Wrestling fans from across the Western Slope will descend onto Durango on Saturday, and the 182-pound division will be worth the price of admission alone.
Durango High School is the host of the 2015 Southwestern League Championships, with six teams competing in a duals-format round-robin. Fruita Monument, Grand Junction, Grand Junction Central, Montezuma-Cortez and Montrose all bring talented rosters to the Demons’ home gym, with league bragging rights on the line a weekend before the regional tournament and two weeks away from the state tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
“It’s really exciting bringing wrestling into the Durango community,” DHS head coach John Gurule said. “Grand Junction and Fruita are ranked pretty high in 5A, and there’s some nationally ranked wrestlers in our league. We’re excited to host and to put on the best show we can.”
Fans will have their attention on the loaded field of 182-pounders, starting with Durango’s Patrick Cunnion, the top-ranked 182-pounder in Class 4A in the most recent On The Mat rankings.
He will have a chance to face Montezuma-Cortez’s Seager Oliver, last year’s 170-pound state champ, as well as Fruita Monument’s Ty Taylor, ranked second at 182 in Class 5A. Cunnion lost a match to Oliver 13-3 earlier this season.
“Patrick has always wanted the toughest opponents possible. This weekend will provide him another opportunity to challenge his skills,” Gurule said.
Fruita Monument also will bring Jacob Seely, a nationally ranked wrestler at 195 pounds. He has a career record of 84-7 with 45 pins.
Grand Junction boasts three state-ranked wrestlers, including two-time state champion and nationally ranked Jacob Trujillo at 160 pounds. Josiah Rider also is the top-ranked 138-pounder in Class 5A, and Tyler Zook is ranked No. 2 at 220 pounds.
The Grand Junction Tigers are No. 4 in Class 5A as a team, and Fruita Monument comes in at No. 10. None of the 4A teams competing in the Southwestern League are ranked inside the top 10.
Montrose will bring Terrell Banuelos, the third-ranked 4A wrestler at 113 pounds.
Joining Cunnion in the rankings for the Demons is Matthew Lavengood, who is third at 120 pounds.
“We have a special group of seniors with Lavengood, Cunnion and Hunter Hall,” Gurule said. “They’re all state veterans, and this is a great way for them to go out in their last home meet. It’s nice for them to have this league meet.”
There will be five rounds of duals, with action set to begin at 9 a.m. Rounds will be 1 hour, 15 minutes apart with a break coming after the third round.
With regionals a week away, the wrestlers are beginning to peak, and Gurule is ready to see how his contenders perform Saturday.
“The boys have showed steady improvement week after week. We’re where we are supposed to be now,” Gurule said. “The competition we will face these next two weeks going into state is very important.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
