AURORA | The Grandview boys wrestling team fell into a 15-point hole just three matches into Wednesday night’s Centennial League showdown with rival Cherokee Trail, but coach Ryan Budd knew he had some big hitters coming up.
The heart of the lineup turned the tide for the host Wolves — ranked No. 3 in Class 5A by On The Mat — as they rallied for a 49-26 win over the seventh-ranked Cougars to take a dual match that saw a combined 17 ranked wrestlers appear in the lineups.
Sophomore heavyweight Leland Day — the recently crowned champion at the rugged Top of the Rockies Invitational — finished the match with Grandview’s fourth pin among nine total wins, all of which included bonus points. Senior Charlie Herting (175 pounds), junior Jonathan Montes Gonzales (150) and sophomore Oz Nowick (215) also won by fall.
Coach Jeff Buck’s Cherokee Trail team got consecutive wins from freshman Elijah Van Horn (106), sophomore Charlie Rider (113) and sophomore Cooper Mathews (120) to open the match and later saw seniors Chance Mathews (138) and Mateo Garreffa (190) win later.
There may be some rematches coming soon, as both teams are scheduled to compete in the Centennial League Championships Saturday at Arapahoe High School.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
(3) GRANDVIEW 49, (7) CHEROKEE TRAIL 26
106 pounds: Elijah Van Horn (Cherokee Trail) maj. dec. Forrester Warnovk (Grandview), 16-5; 113 pounds: Charlie Rider (Cherokee Trail) pinned Pearce Christensen (Grandview), 4:40; 120 pounds: Cooper Mathews (Cherokee Trail) tech. fall Kyle Menuez (Grandview), 18-1; 126 pounds: JR Ortega (Grandview) won by forfeit; 132 pounds: Graeson Streit (Grandview) tech. fall Owen Babcock (Cherokee Trail), 17-1; 138 pounds: Chance Mathews (Cherokee Trail) pinned Anthony Segura (Cherokee Trail), 1:48; 144 pounds: Braxton Widrikis (Grandview) tech. fall Julian Breedlove (Cherokee Trail), 15-0; 150 pounds: Jonathan Montes Gonzales (Grandview) pinned Collin Lofland (Cherokee Trail), 0:30; 157 pounds: Gunner Lopez (Grandview) tech. fall Renzo Lubuguin (Cherokee Trail), 20-2; 165 pounds: Cade Hirstine (Grandview) maj. dec. Andrew Dienhart (Cherokee Trail), 10-1; 175 pounds: Charlie Herting (Grandview) pinned Michael Collins (Cherokee Trail), 1:28; 190 pounds: Mateo Garreffa (Cherokee Trail) tech. fall Ryder Hoffschneider (Grandview), 21-4; 215 pounds: Oz Nowick (Grandview) pinned Youdas Aghouiles (Cherokee Trail), 1:22; 285 pounds: Leland Day (Grandview) pinned Mason Carr (Cherokee Trail), 1:11
