AURORA | Eaglecrest and Gateway represent the city as they vie for berths in the Class 5A state wrestling tournament out of the Region 4 tournament Friday and Saturday at Bear Creek School.
The Raptors and Olys make up part of a part of a 17-team field that includes two teams ranked in the top 10 in On The Mat’s Feb. 14 rankings: No. 1 Arvada West and No. 8 Chaparral.
Six wrestlers in each of the 14 weight classes will place, but only the top four advance to the 5A state wrestling tournament Feb. 20-22 at the Pepsi Center.
Based on On The Mat rankings, the toughest weight classes to qualify in figure to be 132, 138 and 170 pounds, which each include at least six ranked wrestlers battling for four state spots.
Four wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weights are in the field: P.T. Garcia (132 pounds) of Bear Creek, Arvada West’s Payton Tawater (145 pounds) and Tony Silva-Bussey (182 pounds) and Mountain Range heavyweight Jorge Rodriguez.
Eaglecrest: Coach Dan Wrona has 11 of the 14 weight classes filled, missing only wrestlers at 126, 170 and 285 pounds. The Raptors have a two-time state qualifier in the lineup in senior 182-pounder Trevon Beauford, who is 30-7 and ranked No. 4 in his weight by On The Mat, far and away the highest of anybody else in his bracket. Junior Jake Dugan (22-9) is in search of his second straight trip to the state tournament and is ranked No. 16 at 132 pounds, a rugged bracket with four top-10 wrestlers involved. Junior 138-pounder Dominique Evans (24-10) carries a No. 18 ranking into another of the toughest brackets in terms of ranked wrestlers. Junior Aldin Puris (24-12) is ranked No. 22 and is part of a 160-pound bracket that has just two other ranked wrestlers, neither of which is in the top 10, while senior Jaymel Farol (17-17) and junior Anthony Malone (18-7) are part of 120 and 220-pound brackets, respectively, that appear to have at least one state spot up for grabs.
Gateway: Coach Stephen Burns also has 11 wrestlers entered in the tournament, a group that includes six sophomores and two freshmen. One of those sophomores is a returning state placer, however, in Deyaun Trueblood (33-2), who is ranked No. 4 at 152 pounds by On The Mat and has a prime chance to wrestle for a regional championship. Only two other Olys have records above .500 in sophomore Jordan White (9-8) at 120 pounds and senior Shane Yeo (16-15) at 220 pounds and both are in brackets that only have three ranked wrestlers in them. Senior Quintavis Styles (14-15) is in his first season of varsity wrestling, but his 160-pound bracket includes just two ranked wrestlers.
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
AURORA 2014 WRESTLING REGIONALS
METRO (REGION 4, Feb. 14-15 at Bear Creek High School)
Aurora teams: Eaglecrest, Gateway; Other teams: Arvada West, Chaparral, Mountain Range, Fossil Ridge, Bear Creek, Brighton, Central (G.J.), Denver East, George Washington, Lincoln, Montbello, Ralston Valley, Rock Canyon, Westminster
Schedule (all times approximate): Feb. 14 — 4 p.m.: First round; 5:45-7:30 p.m.: Championship quarterfinals, consolation first round; Feb. 15 — 9:15 a.m.: Consolation second round; 10:45 a.m.: Championship semifinals, consolation third round; 1:30 p.m.: Consolation semifinals; 2:30 p.m.: Parade of Champions; 2:45-4:45 p.m.: Championship, 3rd-place and 5th-place matches; 4:45-5:30 p.m.: Wrestlebacks (if necessary)
Eaglecrest wrestlers: 106 pounds — Stephen Ramirez, jr. (19-8); 113 pounds — Alec Rivera, soph. (13-18); 120 pounds — Jaymel Farol, sr. (17-17); 132 pounds — Jake Dugan, jr. (22-9); 138 pounds — Dominique Evans, jr. (24-10); 145 pounds — Mitch Haug, sr. (23-15); 152 pounds — Dalvin Padilla, sr. (13-18); 160 pounds — Aldin Puris, jr. (24-12); 182 pounds — Trevon Beauford, sr. (30-7); 195 pounds — Russell Denny, jr. (12-18); 220 pounds — Anthony Malone, soph. (18-7)
Gateway wrestlers: 113 pounds — Jeru Smith, soph. (12-14); 120 pounds — Jordan White, soph. (9-8); 126 pounds — Taylor Whala, fr. (3-17); 132 pounds — Blake Thomas, fr. (1-12); 138 pounds — Cameron Albritton, soph. (1-9); 145 pounds — Charles Reigies, soph. (14-15); 152 pounds — Deyaun Trueblood, soph. (33-2); 160 pounds — Quintavis Styles, sr. (14-15); 182 pounds — Valente Marrufo-Iglesia, soph. (6-19); 195 pounds — Ricky Hayes, jr. (7-17); 220 pounds — Shane Yeo, sr. (16-15)
