DENVER | A double-digit number of Aurora boys wrestlers are destined to stand on the medal podium at the end of the Class 5A state tournament Saturday at Ball Arena.
Thirteen wrestlers — seven from Grandview, five from Cherokee Trail and one from Vista PEAK Prep — survived two days of competition and earned the chance at least one last time on the final day of the tournament.
The majority of the places have not been determined, but five — Grandview sophomores JR Ortega (113 pounds) and Leland Day (285) and junior Jonathan Montes Gonzales (150) and Cherokee Trail senior Chance Mathews (138) and sophomore Cooper Mathews (120) — know they will be either first or second as they earned spots in championship matches that begin following the Parade of Champions at 4 p.m.
Cooper Mathews won a state championship at 106 pounds last season and will take aim at adding an 120-pound title this season after he earned a 17-2 tech fall victory over Centaurus’ JR Spence. That made Mathews (45-4) half of what will be an all-Aurora championship match when Vista PEAK Prep junior Ian Bacon (42-7) got through the other half of the bracket with an 11-6 win over Pomona’s Zaidyn Quinonez.
Mathews will share the big stage of the championships with older brother, Chance, who has the chance to earn the 138-pound crown when he faces Pomona’s Angel Serrano (33-8). Chance Mathews (51-2) earned that opportunity thanks to a gritty 10-2 victory over Fruita Monument’s Gage Chelewski in the semifinals.
Montes Gonzales (35-6) was part of an all-Aurora championship match last season (which he lost to Regis Jesuit’s Garrett Reece), but he has another chance to win a state title. He edged Pomona’s Tyler Capps 6-4 in the 150-pound semifinals to earn a spot opposite Arvada West senior Austin Eudaly (48-2).
Ortega is championship-bound for the first time and continued his strong run through the tournament with a 12-4 major decision victory over Pomona’s Logan Dellow. Now 35-6 on the season, he will face Fruita Monument sophomore Kel Unrein (39-7) in the championship match.
Day has also been impressive with his tournament performance, which led him to the 285-pound state championship match against Fruita Monument’s Tatum Williams (33-6). Day (39-4) earned that spot with a 7-3 decision over Pine Creek’s Isaac Landry in the semifinals.
Not among the finalists for Grandview is senior Charlie Herting, who was in search of a second straight state title. Herting hadn’t lost since the championship match of the Top of the Rockies Invitational against Pueblo Central’s Genaro Pino (a 4A finalist), but a streak of 14-straight wins by pin came to an end with a 12-8 overtime loss in a see-saw match with Pomona’s Emmitt Munson.
Herting will wrestle in the consolation semifinals, as will Grandview sophomore Braxston Widrikis (144), Grandview junior Gunner Lopez (157) and Cherokee Trail senior Mateo Garreffa (190), who also fell in the semifinals.
Cherokee Trail freshman Elijah Van Horn (106) and junior Ryan Everhart (150) along with Grandview sophomore Oz Nowick (215) earned their way through the consolation brackets and can still place as high as third.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
AURORA CLASS 5A BOYS STATE CONSOLATION/PLACING MATCHES
106 pounds: Consolation semifinal — Elijah Van Horn, fr., Cherokee Trail (33-9) vs. Synscere Garcia, jr., Denver East (33-9)
113 pounds: Championship match — JR Ortega, soph., Grandview (35-6) vs. Kel Unrein, soph., Fruita Monument (39-7)
120 pounds: Championship match — Ian Bacon, jr., Vista PEAK Prep (42-7) vs. Cooper Mathews, soph., Cherokee Trail (45-4)
138 pounds: Championship match — Chance Mathews, sr., Cherokee Trail (51-2) vs. Angel Serrano, jr., Pomona (35-5)
144 pounds: Consolation semifinal — Braxston Widrikis, soph., Grandview (39-9) vs. Levi Carlucci, soph., Monarch (40-8)
150 pounds: Championship match — Jonathan Montes Gonzales, jr., Grandview (35-6) vs. Austin Eudaly, sr., Arvada West (48-2)
150 pounds: Consolation semifinal — Ryan Everhart, jr., Cherokee Trail (39-9) vs. Ethyn BravoPacker, soph., Brighton (45-4)
157 pounds: Consolation semifinal — Gunner Lopez, jr., Grandview (36-7) vs. Caden Deines, soph., ThunderRidge (29-4)
175 pounds: Consolation semifinal — Charlie Herting, sr., Grandview (42-5) vs. Bryce Hayman, jr., Loveland (31-12)
190 pounds: Consolation semifinal — Mateo Garreffa, sr., Cherokee Trail (44-8) vs. Brady Swigert, jr., Rocky Mountain (34-18)
215 pounds: Consolation semifinal — Oz Nowick, soph., Grandview (31-7) vs. Mason Shore, sr., Centaurus (39-8)
285 pounds: Championship match — Leland Day, soph., Grandview (39-4) vs. Tatum Williams, sr., Fruita Monument (33-6)
