No greater badge of honor comes for a wrestler than having his arm raised in victory after a match.
But for members of the Eaglecrest boys wrestling team, the same gesture at the end of a certain tournament (other than the state tournament) means the most.
To become a champion at the Armando Rodriguez Tournament of Champions — started by the Eaglecrest program to honor the memory of late assistant coach Armando Rodriguez — carries extra weight for the Raptors. Three of them — seniors Adonias Cantu, Gabe Rangel and Thayne Lundy — made that happen Jan. 13 at the fifth annual tournament.
“It means a lot to win this,” Cantu said. “It felt good to have some of my teammates win alongside me as well.”
The three champions along with five others that placed in the top six of their respective weights helped coach Javier Quintana’s team win the tournament for a second consecutive season.
Eaglecrest accrued 238 points to finish well atop a field of 34 scoring teams that also included area programs in Overland, Vista PEAK Prep, Smoky Hill and Aurora Central. The Raptors got back the title after Central of Grand Junction edged them by two points in 2023.
It was a quality tournament that featured a large number of wrestlers from multiple classifications that appeared in On The Mat’s rankings.
Cantu finished as the Class 5A state runner-up at 106 pounds last season and he has followed that up with an outstanding senior campaign at 113 that has him ranked No. 3 in On The Mat’s Week 6 rankings. At the Rodriguez TOC, he won all five of his matches to improve to 39-2 on the season and was voted Most Outstanding Wrestler.
On his way to winning the weight bracket for the second straight season, Cantu did not get to face 4A No. 1 Isaiah Harrison of Mountain View — who dropped out of the tournament — as he had hoped, but he pinned Jefferson’s Enrique Soto (No. 1 in 3A) with two seconds remaining in the final.
Rangel made it to the tournament championship for the first time after he placed fourth in 2023 and third in 2022 and he made the most of it. After a first round bye, Rangel won all four of his matches by fall, including a championship victory against Discovery Canyon’s Bodie Sukle in which he rallied after falling behind late. He improved to 9-2 on the season.
Lundy earned a third place in 2023 after he was sixth in 2022 and went all the way to champion this time. He won his first four matches by fall before he faced Fort Lupton’s Christopher Galicia in the final. Lundy prevailed with a 5-3 win by decision to move to 29-6.
The other Eaglecrest finalist came from the Raptors’ B team in Cain Gutierrez, who lost in the 190 pound championship match. Additionally, Ethan Diaz finished third at 120 pounds, Blake Sadler and Dalton Leivian were fourth at 106 and 190, respectively, and Oscar Hinojos came in sixth at 138 pounds.
Greater than it all, over course, is the continued remembrance of Rodriguez, a former high school and college wrestler before he joined the Eaglecrest staff as an assistant, who died suddenly of a heart attack in November of 2017.
When the tournament concluded and before the awards ceremony, Quintana called together the coaches and wrestlers present to relay the story of his shock at the loss of Rodriguez and to cherish time with loved ones. Rodriguez’s widow, Nadine, and son Armando Jr. were in attendance.
Overland had two placers in Jarrius Ward (3rd at 190) and Eric Kelly (fourth at 150), while Vista PEAK Prep’s lone placer came at 120 pounds in Ian Bacon, who was sixth.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
