AURORA | Trailing Rangeview by 20 points midway through the Aurora Public Schools Championship dual match, Aurora Central coach Conrad Parra wasn’t too worried about his team’s chances.
Parra watched a 10-0 start turn into a 30-10 deficit to coach Tim Corby’s Raiders on Wednesday night at Rangeview High School, but he knew the veteran part of his lineup was waiting in the wings.
Continuing an upward progression that helped them win the Kennedy Commander Invitational over the weekend, the Trojans won six of the final seven matches on their way to a 37-33 victory. Jose Millan clinched Aurora Central’s second straight APS dual title with a quick pin of Rangeview’s Ezekial Garcia.
“In a dual match, it’s all about us pinning and not getting pinned,” Parra said. “A couple of matches didn’t go exactly the way we wanted, but I knew if we were within three or four points with Jose at the end we would be OK.”
The three Trojans who won individual titles at the Kennedy Invitational — Jonnathan Quijada at 132 pounds, Omar Gonzalez at 138 pounds and Millan at 145 pounds — all had key results in Aurora Central’s late surge.
Quijada, a two-time Class 5A state tournament qualifier, followed up wins by Axel Pacheco (106 pounds), Octavio Lopez (113), Quincy Moreno (120) and Guido Umogwaneza (126) — which cut the deficit down to 30-25 — with a second-period pin of Rangeview’s Kahari Gordon to put the Trojans up 31-30 with two matches left.
The Raiders’ Kipp Corby pinned Gonzalez a few weeks earlier at the Rangeview Raider Classic, but Gonzalez had a chance to win and in the end lost just a 4-0 decision to Parra’s delight to send his team into the final match down just two points.
“That was a key match, we didn’t get pinned and we kept it close and almost came close to winning it,” Parra said.
Millan only needed a decision to win the dual, but did in it style with a pin at 1:30.
Ignacio Galindo (152 pounds) opened the match with a pin for Aurora Central, while Jonathan Arias’ major decision gave it a 10-0 lead.
Rangeview racked up 30 consecutive points with four pins and a forfeit.
Matthew Shriver started the run of falls for the Raiders at 170 pounds, followed by Christian Calkins (182), Myles Price (195) and Javaughn Sandoval (220) before heavyweight Humberto Caloca received a win by forfeit.
Next up for Aurora Central is the 32nd Les Mattocks Invitational on Saturday at Abraham Lincoln High School, a large tournament that features 34 teams. Six of those teams — Centaurus, Columbine, Gateway, George Washington, Montbello and Mountain Vista — will be in the Trojans’ Region 4 group for 5A state tournament qualifying.
“This will be a big test; it’s a really big tournament with a lot of tough teams,” Parra said. “I think the kids are starting to realize what they are capable of and this will be important.”
Rangeview heads off to the Thornton Invitational on Saturday.
The Trojans and Raiders will see each other again at the EMAC Championship tournament Feb. 6 at Adams City High School.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel
APS Championship: AURORA CENTRAL 37, RANGEVIEW 33
152 pounds — Ignacio Galindo (Aurora Central) pinned Andrew Richard (Rangeview), 3:05; 160 pounds — Jonathan Arias (Aurora Central) maj. dec. Allahjah Mujib (Rangeview), 13-4; 170 pounds — Matthew Shriver (Rangeview) pinned Greg Reyes (Aurora Central), 3:44; 182 pounds — Christian Calkins (Rangeview) pinned Marco Martinez (Aurora Central), 2:54; 195 pounds — Myles Price (Rangeview) pinned Jorge Valdez (Aurora Central), 2:54; 220 pounds — Javauhn Sandoval (Rangeview) pinned Joenathan Fountain (Aurora Central), 5:26; 285 pounds — Humberto Caloca (Rangeview) won by forfeit; 106 pounds — Axel Pacheco (Aurora Central) pinned Josh Nuttall (Rangeview), 3:14; 113 pounds — Octavio Lopez (Aurora Central) dec. Bryan Fierro (Rangeview), 8-7; 120 pounds — Quincy Moreno (Aurora Central) dec. Isaiah Cheeks (Rangeview), 8-1; 126 pounds — Guido Umogwaneza (Aurora Central) dec. Nicholas Sanchez-Jans (Rangeview), 7-3; 132 pounds — Jonnathan Quijada (Aurora Central) pinned Kahari Gordon (Rangeview), 3:46; 138 pounds — Kipp Corby (Rangeview) dec. Omar Gonzalez (Aurora Central), 4-0; 145 pounds — Jose Millan (Aurora Central) pinned Ezekial Garcia (Rangeview), 1:30