DENVER – The smallest package brought the best result for the Ignacio High School wrestling team.
Stocker Robbins became only the third IHS freshman wrestler to advance to a state championship match by beating Tanner Watson of Akron 8-3 on Friday night in Denver.
He ran up the Pepsi Center stairs and was mobbed by hugs from his father, little brother, coaches, teammates and grandmother.
“I’m still right here, I’ve been waiting all day for this,” said Robbins, son of Josh Robbins. “Kind of still in shock.”
Robbins led 2-0 after the first period and 6-1 after the second.
The match had to be stopped for blood coming from Robbins’ finger and Watson’s nose.
“He wrestled his tail off,” IHS head coach Cody Haga said. “He definitely put his time in, and he deserved every bit of that.”
The IHS freshman beat Taylor Claman of Peyton 15-4 in the quarterfinals to punch his ticket to the state semifinals.
CHSAA state championship matches will begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
The Bobcats also had two wrestlers survive the consolation bracket and continue on to Saturday’s action.
Ethan Appenzeller dropped into the 126-pound consolation bracket after losing 4-2 to undefeated Austin Coy from Swink. He stayed alive with a 9-2 victory over Jake Rockwell of Wray.
Appenzeller will wrestle Michael Estrada from Rocky Ford in Saturday’s consolation third round.
Lorenzo Peña also fell in the quarterfinals at 126 pounds after losing a 15-0 technical fall to Seth Harrington of Sedgwick County with 1 minute, 17 seconds left in the third period.
Dax Doyle of Baca County ended Peña’s stay at the state tournament with a pin after 46 seconds elapsed in the second period.
Blaine Mickey trailed Lyons’s Jon Hickman 10-2 after the first period and was pinned 40 seconds into the second period at 170 pounds.
“I didn’t feel like I should have lost in quarterfinals; I feel like I gave up on myself,” said Mickey, son of Jeremy and Tracy Mickey.
“I went out there thinking I was gonna win it and walk over the kid. I didn’t wrestle smart, and I didn’t wrestle the way I knew how.”
He bounced back with a 6-0 win in the consolation second round over Justin Leth of Yuma. Mickey will wrestle Seth Mills of Swink in the consolation third round.
Christian Knoll was eliminated from the tournament after a pin loss to Stratton’s M.C. Griffin and a 4-1 loss to Highland’s Sean Belfrage 4-1.
The consolation first round wasn’t kind to the Bobcats, either:
Dalton Mickey trailed Rye’s Payton Camper 4-0 after the first period, then Camper pinned him 47 seconds into the second to eliminate Mickey from the tournament.
Miguel Perez found some control but no points in his 152-pound loss to Eads’ Blaine Winder, who led 10-0 after the second period and pinned Perez 31 seconds into the third to eliminate him.
Josh Gallegos stayed alive with a 5-4 win at 220 pounds against Del Norte’s Dakota Fowler in the first consolation round. He couldn’t keep that momentum by evening, losing 9-2 against Paonia’s Joel Simianer. The match was tied at 0 after one period, and Simianer held a slim 2-1 lead after the second, then outscored Gallegos 7-1 in the third period to clinch a victory.
“Up here, chips are gonna fall; you’re going to meet tough kids,” Haga said. “You don’t know what to expect. All you can do is wrestle your tail off and leave it all on the mat.”
The third round of the consolation bracket will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, then will roll into the consolation medal matches.
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
Class 2A
DENVER – Semifinal results Friday from the CHSAA Class 2A Wrestling State Championships at the Pepsi Center.
Team Scores: Paonia 144; Meeker 92.5; Baca County 84.5; Swink 74; Norwood 64; Center 63; Rocky Ford 58.5; Sedgwick County-Fleming 54.5; Wray 52; Burlington 50; Crowley County 45; Ignacio 41; Highland 39; Dove Creek 35; Yuma 32.5; Holly 31; John Mall 31; Lyons 29; Stratton 29, Wiggins 27; Merino 25.5; Dolores 30.5; Hayden 18; Akron 15; Soroco 15; Del Norte 14; Limon 14; Eads 12; Fowler 12; Cheyenne Wells 9; Byers 7; Nucla 7; North Park 6; Sierra Grande 5; Calhan 4; Holyoke 4; Rye 4; Denver Lutheran 3; Hanover 3; McClave 3; Payton 3; Sargent 3.
106: Stocker Robbins, Ignacio, dec. Tanner Watson, Akron, 8-3; Jonathan Andreatta, John Mall, dec. Jacob Rodriguez, Rocky Ford, 2-0.
Associated Press
