raised here at the state tournament,” he said.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
Class 4A
DENVER – Final results Saturday from the CHSAA Class 4A Wrestling State Championships at the Pepsi Center.
Team Scores: Broomfield 127.5; Thompson Valley 120; Windsor 112; Pueblo County 106; Pueblo South 106; Discovery Canyon 94.5; Mesa Ridge 60; Berthoud 51; Mead 51; Pueblo East 46; Air Academy 44; Pueblo Central 44; Pueblo Centennial 43; Longmont 41.5; Erie 40; Elizabeth 39; Lewis-Palmer 36; Palisade 35; Durango 33; Ft. Morgan 33; Montezuma-Cortez 33; Delta 31; Golden 29; Montrose 29; Falcon 28; Rifle 27; Mountain View 26; Glenwood Springs 21; Weld Central 21; Palmer Ridge 19; Conifer 17; Canon City 13; Sand Creek 13; Widefield 13; Niwot 12; Roosevelt 12; Steamboat Springs 11; Pueblo West 10; Greeley Central 8; Mullen 8; Vista Peak 8; Woodland Park 6; Mitchell 5; Cheyenne Mountain 4; Silver Creek 4; Eagle Valley 3; Valor Christian 3; Vista Ridge 3; Northridge 2; Wheat Ridge 2; Summit 1.
106: Grant Willits, Pueblo County, fall Randen Espinoza, Palisade, 5:52.
113: Josh Villa, Windsor, fall Michael Ramirez, Pueblo South, 5:53.
120: Sam Turner, Discovery Canyon, dec. Chris Sandoval, Pueblo County, 5-3.
126: Sage Budd, Mead, dec. Darek Huff, Broomfield, 8-4.
132: Hunter Willits, Pueblo Coutnty, dec. Marcus Martinez, Pueblo South, 10-3.
138: Jimmy Fate, Berthoud, dec. Ben Hewson, Thompson Valley, 5-1.
145: Parker Simington, Thompson Valley, dec. Matt Combs, Mountain View, 7-1.
152: Keenen Lanteri, Windsor, dec. Jarod Albo, Broomfield, 4-2.
160: Phil Downing, Broomfield, maj. dec. Keenan Willits, Pueblo County, 11-2.
170: Seager Oliver, Montezuma-Cortez, dec. Ladd Bunker, Erie, 13-6.
182: Zach Stodden, Broomfield, dec. Phillip Benavidez, Pueblo East, 6-1. 4th: Tremell Stanley, Mesa Ridge, fall Patrick Cunnion, Durango, 3:00.
195: Kyle Couch, Mead, dec. David Traynor, Discovery Canyon, 7-2.
220: Toby McBride, Ft. Morgan, dec. Evan Lancelot, Pueblo Central, 4-3. 5th: Daniel Gustavson, Durango, fall Demetrius Zissimos, Broomfield, 1:27.
285: Justin Petrash, Air Academy, dec. Austyn Harris, Broomfield, 5-0.
Associated Press
