DENVER | The 2024 girls state wrestling tournament for Aurora at a glance:
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@aurorasentinel.com.Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
Five Aurora programs — Eaglecrest, Overland, Regis Jesuit, Smoky Hill and Vista PEAK Prep — will be represented in the 2024 girls state wrestling tournament, which is set for Feb. 15-17, 2024, at Ball Arena. Aurora has a contingent of 13 qualifiers, which is down four from last season.
Eaglecrest has the largest local state contingent of qualifiers (seven), followed by Regis Jesuit with three, while Overland, Smoky Hill (which is in its first season as a program) and Vista PEAK Prep have one apiece.
Full 2024 girls state tournament pairings, here
∙ The first round of the girls state tournament begins at noon Thursday and runs in the same session as the opening round of the Class 2A and 3A boys. The quarterfinal round and first round of consolations begin at 8:30 a.m. Friday, while all semifinals will be held at 6:30 p.m. Consolation matches begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, immediately followed by consolation semifinals, placing matches with the Parade of Champions for girls and boys at 5:30 p.m. preceding finals.
∙ Aurora has multiple qualifiers in three weights, starting with 105 pounds, where Regis Jesuit freshman Remington Zimmerer appears in the upper portion of the bracket, with Eaglecrest senior Milar Little in the bottom portion. At 120 pounds, the lower portion of the bracket has two city qualifiers in Regis Jesuit senior Alexis Segura along with Vista PEAK Prep sophomore Amelia Bacon, which could make for an all-Aurora semifinal should both win their first two matches. Overland junior Ruth Worknhe is on the top side of the 235-pound bracket, while Eaglecrest sophomore Emma Roberts is on the bottom. Aurora programs did not have a qualifier at 115, 130, 140 and 155 pounds.
∙ Among qualifiers, two come in after winning regional championships (Vista PEAK Prep sophomore Amelia Bacon and Eaglecrest sophomore Emma Roberts at 120 and 235 pounds, respectively, in Region 2. Eaglecrest senior Nyla Barmore also made a Region 2 final, but finished as the 125-pound runner-up. At the Region 3 tournament at Central of Grand Junction, Regis Jesuit freshman Remington Zimmerer lost a one-point decision in the 105-pound final. (Results for Region 2, here and results for Region 3, here).
∙ Eaglecrest senior Gianna Falise and Regis Jesuit senior Alexis Segura are the most state seasoned among Aurora’s qualifiers with three trips apiece. Segura missed the 2022 tournament due to injury, but made the state championship match in 2021 (when the tournament was held in Pueblo due to the coronavirus pandemic) as well as last season, as she finished second both times. Falise qualified for state for the third straight season in a third different weight class, as she is in at 190 pounds (after wrestling most of the season at 170) after she made it at 155 last season and 147 in 2022. Eaglecrest senior Chasey Karabell (100), Vista PEAK Prep sophomore Amelia Bacon (115), Smoky Hill senior Maddie Patterson (140), Eaglecrest sophomore Emma Roberts (235) and Overland junior Ruth Worknhe (235) wrestled at state last season as well. Patterson is the first qualifier for Smoky Hill’s program after she was part of Eaglecrest’s co-op team last season.
∙ Four of Aurora’s qualifiers come into state with 40 or more wins and all hail from Eaglecrest in seniors Chasey Karabell (45-6) and Gianna Falise (44-6), junior Natalie Replogle (43-13) and sophomore Emma Roberts (40-4). Twelve of Aurora’s 13 state qualifiers have winning records, while Regis Jesuit sophomore Jordynn Shannonhouse is the exception at 6-10. Shannonhouse doubled her win total at the Region 3 tournament, including a win by fall in a 170-pound wrestleback with a trip to state on the line.
∙ For a second straight season, there is a family tie in the tournament as Vista PEAK Prep sophomore Amelia Bacon qualified, as did her twin brother, Ian, who is in the Class 4A boys 120 pound bracket.
∙ The breakdown of Aurora state qualifiers by year: six are seniors, two are juniors and there are four sophomores and one freshman.
