DENVER | Demarcus Curtis needed some encouragement to come out for the Smoky Hill wrestling team last year.
On Thursday night, he was glad he did, as the Buffaloes’ senior advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 5A state wrestling tournament in his first trip to the Pepsi Center.
Curtis wrestled the longest match of any of the 30 city wrestlers to hit the mat in the preliminary round, as he had to go three overtimes for a 5-4 win over Standley Lake’s Matthew Stanley, who beat him previously. Along with eight other Aurora wrestlers, Curtis advances to the state quarterfinals, scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Friday.
City wrestlers finished 9-21 overall in the opening round, but the upper weights helped significantly in the win column.
After Curtis’ victory, Rangeview freshman 195-pounder Max Gonzales recorded a win of his own by pin, while all three Aurora 220-pound contenders — Regis Jesuit’s Grant Neal, Smoky Hill’s Dexter Bess and Hinkley’s Max Carbajal — also won in succession.
Both Aurora heavyweight qualifiers, Grandview’s Josh Vigil and Hinkley’s Tyler Manual, got pinned, however, but it was still a strong end to a tournament that saw city wrestlers lose the first 12 matches in the lighter weights — 11 in 5A and Vista PEAK’s Junior Casillas in the 4A 120-pound bracket.
Eaglecrest junior Dominique Evans finally got Aurora in the win column when he topped Aurora Central’s Abe Bereras in an all-city 138-pound 1st round match.
Evans admitted to being very nervous in his first state match, but eased into it once he picked up a takedown in the first period. The Raptors’ junior broke a 3-3 tie with another takedown late in the second period and held off Bereras’ late charge.
With one win to his credit, Evans now aims to make his way onto the medal podium. A win in Friday’s quarterfinals would go a long way towards that. Evans faces Cherry Creek’s Zach Finesilver, who won by pin in the first round, in the second round.
The wins started to come after that, as Regis Jesuit junior Logan Ronan — who watched from the stands when brother Donovan wrestled at last season’s state tournament — overcame early nerves with a dominating performance against Fountain-Fort Carson’s Josh Wininger.
Ronan built a hefty 16-5 lead early in the second period and finished with a pin of Wininger with 20 seconds left in the period. He’ll face Lincoln’s Seth Rosales in the quarterfinals.
Gateway sophomore Deyaun Trueblood — a returning state placer — dominated Pomona’s Cameron Gonzales for three periods in a 3-0 decision. Trueblood broke a scoreless tie with an escape early in the third period and got a takedown for insurance later in the period.
Next up for Trueblood is a quarterfinal against Coronado’s Grady Pina, a 7-0 winner by decision in the opening round.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
Class 5A first round
106 pounds: Owen Lamb (Poudre) maj. dec. A.J. FEDERICO (GRANDVIEW), 13-5
106 pounds: Louie Romero (Mountain Range) maj. dec. DANNY CONSTANT (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 9-0
113 pounds: Ryan Deakin (Legacy) pinned DOMINIC WENGER (RANGEVIEW), 0:28
120 pounds: Maya Nelson (Denver East) dec. CARL COMPOSANTO (REGIS JESUIT), 13-9
120 pounds: Mauricio Garcia (Northglenn) pinned XAVIER CARDENAS (GRANDVIEW), 0:45
126 pounds: Jess Hankin (Coronado) pinned JONNATHAN QUIJADA (AURORA CENTRAL), 3:44
132 pounds: Jason Romero (Pomona) won by inj. default over SERJ CHAVEZ (HINKLEY), 4:53
132 pounds: Chase Frye (Pine Creek) pinned JAKE DUGAN (EAGLECREST), 1:33
132 pounds: Devin House (Ponderosa) dec. DONOVAN RONAN (REGIS JESUIT), 4-3
132 pounds: Adrian DelaCruz (Greeley West) pinned KIPP CORBY (RANGEVIEW), 2:17
138 pounds: DOMINIQUE EVANS (EAGLECREST) dec. ABE BERERAS (AURORA CENTRAL), 6-4
138 pounds: Jimmy Rothwell (Arvada West) pinned DERON SOLOMON (RANGEVIEW), 0:29
145 pounds: LOGAN RONAN (REGIS JESUIT) pinned Josh Wininger (Fountain-Fort Carson), 3:41
152 pounds: Aaron Trygstad (Chaparral) pinned SAM MAES (RANGEVIEW), 4:00
152 pounds: DEYAUN TRUEBLOOD (GATEWAY) dec. Cameron Gonzales (Pomona), 3-0
160 pounds: Jacob Trujillo (Grand Junction) maj. dec. ALDIN PURIS (EAGLECREST), 8-3
160 pounds: TRENTON SCHULTZ (REGIS JESUIT) dec. HARLEY KORTE (CHEROKEE TRAIL), 7-3
182 pounds: Dalton Wadkins (Brighton) dec. JOSIAH NEUMANN (SMOKY HILL), 4-2 (OT)
195 pounds: Payton Tapia (Fossil Ridge) maj. dec. NICK ELGIN (REGIS JESUIT), 14-3
195 pounds: DEMARCUS CURTIS (SMOKY HILL) dec. Matthew Stanley (ThunderRidge), 5-4 (30T)
195 pounds: MAX GONZALES (RANGEVIEW) pinned Kaid Beziou (Liberty), 5:32
220 pounds: GRANT NEAL (REGIS JESUIT) pinned Zach Summers (Douglas Co.), 2:20
220 pounds: MAX CARBAJAL (HINKLEY) dec. Taylor White (Pine Creek), 3-2
220 pounds: DEXTER BESS (SMOKY HILL) pinned ANTHONY MALONE (EAGLECREST), 1:39
285 pounds: Jorge Rodriguez (Mountain Range) pinned TYLER MANUAL (HINKLEY), 0:19
285 pounds: Dorean Gonzales (Lakewood) pinned JOSH VIGIL (GRANDVIEW), 5:03
Class 4A first round
120 pounds: Sam Turner (Discovery Canyon) pinned JUNIOR CASILLAS (VISTA PEAK), 4:00
