DENVER | Two rounds were completed on the opening day of the Class 5A girls wrestling state tournament Thursday at Ball Arena and five of the 24 Aurora entries remain in state championship contention.
Regis Jesuit sisters Remington and Alexandra Zimmerer, Vista PEAK Prep teammates Amelia Bacon and Khloe Yizar and Eaglecrest’s Parice Jones all had their arms raised twice on the opening day of the three-day tournament to earn spots in the semifinals, which are slated for 6 p.m. Friday.
All five assured themselves of a top-six place by advancing to the semifinals and a win puts them into Saturday’s championship round.
Two of the Aurora area semifinalists already have state championships to their credit in Remington Zimmerer, a junior, and Bacon, a senior.
Zimmerer is back in the 120-pound bracket she won a year ago and she put herself on the path to a potential repeat with an opening day performance that included and pin and victory by tech fall. She’s joined in the semifinals by her freshman sister, who made it into the final four at 170 pounds with an 11-8 decision and a win by fall.
Jones had the shortest time on the mat of any of the semifinalists, as the senior standout recorded two wins by fall in a combined total of 1 minute, 44 seconds.
Still undefeated after positing a 19-second pin in the opening round — which secured her 150th career victory — and a win by fall in the second round of the quarterfinals, Bacon (45-0) is within a win of getting a chance to defend last season’s 125-pound title.
Yizar, meanwhile, opened her night with a pin and ended it with a gritty 12-2 major decision win that moved her into the semifinals at 235 pounds.
The Aurora area’s other 19 qualifiers — who hail from Aurora Central, Eaglecrest, Overland, Smoky Hill and Vista PEAK Prep — enter into the consolation side of the bracket and can still place as high as third. Two rounds of consolation matches will be held Friday beginning at 1:15 p.m.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2026 AURORA CLASS 5A GIRLS WRESTLING SEMIFINALS
Feb. 20 at Ball Arena
120 pounds: REMINGTON ZIMMERER (REGIS JESUIT) vs. Zoe Gabel (Pine Creek;)
125 pounds: AMELIA BACON (VISTA PEAK PREP) vs. Lucille Cammilleri (Chatfield)
170 pounds: ALEXANDRA ZIMMERER (REGIS JESUIT) vs. Shylee Tuzon (Central G.J.); PARICE JONES (EAGLECREST) vs. Emma Bielak (Mountain Vista)
235 pounds: KHLOE YIZAR (VISTA PEAK PREP) vs. Mariah Gonzales (Poudre)