DENVER | It was take two for both Grandview junior JR Ortega and Cherokee Trail junior Cooper Mathews in championship terms, as both again came away from the Class 5A boys state wrestling tournament titles.
Ortega earned his second straight and Mathews got back on top where he was as a freshman after a close loss in last year’s finals as the Aurora area finished 2-3 in title matches in the midst of a dominating night for Pomona at Ball Arena.
The Panthers went 9-for-9 in state championship matches set the Colorado team scoring record with 303.5 points, but only one of them came against an Aurora area qualifier, as Grandview senior Gunner Lopez lost a tight 5-2 decision to Pomona’s Emmitt Munson.
Ortega — who was voted 5A’s Most Outstanding Wrestler and helped coach Ryan Budd’s team to a runner-up team finish — dominated his opponent from Pomona (Zaidyn Quinonez) in the semifinals and earned a spot in the 126-pound title match against Castle View sophomore Jacob Ness.
In yet another relentless performance, Ortega got up quickly and then got Ness on his back near the edge of the mat and settled in for a win by fall in 3 minutes, 7 seconds. That gave him a second state championship to go with last season’s crown at 113 pounds and tied him with Fabian Santillan (a two-time champion in 2018 and 2019) as the only Grandview wrestlers all-time with multiple titles.
Next up came Mathews, who was the 106-pound state champion as a freshman in 2024, but had his bid to become a two-time champion derailed in an all-Aurora finals loss to Vista PEAK Prep’s Ian Bacon last season.
Up to 132 pounds this season, Mathews had another local matchup ahead of him in the final in Grandview junior Kyle Menuez, who hadn’t lost since Mathews pinned him during the Centennial League Championship tournament three week earlier.
Mathews got a stiffer challenge this time, but made adjustments and scored often on his way to a 13-4 victory by major decision. That win made history for coach Jeff Buck’s Cherokee Trail program, as he became the first two-time winner.
Typically held at the end as the final move from light weights to heaviest, the 285-pound state championship match came up third this time thanks to a reshuffling by the Colorado High School Activities Association.
Grandview junior Leland Day — runner-up in the same match in 2025 — got another chance to win his first time and built a late lead over Legend senior Xander Rose, who he lost a one-point decision to at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in California in January.
Day got a takedown to take the lead, but was docked two penalty points, which forced overtime. After he went up with an escape point, Rose managed to take him down and finish the match by pin.
Lopez also had a dramatic match against Munson, a returning state champion, in the next-to-last match of the night. A second-period reversal put Munson in the lead and he staved off some close calls on Lopez’s attempt to get a tying takedown in which finished in a 5-2 decision. Munson’s gestures to the Grandview crowd resulted in a one-point team deduction from Pomona’s score for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Still, it was the best of four top-six career finishes for Lopez, who was sixth as a freshman and sophomore and third in 2025.
Placers: Besides the five finalists, 12 other Aurora area boys earned their way onto medal podiums with top-six results. The majority of those came with third-place finishes, which came from seniors Richard Avila of Regis Jesuit (113 pounds), Ian Bacon of Vista PEAK Prep (120), Grandview’s Jonathan Montes Gonzales (157) and Cherokee Trail’s Youdas Aghouiles (285), Smoky Hill junior Jovani Galvan (138) and Cherokee Trail sophomore Elijah Van Horn (106). Grandview junior Christian Skov (175) placed fourth, while fifths went to Grandview juniors DJ Snider (120) and Anthony Segura (138) and Cherokee Trail senior Ryan Everhart (157) with sixths to Cherokee Trail senior Renzo Lubuguin (150) and Grandview sophomore Marques Lawrence (215).