AURORA | The spotlight wasn’t too big for the largely young lineup of the Grandview boys wrestling team, which stood up to a tough test against rival Eaglecrest Thursday night.
In front of a sizeable crowd, the host Wolves won eight matches — four from freshmen — and avoided giving up many big points in a 41-22 Centennial League dual meet victory over the Raptors, who came away with six wins themselves.
Freshmen Kyle Menuez (106 pounds), Braxton Widrikis (132), Oz Nowick (215) and Leland Day (285) all posted victories — two by fall, one by major decision and another by straight decision — to help fuel the victory for coach Ryan Budd’s Grandview team.
“We’re a very young team and Eaglecrest has a pretty veteran team, so it was a bit stressful leading up to the match,” said Budd, whose team improved to 16-1 in dual matches. “I knew it would be close, but I’m really happy with how we performed.”
Coach Javier Quintana’s Eaglecrest team got wins from its highest ranked wrestlers — seniors Adonias Cantu (113), Ethan Diaz (120), Thayne Lundy (175) and Dalton Leivian (190) — but four of the wins were by straight decision, which limited the team points.
At the top of the lineup, Menuez set the tone with a 9-2 decision over Eaglecrest’s Blake Saddler, while Eaglecrest countered and then took the lead on consecutive decisions by Cantu and Diaz.
The Raptors netted just six points from those wins, however, as the Wolves’ freshmen who lost (JR Ortega at 113 and Graeson Streit at 120) stayed out of trouble and avoided giving up the extra points that would have gone with a major decision, technical fall or pin.
“It’s something we’ve been preaching, you have to stay in there and fight, but if you go to your back, you have to get off it,” Budd said. “Those guys did a good job of keeping the match tight and not giving up bonus points.”
Grandview subbed Donavon Delbridge into the 126 pound match with junior Alijah Gabaldon missing from Eaglecrest’s lineup and it paid off with a Delbridge pin, followed by one from Widrikis and a major decision from senior Nehemiah Quintana at 138 pounds.
The Wolves’ 19-point streak ended when the Raptors picked up six from wins by decision at 144 pounds (Ethan Maughan) and 150 (Britton Matejovsky).
Back-to-back pins from sophomore Jonathan Montes Gonzales (157, where he moved with the absence of injured sophomore standout Gunner Lopez) and junior Charlie Herting, the No. 2-ranked wrestler in Class 5A at 165, tipped the odds of victory heavily towards Grandview.
Eaglecrest’s last 10 points came courtesy of Lundy’s major decision at 175 — in which the Wolves’ Dylan McMahon staved off a pin to save two points — as well as Leivian’s win by fall over Preston Baker at 190.
Nowick — a new addition to the lineup — had a major decision and Day a win by fall in the first period to cap the winning night for Grandview.
Both teams have tournaments over the weekend, as Eaglecrest plays host its annual Armando Rodriguez Memorial tournament, while Grandview heads to the Arvada West Invitational.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
GRANDVIEW 41, EAGLECREST 22
106 pounds: Kyle Menuez (Grandview) dec. Blake Saddler (Eaglecrest), 9-2; 113 pounds: Adonias Cantu (Eaglecrest) dec. JR Ortega (Grandview), 7-4; 120 pounds: Ethan Diaz (Eaglecrest) dec. Graeson Streit (Grandview), 6-0; 126 pounds: Donavon Delbridge (Grandview) pinned Damian Payan (Eaglecrest), 0:56; 132 pounds: Braxton Widrikis (Grandview) pinned Ramzi Noorzai (Eaglecrest), 3:31; 138 pounds: Nehemiah Quintana (Grandview) maj. dec. Oscar Hinojos (Eaglecrest), 11-2; 144 pounds: Ethan Maughan (Eaglecrest) dec. David McCurdy (Grandview), 8-6; 150 pounds: Britton Matejovsky (Eaglecrest) dec. Rylan Andrade (Grandview), 7-4; 157 pounds: Jonathan Montes Gonzales (Grandview) pinned Ethan Johnston (Eaglecrest), 3:25; 165 pounds: Charlie Herting (Grandview) pinned Gabe Rangel (Eaglecrest), 3:52; 175 pounds: Thayne Lundy (Eaglecrest) maj. dec. Dylan McMahon (Grandview), 16-3; 190 pounds: Dalton Leivian (Eaglecrest) pinned Preston Baker (Grandview), 2:28; 215 pounds: Oz Nowick (Grandview) maj. dec. Riley Neumeyer (Eaglecrest), 10-1; 285 pounds: Leland Day (Grandview) pinned Braden Conroy (Eaglecrest), 1:51
