The Durango Demons will send four boys to the state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center.
Wrestling their way through the two-day Class 4A Region 4 tournament in Montrose, Patrick Cunnion, Daniel Gustavson, Hunter Hall and Matthew Lavengood all qualified for the state meet.
“We are excited to qualify four. We are going to get back into the room and get to work and try to prepare those boys to walk away with some medals,” DHS head coach John Gurule said.
The Demons finished in a tie with Rifle for eighth place with 90 team points. Pueblo County won Region 4 with 187 team points, 12 points ahead of runner-up Discovery Canyon.
Gustavson (18-8) was Durango’s star of the day. He earned first place at 220 pounds after pinning all four opponents he faced. He won his semifinal match with a first-round pin of Thomas Jefferson’s James Brown, and he won the championship with a first-round pin against Xavier Mendoza of Eagle Valley.
“Daniel came out and wrestled like we have wanted him to all year. He took care of business and pinned his way through regionals,” Gurule said. “He has a good chance next week for a high-place finish at state.”
Cunnion (22-12) finished runner-up at 182 pounds. In the semifinals, he pinned Devin Ward of Eagle Valley in the second round. He dropped an 8-7 decision to Discovery Canyon’s Alex Weber in the final.
“Patrick did an excellent job. He has been battling injuries the last week and a half and overcame it to get second,” Gurule said.
Lavengood (33-8) also was battling injuries in recent weeks. He was on the wrong end of a 5-0 decision in the semifinals, but he won via first-round pin in the 120-pound consolation finals against Eagle Valley’s Trevor LaFramboise to earn a spot in the third-place match. Lavengood won with an 18-2 technical fall against Delta’s Hayes McCracken.
“Lavengood came out and shook off the mat rust and handled business to get third,” Gurule said. “He did a great job against a highly ranked kid, and that gives him a good shot of a nice finish at state next week.”
Hall (33-18) scrapped his way to a fourth-place finish at 126 pounds to earn his trip to Denver. He lost a consolation semifinal to Battle Mountain’s Jesus Morales in an 11-4 decision, but he won a 3-1 decision against Delta’s David Brown in the fifth-place match to earn a chance at fourth in a wrestle-back match. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hall defeated Eagle Valley’s Chris Comore in a 4-0 decision.
“He did a great job wrestling his way back to get to go to state,” Gurule said.
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