AURORA | The 2022 Class 5A and 4A boys state wrestling tournament at a glance:
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
Eight Aurora programs — Cherokee Trail, Eaglecrest, Grandview, Overland, Rangeview, Regis Jesuit and Smoky Hill in Class 5A and Vista PEAK in 4A — will be represented at the 2022 boys state wrestling tournament, which is set for Feb. 17-19, 2022, at Ball Arena. The tournament returns to Downtown Denver after it was held in Pueblo last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Cherokee Trail has the largest state contingent with 11 qualifiers, followed by Grandview (10), Eaglecrest (7), Regis Jesuit (3), Overland (2), Smoky Hill (2), Vista PEAK (2) and Rangeview with one.
Full Class 5A/4A state state tournament pairings, here
∙ The first round of the Class 5A/4A state tournament begins at 3:45 p.m. Thursday, with matches running until they are completed. Championship quarterfinals take place at 12:45 p.m. Friday and championship semifinals at 6:30 p.m., followed by the second round of consolations The third round of consolation matches resumes at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by consolation semifinals, then third– and fifth-place matches as mats become available. The Parade of Champions for the finalists in 2A-5A plus girls begins at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, preceding championship matches.
∙ Tim Yount of On The Mat released his predictions for the top six placewinners in each of the 14 weight classes and his predictions — based on a thorough analysis of the bracket and how wrestlers have performed coming into the tournament — have 11 Aurora wrestlers making their way onto the medal podium and three others one match away from making the medal round depending on the flow of the tournament.
Yount’s projections have two Aurora wrestlers making the finals in Cherokee Trail senior Derek Glenn Jr. at 120 pounds and Rangeview junior Greg Brooks at 185 pounds. He has picked Glenn Jr. to defeat Ponderosa’s Jacob Myers to win his second state championship, adding to the 106-pound crown he won as a sophomore in 2020. Brooks, who placed fifth at last season’s state tournament and is in state for a third straight season, is projected to make the final and lose to Monarch’s Cole Carlucci.
The pre-state picks project Aurora to have top-six placers in nine of the 14 weights in the 5A tournament, with holes coming only at 132, 138, 152, 160 and 170. Yount only has two of Cherokee Trail’s 11 qualifiers projected to play in Glenn Jr. and freshman Chance Matthews, who he has picked sixth at 113 pounds, while he sees four of Grandview’s 10 making the podium, headed by seniors Sonny Quintana and Angelo Falise (4th at 145 and 285 pounds, respectively), plus junior Max Kibbee (5th at 195) and junior Sean Arnett (6th at 120). The pre-state picks have two of Regis Jesuit’s three qualifiers winning third-place matches in freshman Garrett Reece at 126 pounds and junior Dirk Morley at 220, while Eaglecrest (senior Mike Witt 5th at 285 pounds and junior Dorian Ervin 6th at 106) also have a pair of placing picks.
One match away depending on flow of the tournament is Vista PEAK junior Ezekiel Taylor in the 4A 182-pound bracket, Grandview senior 182-pounder Talen Rice and Cherokee Trail senior heavyweight Kobe Euell.
“He has picked Glenn Jr. to win his second state championship — adding to the 106-pound crown he won as a sophomore in 2020 — by defeating Ponderosa’s Jacob Myers in the final.” in not correct Glenn Jr. Beat Frankie Sanchez from Grandview that year.
Thank you, the reference to who he is picked to beat this year (Ponderosa’s Jacob Myers). Reworded the sentence to make that more clear. Thanks!