Several wrestlers from La Plata County stayed alive on Friday at the state wrestling championships in Denver and are now one win away from placing at the tournament.
Keaton McCoy and Tyler Barnes of Ignacio, Kobe Prior, James Mars and Jordan Cundiff of Bayfield, and Jacob Fenberg and Tyler Woodworth of Durango are all still in contention to place at state.
This year’s tournament also marked the first time the girls championships were held at Ball Arena along with the boys.
Durango first-year wrestler Brooke Fenberg and Faye Hackett of Ignacio were the first two girls from the county to make it to the big show. Both went 0-2, but Fenberg is a sophomore and Hackett is a junior, so they can return next year.
“What I was most proud of is (Brooke) came in and didn’t give anything away,” said Durango girls head coach Kyle Hanson. “From a match standpoint, she doesn’t have the experience, but she left it all on the mat and wrestled with heart.”
Besides a few snafus, like having to wait outside in the cold to get in, the coach said it was an “excellent” environment for the girls championships. “The longer you go in the tournament, the louder it gets,” Hanson said.
Fenberg got pinned in her opening bout. In her second match, she lost by a 6-3 decision against Arvada’s Daliah Aguayo. Fenberg had pinned Aguayo with a head and arms, but Hanson said she came in ready to defend it on Friday. Fenberg got a late escape in the match, but the coach said that with a little more experience she could possibly threw a head and arms to win the match.
Hackett also lost a close bout on Friday to get eliminated, 8-6 against Skyview’s Daisy Gonzales.
While the girls sport is new to the high school level in Colorado, its growing in numbers and in competition.
“Technique-wise, some of these girls rival the boys,” Hanson said. “The reason it’s growing is the culture and the girls who are wrestling. They are welcoming to one another regardless of how good they are and they are doing such a nice job taking care of each other.”
The local boys who made it to Saturday, meanwhile, will next wrestle in the blood round for a spot on the podium.
After winning his first round match by a major decision, Keaton McCoy of Ignacio took on the top-seeded Zach Little of Highland Ault in the 145-pound quarterfinals, but got pinned in 51 seconds. McCoy, however, responded with 9-5 win over Swink’s Jed Garcia.
Barnes lost his opening 170-pound bout on Thursday, but went 2-0 on Friday. Barnes pinned Rocky Ford’s Jadon Huerta in 3:53, then scored a 9-6 win over Crowley County’s Robert San Juan.
Prior started Friday against the No. 1 seed in the 3A 170-pound quarterfinals, Eaton’s Ryan Dirksen and got pinned at 3:24. Prior battled back in his next match and pinned Luke Nielson of the Classical Academy in 4:03 to advance.
James Mars lost his opening bout at 132 pounds 8-6, but won both of his matches on Friday. Mars pinned Isaiah Segoviano of Englewood in 2:12. Then he pinned Lamar’s Cade Wurst in 3:47.
Heavyweight Jordan Cundiff also went 2-0 on Friday, pinning both of his opponents in the first period. Cundiff stuck Fort Lupton’s Dylan Jaramillo in 48 seconds and Mantou Springs’ Terry Lindh in 1:30.
In the Class 4A championships, Jacob Fenberg, Brook’s older brother, was the only Demon who won on Thursday. The 113-pounder lost to Pueblo East’s L.J. Herburger in the quarterfinals by fall, but kept his tournament alive by beating Mead’s Gage Duetsch, 7-3.
Woodworth responded to his opening loss at 160 by pinning Silver Creek’s Kieran Carter in 3:58 to begin Friday. Woodworth then beat Littleton’s Kai Salto 13-2.
Ben Belt also won his first-round consolation bout by a pin on Friday, sticking Discovery Canyon’s Aiden Blazek in 2:22. In his next match, however, Belt lost a 1-0 decision against Pueblo West’s Matthew Holdredge to get eliminated.
At 106, Ryan Dugan won his first-round consolation bout on Friday, pinning Emilio Montano of Widefield in 2:02. Dugan, however, was eliminated in the next round by Pueblo East’s Manual Amaro, 9-0.
Riley Belt finished 0-2 at 138, getting eliminated by Pueblo County’s Thomas Velasquez, 11-1.
Ignacio heavyweight Jeremy Roderick won his first consolation round match on Friday, pinning Cedaredge’s Jacob Anderson in 27 seconds. Roderick then squared off with Byron Mackay of Rangely, but was pinned at 2:29.
Keaton Pickering also won one match on Friday at 113 by pin, but was eliminated 6-2 by Sterling’s Aden Young.
To place at state, the wrestlers will all need to win their third round consolation bouts to begin Saturday.
