DENVER | The odds were in Aurora’s favor in terms of bringing home big prizes from the Class 5A boys wrestling state tournament, as six wrestlers from city programs earned their way into Saturday night’s finals at Ball Arena.
In the end and after a variety of close matches, two of those six emerged victorious as Grandview sophomore JR Ortega and Vista PEAK Prep junior Ian Bacon came away as winners at 113 and 120 pounds, respectively.
Bacon’s win, in particular, was immensely significant for a variety of reasons. He claimed Vista PEAK Prep’s first-ever state champion in any sport and became the first twin duo to win state championships in wrestling when sister Amelia late took the the 5A 125-pound girls title. To get the win, Bacon pinned Cherokee Trail sophomore Cooper Mathews, one of Aurora’s other finalists who was in search of a second straight state title.
Also finishing as state runners-up for Aurora programs were Cherokee Trail senior 138-pounder Chance Mathews, Grandview junior Jonathan Montes Gonzales at 150 pounds and Grandview sophomore Leland Day at 285 pounds. The three lost their matches by a combined total of six points.
Ortega was the first to claim state championship honors among locals as he did so with a strong 5-0 decision over Fruita Monument sophomore Kel Unrein. Ortega placed third at 106 pounds last season and made the two-step jump up the podium with a victory that finished off a 36-6 season.
Bacon came up next and battled with Mathews, who he knew well from club wrestling, into the second period before he earned a win by fall. Mathews had suffered just two losses in Colorado and one out of state previously and had not been pinned in any of them until it came at the hands of Bacon, who won his last 20 matches of the season to finish 43-7.
Chance Mathews sought to get another state championship for the family in his first trip to the finals, but came up agonizingly short in the 138-pound final against Pomona’s Angel Serrano. Mathews appeared near a takedown on the edge of the mat in the final seconds that would have won it, but Serrano held him off to take a 5-4 decision.
Heartbreak also came for Montes Gonzales in the 150-pound match, as he suffered a 6-5 loss to Arvada West’s Auston Eudaly. Montes Gonzales was pinned in the 150-pound title match last season by Regis Jesuit’s Garrett Reece, but he went all the way to the final period before falling just short against Eudaly, who had pinned him in consecutive tournaments in January.
Day’s only losses of the season came out of state at the Reno Tournament of Champions and Doc Buchanan Invitational, but he suffered his only defeat to a Colorado wrestler in the state championship match against Fruita Monument’s Tatum Williams. The match went to third period in a scoreless tie before Williams earned an early escape and then got a late takedown with the match in the balance.
The six finalists led the way among 13 total placers for Aurora programs, which included seven for coach Ryan Budd’s Grandview team, which finished in third place for a second consecutive season.
Third-place finishers for the Wolves were junior Gunner Lopez at 157 pounds and senior Charlie Herting at 175 pounds. Herting sought to add a 175-pound title to the 165-pound crown he won last season, but lost an overtime decision to Pomona’s Emmitt Munson (the eventual state champion) in the semifinals. He pinned two opponents on the final day to place third.
Sophomore Braxston Widrikis (144 pounds) placed fifth and sophomore Oz Nowick took sixth at 215 pounds to round out Grandview’s podium presence.
In addition to the Mathews brothers, Cherokee Trail had three other placers: senior Mateo Garreffa (fourth at 190 pounds), junior Ryan Everhart (fifth at 155 pounds) and freshman Elijah Van Horn (sixth at 106 pounds).
Coach Jeff Buck’s Cougars finished sixth in the final standings.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
