Three Aurora programs — Cherokee Trail, Grandview and Regis Jesuit — had one Class 5A state champion apiece and combined with Eaglecrest to produce a total of 18 top-six placers in the city’s best mat season perhaps ever.
The majority of those placers appear on the 2023-24 Aurora Sentinel All-Aurora Boys Wrestling Team, which is based on state tournament performance in addition to regional and regular season results.
The All-Aurora team includes a placer in 13 of the 14 weight classes, topped by the state title-winners, which came at 106 pounds (Cherokee Trail freshman Cooper Mathews), 150 pounds (Regis Jesuit junior Garrett Reece) and 165 pounds (Grandview junior Charlie Herting).
Here’s a look at the top boys in each weight class for the season as compiled by Sentinel sports editor Courtney Oakes:
2023-24 AURORA SENTINEL ALL-AURORA BOYS WRESTLING TEAM
106 pounds: Cooper Mathews, fr., Cherokee Trail — Of an outstanding wave of freshmen to arrive with Aurora programs this season, Mathews stands at the head of the class as the 106-pound Class 5A state champion in his first varsity campaign. He was at his best in four state tournament matches, as he did not allow a single takedown, gave up four points total (all on allowed escapes) and finished it off with an 8-0 major decision of Ponderosa’s Jeremiah Waldschmidt (story, here). Mathews’ season highlights included a victory in the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament, along championships at the Hamada Classic as well as the War Horse Invitational and the Region 1 tournament, which earned him his spot in the state tournament. Mathews also placed fifth at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament and Rockwell Rumble. He finished with a 50-6 record with four of his losses coming by one point and another in overtime.
113 pounds: Adonias Cantu, sr., Eaglecrest — Short of winning a state championship, Cantu had the most successful run of any Aurora area wrestler over the past two seasons, as he racked up a combined 97 victories and earned a spot in a 5A state final twice. He lost the 106-pound 5A title match last season and ended up as the runner-up in the 113-pound class this season after a loss by major decision to Pomona freshman sensation Ignacio Villasenor. Cantu still had a remarkably successful season with an Aurora-best 58 wins (against just three losses) as he finished 3-1 at the state tournament, which came on the heels of winning the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament as well as the Region 2 crown. His season highlights also included championships at the Harold McCray Invitational, Rodriguez Tournament of Champions and Northglenn Invitational, while he also passed the 100-win career milestone.
120 pounds: Ethan Diaz, sr., Eaglecrest — Diaz finished his last season of prep wrestling the same place his previous one ended, on the medal podium at the end of the Class 5A state tournament as he finished in fourth place at 120 pounds, which was a spot higher than the previous season. Working closely with fellow senior Adonias Cantu in training, Diaz posted a 46-win season (against 12 losses) that included a 3-2 record in state matches with both of his losses coming by a combined five points. A season that saw him open at 126 and shift down following winter break, included a championship at the Harold McCray Invitational, while he was also a finalist at the Northglenn Norse Invitational and at the Centennial League Championship tournament, where he lost in the final to 3A state champion Dale O’Blia of Mullen. Diaz won the championship of the Region 2 tournament with three straight major decisions.
126 pounds: Alijah Gabaldon, jr., Eaglecrest — Gabaldon continued to flourish in the Eaglecrest environment after he transferred over prior to his sophomore year and he went from not placing last season at the Class 5A state tournament to taking third place with a 4-1 performance. Fast and aggressive from the opening whistle of each match, Gabaldon picked up a pin and win by decision in his first two matches at Ball Arena, but dropped a 4-1 decision to Pomona’s Geno Cardenas in the semifinals in a match he believed he could have won, then bounced back to pin Cherokee Trail’s Jay Everhart for third. Gabaldon (36-9) started the season at 138 pounds, also wrestled at 132 pounds and settled at 126 after winter break, where he went 21-3 (with a loss by medical forfeit in the Region 2 final). His season highlights included a victory in the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament plus finals appearances at the Harold McCray Invitational and Northglenn Norse Invitational.
132 pounds: Nehemiah Quintana, sr., Grandview — Quintana has been a staple of the Grandview lineup for several seasons, but it took until his senior year to achieve his goal of making it onto the medal podium at the Class 5A state tournament. In the last of his three career trips to state, Quintana finished 3-2 with a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Lincoln Gregersen of Ralston Valley, plus a 5-2 loss by decision to Pine Creek’s Elijah Banks in a third-place match he wrestled with a torn labrum, which he also had when he gutted out a win in the consolation semifinals. Quintana’s season highlights were many, which included a dominating run to win his weight at the first Centennial League Championship tournament, plus a Colfax Smackdown title, a fifth-place finish at the rugged Top of the Rockies Invitational and a Region 3 championship. He had a final record of 37-9.
138 pounds: Chance Mathews, jr., Cherokee Trail — It was a banner year for the Mathews family with two placers in Mathews, who took fourth at 138 pounds, while his brother, Cooper, won the 106-pound state title. The family might have had two state finalists in the same season, but Chance Mathews got stopped by eventual state champion Thomas Verrette of Ponderosa by a 7-3 decision in the semifinals. He lost an ultimate tiebreaker to Pomona’s Angel Serrano in the third-place match as part of a 3-2 state showing that capped a 44-10 season. Mathews’ stellar season saw him win tournament championships at the Hamada Classic as well as the War Horse Invitational, while he was was second in the Region 1 tournament, fourth at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament and fifth at the Rockwell Rumble.
144 pounds: Ryan Everhart, soph., Cherokee Trail — Everhart was part of a second brother tandem of placers for Cherokee Trail, as he got onto the medal podium in sixth place in Class 5A at 144 pounds, while older brother, Jay, took fourth at 126. Ryan Everhart — the Aurora area’s only state qualifier in his weight class — split six of his matches at state with two close wins, including an overtime win over Brighton’s Josiah Gallegos — who had pinned him twice during the regular season, including a week earlier in regional competition — that got him into the medal round. He finished with a final record of 39-15 in a season in which he won the championship at the War Horse Invitational, finished as the Centennial League Championship runner-up and placed third in the Region 3 tournament to get him into state.
150 pounds: Garrett Reece, jr., Regis Jesuit — Reece put himself on an unswerving mission for greatness after he lost in the first period of a Class 5A state championship match appearance at 132 pounds in his sophomore season. As a junior, no wrestler in the state of Colorado — and only one in the entire season — was able to stop Reece in 47 matches, as he cruised to victory at the state tournament. He followed an opening round pin with two major decision victories and capped his run with a win by fall over Grandview’s Jonathan Montes Gonzales in an all-Aurora area state championship match (story, here). Reece’s only loss came by 4-2 decision to Lucan O’Brien of St. Edward (Ohio) in the semifinals of the loaded Doc Buchanan Invitational in California in the first week of January. He rebounded to place third in the only tournament he didn’t win on the season and he claimed crowns at the Arapahoe Warrior Invitational, Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament, Five Counties Invitational (in California), Northglenn Norse Invitational and the Region 4 tournament. Reece is a three-time state placer with one season remaining.
157 pounds: Ryan Curran, sr., Regis Jesuit — Only two Aurora area wrestlers qualified for the Class 5A state tournament at 157 pounds in Curran and talented Grandview sophomore Gunner Lopez (who was returning from injury) and they met twice over the span of three days at Ball Arena. Wrestling his best at the end of the season, Curran ended up on top in both of those meetings with a 1-0 decision in the quarterfinals — which assured him of his first career state place — and then a 5-4 decision that earned him fifth place, while it sent Lopez to sixth. Curran finished 3-2 at the state tournament (38-8 overall), which came at the end of a season in which he won championships at the Northglenn Norse Invitational as well as the Region 4 tournament that qualified him for state, while he was the Continental League Championship runner-up and also placed fifth at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament.
165 pounds: Charlie Herting, jr., Grandview — The most prolific pinner in Aurora resided at Grandview, where Herting dominated in the middle of a lineup that was populated with young wrestlers. Already a two-time state placer, Herting added a gold medal to his collection with four wins by fall that had the added benefit to collecting maximum team points, which helped the Wolves match their best-ever state finish in third place. Through three varsity seasons, Herting owns the single season and career pins record at Grandview thanks to his state run, which he finished off with a third-period win by fall over Poudre’s Brett Lamb (story, here). In addition to his state championship — and sparkling 47-5 record — Herting’s season included a win at the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament as well as the Aggen Invitational, Colfax Smackdown and Region 3 tournament (where he also defeated Lamb by fall), while he placed third at the rugged Top of the Rockies Invitational and second at the Arvada West Invitational.
175 pounds: Thayne Lundy, sr., Eaglecrest — Ironically enough, Lundy’s first and last matches of his senior season came against the same opponent (Chatfield’s Jay Aplanalp) and he came away victorious in both. The second meeting came in the Class 5A third-place match at 175 pounds and Lundy took it by 8-4 decision for a lofty final place in his second career trip to the state tournament. One of the senior staples of an outstanding Eaglecrest team, Lundy performed at a high level at state with four wins in five matches, suffering only a semifinal loss by decision to Pomona’s Emmerson Claeys. Among Lundy’s season highlights were championships at the Harold McCray Invitational, Rodriguez Tournament of Champions, Northglenn Norse Invitational and the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament, while he was the Region 2 runner-up behind eventual state champion Tyler Eise of Ponderosa.
190 pounds: Mateo Garreffa, jr., Cherokee Trail — Garreffa made an impression in his only trip to the Class 5A state tournament thus far, as he earned wins by fall in his first two matches to make it to the semifinals and assure himself of a spot on the medal podium. His run was ended by eventual state champion Weston Hoffschneider of Ponderosa and he lost two competitive decisions in the consolation bracket to finish in sixth place. Garreffa began the season at 175, but found more success once he bumped up to 190 following winter break. He finished as the runner-up of the War Horse Invitational, took fourth at the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament and also placed second at the Region 1 tournament, where he lost to eventual state finalist Kalob Ybarra of Pomona. Garreffa finished with a 29-18 record.
215 pounds: Oz Nowick, fr., Grandview — Nowick opened the season wrestling on the junior varsity, but eventually was yet another talented freshman that earned a spot in Grandview’s varsity lineup. Once he got there, Nowick thrived and earned his way all the way to the Class 5A state tournament, in which he finished 2-2 to complete a 23-12 season. He opened his state bid with a win by fall in an upset by seeding, then lost to eventual state runner-up Jake Howell of Cherry Creek in the quarterfinals. Nowick picked up a win on the consolation side of the bracket before he lost to the eventual fifth-place finisher. His season highlights included a championship at the Colfax Smackdown, plus third-place finishes at the Arvada West Invitational and the Region 3 tournament, along with a fourth at the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament and sixth at the rugged Top of the Rockies Invitational.
285 pounds: Leland Day, fr., Grandview — Impact freshman in the upper weights are few and far between, but Day definitely fit the bill there as he not only qualified for the Class 5A state tournament in his first varsity season, but ended up with a fifth-place finish. He appeared in as many matches as any Aurora area wrestler at the state tournament — six — and he finished 4-2 with three wins by pin as well as a two-point decision in the match that got him into the placing round. Day’s season highlights included a victory in the inaugural Centennial League Championship tournament, while he finished fourth at the rugged Top of the Rockies Invitational (losing to eventual state champion Xavier Valentin-Bradford of Centaurus by two points) and fifth at the Arvada West Invitational. Day, who was the Region 3 runner-up behind eventual state finalist Eli Stevens of Northglenn, finished with a 38-11 record.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
