Garrett Reece’s fire to win a state championship this season got stoked on the same mats at Ball Arena exactly one year earlier.
The Regis Jesuit junior standout got caught and pinned by Ponderosa’s Jacob Myers just 35 seconds into his finals appearance at 132 pounds in 2023 and it lit a fire under him that would only be satisfied with some redemption.
Reece put in so much work, he sometimes had to be held back by Raiders coach Dan Wrona. But it also forged him into a juggernaut who blew through the season with just one loss in 47 matches, which came out of state. The campaign culminated with an undefeated record in Colorado for Reece with his second-period pin of Grandview sophomore Jonathan Montes Gonzales in the Class 5A 150-pound final Saturday night at Ball Arena.
“I worked harder every day in practice, I was getting in every extra workout to the point where if I had an injury, my coach would have to hold me out,” Reece said. “I would feel like I was missing out if I wasn’t getting in work every day. It’s been a great season.”
He worked with Myers — who finished as the 144-pound runner-up — and Regis Jesuit training partner Daniel Lantz (who placed sixth at 138 pounds) plus a variety of coaches to make sure he didn’t experience the same result.
Reece’s season included just a single loss, which came during the rugged Doc Buchanan tournament in California. Reece is still disappointed in that 4-2 loss to Lucan O’Brien of St. Edward (Ohio) in the first week of January, but he rebounded to place third in the tournament and has won every other one since.
He was hardly challenged at the state tournament with two wins by pin and two by major decision. His last foe was Montes Gonzales, who created an all-Aurora championship match when he pulled off a dramatic semifinal win over Ponderosa’s DJ Wince with a takedown in the final second of the third period.
In the final, Reece would not be denied this time. He built a 7-2 lead after two periods, then picked up Montes Gonzales and put him on his back before he was awarded the fall with 15 seconds remaining.
“Last year I was really nervous before the final, I didn’t really know what to do with myself,” he said. “This year, it was all excitement. As soon as I got off, I was like ‘I wish I was still out there on the mat.’ I’m having so much fun right now and just excited to be there.”
The final win made him perfect against Colorado wrestlers, a feat that he appreciated.
“Last year, I was a match away, so to do it this year is huge for me,” Reece said. “It as a big accomplishment and I’m very excited.”
Reece is Regis Jesuit’s first state champion since Anthony Segura, a three-time winner whose last title came in 2021. If he can win another next year, Reece can join Segura (2019, 2020 & 2021), fellow three-time winner John Crowley (2010, 2011 & 2012), current Raiders assistant Grant Neal (2013 & 2014) and B.J. Sanchez (1993 & 1994) as the program’s multiple state championship winners.
Reece also took pleasure in seeing two of his teammates make it on the medal podium in Lance as well as senior 157-pounder Ryan Curran, who placed fifth.
A state championship will have to wait for Montes Gonzales, who earned a top-six place for the second time in as many varsity seasons for Grandview.
He was sixth a season ago, but pushed his way into the final with a 4-3 semifinal win over Wince that came with a takedown as time expired on the third period.
Montes Gonzales — who opened with a win by fall over Doherty’s Christian Olsen before he earned a 13-2 major decision win over Mountain Vista’s Griffen Langer — finished the season 44-9 and helped coach Ryan Budd’s Wolves finish third as a team.
“That was big for Jonathan, especially winning that semifinal,” Budd said. “Garrett has been in our room quite a few times for preseason, so we knew he would be tough to slow down.”
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports