DENVER- Nine area wrestlers did not advance, however the State Tournament was an experience they will never forget.
For Jacob Tenorio, the scrappy 103-pound sophomore, this was his first trip to ‘The Can.’ For Brian Aguirre, a 135-pound junior, this was his third trip. Aguirre’s first match was against Ty Pieff of Crowley, who had beaten him on previous occasions. Thursday, Aguirre lost a 10-3 decision to Pieff. His second bout ended by pin at 1:34, dashing his hopes for a state placement.
Stuart Pino, John Mall’s 171-pound junior, also had a tough opening bout, falling to Kohl Knutson of Wiggins. Pino lost his second match. La Veta’s Logan Williams, a junior, also went two and out, ending his first year at state.
John Mall’s Isaac Sierra, a senior, lost his opening round to John Gray of Crowley County by pin fall in 5:30. Sierra was making a match of the contest before the fall. He lost his second bout to Jaron Ragsdale of Norwood, also by pin fall in 1:30.
The last of the group to go two and out was Lorenzo Trujillo, a freshman from John Mall. Trujillo drew the number-one wrestler in the state, Kyle Pollack of Wiggins, who won by pin fall in 47 seconds. Pollock, a junior, was upset in his heavyweight championship finals and finished the season with a record of 33-1. Brian Crespin defeated Pollock in 2007 for the state title. Trujillo’s next was Daniel Weirich of Eads and he was pinned in 56 seconds.
Three wrestlers went one and two, surviving the second consolation round, but falling short in the lower brackets. John Paul Vigil of John Mall (112 pounds) lost his opening bout to Robert Darnell of Holly, the number-one seed and past 2A champion. Darnell finished second at this year’s competition. Vigil went on to defeat Chad Peterson of Rangely on a major decision, 10-1. Vigil then faced Shawn Beringer of Del Norte and took the early lead until a Beringer reversal put Vigil on his back. Beringer went on to claim fifth place.
Adam Ortivez of La Veta lost his opening bout to Skyler Ditmer of Holyoke by pin fall to drop to the consolation rounds. Ditmer went on to claim fourth place. Ortivez’s only win was a technical victory against Chris Slocum of Crowley County, 15-0, where he controlled the entire match. Ortivez then lost to Michael Smithey of Rocky Ford, 7-4. Smithey took sixth at state.
The final Panther was Andre Ortiz who lost his opening bout to Seth Knob of Nucla by pin fall in 1:02. He dropped to the consolation rounds and in his first match, pinned Caleb Merritt of Wray to advance. He then lost to Gabe Luma by pin, thus eliminating him from the tournament.
