Durango High School’s top male and female wrestlers showed their hard work over the past few months and skill at regionals last week, with the reward a trip to Ball Arena in Denver to compete against the best in the state starting on Thursday.
The Demons are sending six wrestlers to state this year. On the girls’ side, juniors Aleia and Lillian Fenberg and Marie Baker qualified by finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes at the CHSAA 5A Girls Region 2 regional at Lewis-Palmer High School on Saturday.
On the boys’ side, Ryder Martyn, Asher Thiessen and Jacob Belt will represent the Demons after finishing in the top four of their respective weight classes at the CHSAA 4A Region 4 regional at Falcon High School on Saturday.
The Durango boys had eight of their 10 wrestlers place, and the Demons finished sixth out of 13 teams with 128 points. Widefield won the regional with 236 points, followed by Palisade in second with 201 points and Canon City in third with 186 points.
“I’m super proud of how the team went out there and competed,” Durango boys wrestling head coach Jason Silva said. “We took sixth as a team, and it was so close for a lot of the kids just outside (state qualification), and they added to our team points. We were in a tough region.”
Martyn, the 138-pound sophomore, was the top seed in the regional bracket and cruised to victory, pinning all four of his opponents, including Canon City’s Dominic Lippis in the final. Martyn’s closest match, on paper, was the one Silva was most proud of. In the first round, Martyn faced Bryce Morelock, a wrestler from the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. Martyn showed some compassion in that match, allowing it to be closer than it could’ve been, according to Silva.
Silva said Martyn dominated regionals due to all the preparation he has done this season. Martyn was rewarded with the No. 2 seed in the state bracket.
Senior Asher Thiessen will also represent the Demons at state after finishing second at 144 at regionals. Thiessen was the top seed in the bracket and won 6-5 vs. Canon City’s Arrow Herzog in the first round, before winning 15-10 over Wyatt Hamer from Lewis-Palmer in the semifinals.
This set up Thiessen with a finals match against Eagle Valley’s Alex Good, and Thiessen was pinned. It was the first time Thiessen had wrestled against Good this season.
Thiessen was caught in his match going for a takedown. He tried to back out of it with his arm up, and Good dumped him on his back for the pin, according to Silva. It’s something that’s easily correctable, according to Silva, and he’s excited to see Thiessen wrestle at state after battling injuries all year.
Belt also finished second, but at 175. The senior was seeded third and won via a 3-2 decision in the quarterfinals against Lewis Palmer’s Charlie Scott. Belt then easily beat Eagle Valley’s Nathan Leeper, 15-3, to set up the finals match with Ricky Aulava from Widefield. Aulava got the best of Belt with a 10-2 win.
“It's something we've already been working on, needing to watch a little bit more film on the kid (Aulava) and get ready for him, because he's a very defensive wrestler, and I don't think we were quite prepared for that,” Silva said. “So we kept being offensive, trying to shoot, but he kept scoring off our own offense. We’re going to be ready next go around … Jake can definitely beat that kid.”
The two Durango wrestlers who were closest to going to state were sophomores Cash Silva and Wesley Megordan, who both placed fifth.
At 132, Silva pinned his first two opponents before he was pinned by the top seed, Liam Dolan, from Falcon, in the semifinals. Silva then lost in the consolation bracket semifinals and finished his regionals with a pin over Eagle Valley’s Rowdy Hollenbach in the fifth-place match.
Megordan was battling sickness on Saturday, but still managed to pin his first opponent at 120 before he was pinned by Chase Messer in the quarterfinals. Megordan won his first consolation bracket match but was pinned in the consolation bracket semifinals. He pinned Widefield’s Boston Bulter in the fifth-place match, but was pinned by Lincoln Kruper-Peck in a wrestle-back match for fourth. Megordan didn’t have the energy for that final match after dealing with sickness, according to Silva.
The three other Demons who each placed in sixth were junior Blaze Aguilar at 113, junior Isaiah Aguilar at 126 and freshman Dax Kunch at 150.
On the girls’ side, the Demons finished eight out of 14 schools with 70 points. Eaglecrest won with 219.5 points, Widefield was second with 189.5 points and Castle View was third with 139.5 points.
“The regional tournament is a different animal, and you really have to bring your A-game,” Durango girls wrestling head coach Ryan McGrath said. “The kids who have been there before did a great job. The kids who hadn't, they're catching up, and we placed six of seven … our skill set was well prepared. Our girls absolutely belong there, and we were competitive with everybody.”
Both the Fenberg twins finished second in their respective weight classes. At 130, Aleia was seeded third and won 15-0 against Overland’s Vera Welte in the quarterfinals. Aleia then won 11-5 in the semifinals against Widefield’s Ryley McCulloch, setting up a first-place match with Zaret Silva Lopez from Castle View. Silva Lopez won 7-2. McGrath thought Aleia dominated that match, but a few small mistakes cost her points early as Silva Lopez finished with two takedowns.
Lillian, wrestling at 135, was the No. 2 seed and pinned both of her first two opponents. She met top-seeded Ayla Hampton from Summit in the final, and Hampton got the best of Lillian with a pin.
“She (Hampton) rolled out a move, a sequence that we’ve never seen before,” McGrath said. “It was something Lillian wasn’t quite expecting … They were working from a position that seemed stable and safe, and Lillian got caught. It was just a judo throw … but if she’s never seen it, you don’t see it coming until it’s too late. But, Lillian really had a handle on that match.”
Baker has battled through a nagging shoulder injury throughout the end of the season, but that didn’t stop her from taking fourth at 120. She pinned her first opponent, but she was pinned by top-seeded Remington Zimmerer from Regis Jesuit in the semifinals. Baker then won her first consolation-bracket match, but lost 6-0 in the third-place match to take fourth.
The Durango girls had two other wrestlers place, with freshman Haidyn Albrecht just missing out on state with her fifth-place finish at 140. Albrecht lost her opening match, then she was pinned in the consolation bracket semifinal match, putting her in the fifth-place match, where she pinned her opponent.
Fellow freshman Timber Zink finished sixth at 155. She lost a tough quarterfinal match when she was pinned while leading 5-2 on points. Zink lost her consolation semifinal match and then was pinned in the fifth-place match to end up in sixth.
The state championships will go from Thursday to Saturday inside Ball Arena in Denver.
bkelly@durangoherald.com
