DENVER – Experience, schmecksperience.
Four of the eight wrestlers Ignacio High School brought to the state tournament Thursday were freshmen.
Five of the eight won Thursday to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals.
“It was a good start for us,” Bobcats’ head coach Cody Haga said. “I can’t complain.”
Stocker Robbins started the Bobcats off strong by pinning Levi Muller from Sedgwick County 19 seconds into the third period of their 106-pound bout. He dominated the match up to that point, leading 5-0 after the first period and 11-0 after the second.
“I just kept moving,” said Robbins, son of Joshua Robbins.
He’ll wrestle Taylor Clansman from Peyton in the quarterfinals.
Dalton Mickey was pinned by Hayden Holtorf from Yuma with 45 seconds remaining in the second period at 120 pounds. He’ll wrestle Payton Camper of Rye in the consolation preliminaries Friday.
Ethan Appenzeller collected the Bobcats’ second pin of the day by taking down Fowler’s Sean Graham with one second left in the second period. He lost his headgear briefly during the first period and led 8-0 heading into the second.
“I came in here nervous as could be,” said Appenzeller, son of Anna and Tom Appenzeller. “I have to thank all my coaches. They told me it was going to be so nerve-wracking.”
Appenzeller will wrestle undefeated Austin Coy from Swink on Friday in the quarterfinals.
Lorenzo Peña looked like he would be in the consolation bracket after trailing Rye’s Jake Shaffer 7-0 at the start of the second period. He turned the 138-pound bout around via pin with 49 seconds left in the second period.
“I was just thinking of what my brothers were telling me,” said Peña, son of Kenneth and Shasta Peña. “They said ‘Leave it all on the mat; it’s the last tournament of the year.’”
Peña’s older brother, Alex, won three state championships on the mat for the Bobcats and one runner-up result.
Ike Pena, an IHS junior, might have been wrestling alongside “Woody” if he hadn’t injured his elbow at districts.
After his reversal, Lorenzo Peña will wrestle Seth Harrington from Sedgwick County in the quarterfinals.
Miguel Perez, also battling an elbow injury, dropped a 9-5 decision at 152 pounds to Salomon Chavez of Center.
Perez will wrestle Blaine Winder of Eads in the consolation quarterfinals.
Blaine Mickey picked up a pin 42 seconds into his match against John Mall’s Lawrence Martinez.
Mickey will match up with Lyons’ Jon Hickman on Friday.
Christian Knoll carried a 9-2 lead into the third period of his 182-pound match against Calhan’s Aaron vanZoreon. Knoll pinned him with 1 minute, 18 seconds left in the match and now will wrestle Stratton’s M.C. Griffin in the quarterfinals.
Josh Gallegos lost to Sedgwick County’s Levi Davis via pin with 28 seconds remaining in the second period.
Gallegos will go against Del Norte’s Dakota Fowler in the consultation preliminaries Friday.
“I hope every single one of my boys shows up (Friday), even the ones who lost,” Haga said. “In my personal opinion, a true champ is the one who comes back on the back side.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
Class 2A
DENVER – First-round results Thursday from the CHSAA Class 2A Wrestling State Championships at the Pepsi Center:
Team Scores: Paonia 32; Meeker 24; Norwood 24; Sedgwick County-Fleming 21; Ignacio 20; Swink 20; Baca County 19.5; Center 17; Rocky Ford 16.5; Crowley County 16; Wray 16; Burlington 14; Holly 12; John Mall 12; Yuma 11; Dove Creek 10; Dolores 9.5; Highland 8; Merino 7.5; Akron 7; Stratton 7; Wiggins 7; Fowler 6; Lyons 6; Soroco 6; Cheyenne Wells 4; Del Norte 4; Hayden 4; Limon 4; North Park 4; Nucla 4; Peyton 2; Sierra Grande 2.
106: Tanner Watson, Akron, pinned Tristan Medina, Dolores, 1:37; Justin Hinkle, Fowler, dec. Marcos Fernandez, Las Animas, 9-3; Taylor Claman, Peyton, dec. Kyle Shaffer, Rye, 6-3; Stocker Robbins, Ignacio, pinned Levi Muller, Sedgwick County-Fleming, 4:20; Jacob Rodriguez, Rocky Ford, pinned Alberto Rodriguez, Center, 1:10; Sheridan Harvey, Meeker, pinned Eric Rojo, Holyoke, 2:35; William Hickman, Lyons, dec. Colton Godwin, Paonia, 12-11; Jonathan Andreatta, John Mall, pinned Zach McCrary, Calhan, :27.
120: Stetson Loader, Baca County, pinned Payton Camper, Rye, :38; Hayden Holtorf, Yuma, pinned Dalton Mickey, Ignacio, 3:15; Aris Shino, Merino, pinned Aaron Morgan, Nucla, 1:27; Cruz Muniz, Crowley County, major decision Erik Perez, Center, 16-8; Josh Altman, Paonia, pinned Fernando Lopez, Holyoke, 1:02; Brendon Crum, Holly, dec. Keenan Martinez, Del Norte, 7-2; Jadon Barela, Swink, pinned Tim Pacheco, John Mall, 4:13; Jakeob Trujillo, Highland, pinned Calvin Shepherd, Meeker, 2:42.
126: Jesse Reed, Paonia, pinned Isaiah Sandoval, John Mall, :25; Christian Orozco, Holly, dec. Jake Rockwell, Wray, 8-7; Earl Brewer, Crowley County, dec. Jaxson Hastings, Merino, 3-0; DeAngelo Martinez, Center, pinned Kylloe Goedert, Meeker, 3:13; Michael Estrada, Rocky Ford, dec. Keith Graham, Sedgwick County-Fleming, 3-1; Case Baughman, Dove Creek, pinned Wesley Camper, Rye, 1:53; Ethan Appenzeller, Ignacio, pinned Sean Graham, Fowler, 3:59; Austin Coy, Swink, dec. Cameron Holm, Wiggins, 6-0.
138: Seth Harrington, Sedgwick County-Fleming, pinned Dominic Gregory, Swink, 2:59; Lorenzo Pena, Ignacio, pinned Jake Shaffer, Rye, 3:11; Nick Jones, Dove Creek, dec. Rhett Hinkle, Fowler, 15-9; Ryan Nordyke, Holly, pinned Garret Arnold, Byers, 3:33; J.C. Henderson, Meeker, pinned Cordell Curtis, Sargent, 1:28; Alex Tarin, Wray, dec. Blake Robertson, Eads, 14-10; Luke Brown, Yuma, major decision Dax Doyle, Baca County, 10-0; Jose Chavez, Center, pinned T.J. Richard, North Park, 2:17.
152: Ty Coats, Paonia, pinned Henry Fellhauer, Fowler, 2:56; Bryce Leifheit, Yuma, pinned Jacob Freeland, Calhan, 3:27; Jacob Leuth, Wray, dec. Blaine Winder, Eads, 8-5; Salomon Chavez, Center, dec. Miguel Perez, Ignacio, 9-5; Danny McCombs, Wiggins, major decision Mitchell Richardson, Burlington, 9-0; Luke Haefeli, Del Norte, pinned Willis Begaye, Meeker, 3:59; Tim Armintrout, Norwood, pinned Nick Quintana, Mountain Valley, 3:50; Ricky Aragon, Rocky Ford, major decision Jahni Krueger, Sedgwick County-Fleming, 12-0.
170: T.J. Shelton, Meeker, pinned Justin Leth, Yuma, 2:43; Brandon Anderson, Sedgwick County-Fleming, major decision Daniel Bustamante, Rocky Ford, 8-0; Cade Schulz, Wray, pinned Justin Harper, Calhan, :40; Kolby Starks, Norwood, pinned George Weatherford, Center, 3:46; Seth Mills, Swink, dec. Matt Ewertz, Wiggins, 3-2; Logan Schopp, Paonia, pinned Max Green, Sargent, 1:09; Blaine Mickey, Ignacio, pinned Lawrence Martinez, John Mall, :42; Jon Hickman, Lyons, pinned Eryk Bauer, Crowley County, :44.
182: M.C. Griffin, Stratton, pinned Sterling Noecker, McClave, :46; Christian Knoll, Ignacio, pinned Aaron vanZoreon, Calhan, 4:42; Taylor Lewis, Hayden, pinned Ricky Preciado, Rocky Ford, 1:45; Blaine Larson, Fowler, dec. A.C. Landrey, Denver Lutheran, 7-1; Brody Wisemon, Swink, dec. Cody Terrell, Norwood, 9-2; Tyler Horalek, Sedgwick County-Fleming, pinned Manny Pedigo, Custer County, 4:28; Jose Cisneros, Sierra Grande, dec. Sean Belfrage, Highland, 6-2; Ethen Upton, Dolores, pinned Jeremiah Cozart, Cheyenne Wells, :25.
220: Levi Davis, Sedgwick County-Fleming, pinned Josh Gallegos, Ignacio, 3:32; Weston Downey, Swink, pinned Dakota Fowler, Del Norte, 1:18; Jon Satterly, Burlington, pinned Sam Cox, McClave, 2:23; Blayde Harrigan, Norwood, pinned Luke Korf, Yuma, 2:54; Augustus Kern, Cheyenne Wells, pinned Hunter Rummel, Hayden, 4:47; Adrian Cereceres, North Park, pinned Cobee Sameshima, Highland, 3:31; Joel Simianer, Paonia, pinned Aaron Escamilla-Perez, Wray, 3:37; Luis Mariscal, Center, pinned Dalton Westphal, Baca County, 1:15.
Associated Press
