ARVADA | The Class 5A Region 4 wrestling tournament — which includes two Aurora programs, Aurora Central and Hinkley — at a glance:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
CLASS 5A REGION 4 WRESTLING AT A GLANCE
Schedule: Feb. 10-11 at Arvada West High School; Feb. 10 — Opening round, 1 p.m.; Championship quarterfinals & 1st round consolation, 3:30 p.m.; 2nd round consolations, 6 p.m.; Feb. 11 — Championship semifinals & 3rd round consolations, 9 a.m..; consolation semifinals, 11 a.m.; gym cleared; championship finals, 1 p.m.; wrestlebacks (if necessary), 2:30 p.m.; awards, 3 p.m.
Aurora teams: Aurora Central and Hinkley
Other teams: Arvada West, Castle View, Centaurus, Coronado, Fort Collins, Fossil Ridge, Greeley West, Horizon, Mountain Range, Poudre, Thornton, Westminster
What’s at stake: Four wrestlers from each of the 14 weight classes advance to the Class 5A state wrestling tournament Feb. 16-18, 2017, at the Pepsi Center. Regional finalists and third-place match finisher advance automatically; third-place match loser may face wrestleback against fifth-place match winner if two haven’t wrestled in regional tournament with winner advancing to state tournament.
Returning Aurora 5A state qualifiers: Aurora Central — Octavio Lopez, jr. (qualified last season at 113 pounds, now at 120 pounds) and Omar Gonzalez, sr. (qualified last season at 138 pounds, now at 132); Hinkley — Serj Chavez, sr. (qualified last season at 138 pounds, again at 138 pounds)
Ranked Aurora wrestlers in Region 4 field (per On The Mat’s Week 10 rankings): Aurora Central — Omar Gonzalez, sr. (No. 9 at 132 pounds); Hinkley — Serj Chavez, sr. (No. 6 at 138 pounds) and Jonathan Perdomo, sr. (No. 24 at 145 pounds). Full list of Aurora wrestlers in On The Mat’s Week 10 rankings, here
Total ranked wrestlers in Region 4 field: 53 (Arvada West 7, AURORA CENTRAL 1, Castle View 5, Centaurus 1, Coronado 7, Fort Collins 6, Fossil Ridge 4, Greeley West 2, HINKLEY 2, Horizon 1, Mountain Range 2, Poudre 12, Thornton 3)
Ranked teams in Region 4 field: No. 4 Poudre, No. 5 Castle View, No. 6 Coronado
Aurora breakdown: Aurora Central and Hinkley head to Arvada West to compete in a Region 4 field that is open with opportunity for state qualifiers in a variety of weights. Coach Terrance Goodroad’s Thunderbirds are healthy at the right time and senior Serj Chavez is back looking for his fourth trip to the 5A state tournament. Chavez is ranked No. 6 in 5A and three of the five wrestlers in front of him are in the same regional, plus one ranked behind him. Senior Jonathan Perdomo is wrestling well at 145 pounds and just got into the rankings at No. 24 and is one of seven ranked wrestlers at that weight. Goodroad believes 160-pounder Tairus Venable and senior Carlos Argueta in a very open 195-pound bracket could take advantage of their opportunity. Coach Steve Stobaugh’s Aurora Central team is hoping that senior Omar Gonzalez can make it through a 132-pound bracket in which he is one of five ranked wrestlers. Junior Octavio Lopez, who qualified for state last year, is in a 120-pound weight that has three ranked wrestlers but could be open after that.