Cole Gustavson of Durango High School punched his ticket to the Class 4A Colorado High School Activities Association boys wrestling state tournament Saturday.

The Durango senior took fourth place in the 160-pound weight class at the CHSAA 4A Region 3 tournament in Aurora and finished the regular season with a 24-11 record. Gustavson lost in the third-place match to Pueblo East’s Zion Freeman in a 7-3 decision. Gustavson beat Jack Ries of Glenwood Springs for the final spot.

“He went out and wrestled solid all day,” Durango head coach Leo Garand said. “He was one or two little mental errors away from being in the finals. He wrestled very solid and very sound. He has gone toe-to-toe with everyone and has a very good chance at making the podium.”

Last year, Durango sent seven wrestlers to state, but this year the Demons are only sending one. Garand said his team is young and feels positive about the future.

“We’re building and moving forward,” Garand said.

Also placing at regionals but falling short of the state tournament for Durango was Paul Smogacz, who took sixth at 106 pounds. Austin Counts also took sixth at 145 pounds

The state wrestling tournament will be held Feb. 18-20 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com