AURORA | Dalton Leivian hates to wait.
Too many things can go through his mind when the junior 215-pounder has to wait for his weight class to come up in one of Eaglecrest’s wrestling duals.
Often it is a long wait, but not on Thursday night, when he got to be the first Raptor to compete on the match in the new year when his weight kicked off the Centennial League dual match at rival Cherokee Trail. Under a single light over the mat, Leivian recorded a win by fall in the opening period and his teammates picked up the momentum as the Raptors topped the Cougars 50-27.
Coach Javier Quintana’s Eaglecrest team — which returned to competition in Colorado after going to the Reno Tournament of Champions in mid-December — also got a win by fall from new addition Alijah Gabaldon at 132 pounds as well as Marcel Gordon (285), Blake Saddler (106), Ethan Maughan (144), Gabe Rangel (157) and Thayne Lundy (165) to win a match it led from start to finish.
Ethan Diaz and Ladanian Gordon earned wins by major decision at 120 and 175 pounds, respectively, to round out the wins for the Raptors, which own the No. 7 spot in On The Mat’s latest Class 5A team rankings. Eaglecrest also wrestled without senior Dorian Ervin, a state finalist a year ago and No. 1 at 113 pounds going into winter break.
Coach Jeff Buck’s Cherokee Trail team — which competed at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament prior to break — got a big early win from 113-pounder Jay Everhart (who defeated Eaglecrest’s Adonias Cantu), but had to play catchup the whole match.
Nate Jackson (126) and Brayden Smith (138) won by fall and Ethan Watkins (150) and Ellis Williams (190) received forfeits to round out the Cougars’ scoring.
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
Eaglecrest 50, Cherokee Trail 27
215 pounds: Dalton Leivian (Eaglecrest) pinned Mouhamed Benbelkacem (Cherokee Trail), 1:18; 285 pounds: Marcel Gordon (Eaglecrest) pinned Amet Kayayev (Cherokee Trail), 2:25; 106 pounds: Blake Saddler (Eaglecrest) pinned Blake O’Shields (Cherokee Trail), 0:33; 113 pounds: Jay Everhart (Cherokee Trail) dec. Adonias Cantu (Eaglecrest), 11-6; 120 pounds: Ethan Diaz (Eaglecrest) maj. dec. Ryan Everhart (Cherokee Trail), 11-3; 126 pounds: Nate Jackson (Cherokee Trail) pinned Jaedynn Pham (Eaglecrest), 2:20; 132 pounds: Alijah Gabaldon (Eaglecrest) pinned Jaqoah Younger (Cherokee Trail), 0:55; 138 pounds: Brayden Smith (Cherokee Trail) pinned Oscar Hinojos (Eaglecrest), 1:15; 144 pounds: Ethan Maughan (Eaglecrest) pinned Jason Maestes (Cherokee Trail), 5:04; 150 pounds: Ethan Watkins (Cherokee Trail) won by forfeit; 157 pounds: Gabe Rangel (Eaglecrest) pinned Scott Stevens (Cherokee Trail), 4:53; 165 pounds: Thayne Lundy (Eaglecrest) pinned Kyle Stevens (Cherokee Trail), 5:12; 175 pounds: Ladanian Gordon (Eaglecrest) maj. dec. Michael Collins (Cherokee Trail), 11-2; 190 pounds: Ellis Williams (Cherokee Trail) won by forfeit