With just nine wrestlers entered into the 14 weight classes of the 19-team tournament Jan. 25 at Northglenn High School, Regis Jesuit came away with two individual championships and 124.5 points to place fourth.
Undefeated senior Grant Neal claimed the 220-pound championship — and received Most Valuable Wrestler for the upper weights in the process — while 145-pounder Logan Ronan also won a title match for for the Raiders, who had six placers total.
Ronan brother, Donovan, lost in the finals at 132 pounds while freshmen Carl Campasanto (120 pounds) and Trenton Schultz (160) finished fourth and sophomore Nick Elgin claimed the consolation championship at 195 pounds in his first tournament back from a knee injury.
“We only brought nine, but we were scoring a lot of points; we were getting pins and majors (decisions), so it was great,” Regis Jesuit coach Rick Schultz said.
“We worked the first part of the season figuring out what we’re good at and the second half getting ready for state. We have some guys who are getting there.”
From the number of Raiders that climbed onto the medal podium at Northglenn, they appear to be rounding into form ahead of the Feb. 14-15 Class 5A Region 3 tournament at Fort Collins High School where their numbers for the state tournament are determined.
A virtual certainty to return to the Pepsi Center is Neal, 5A’s No. 1-ranked wrestler at 220 pounds who boosted his record to 27-0 with a 17-5 major decision over Pueblo Central’s Evan Lancelot, 4A’s No. 1.
“Last year at this point I was starting to hit my groove; this year I’m getting ready for regionals, so I’m trying to keep my mind about me,” Neal said.
Logan Ronan’s title came with a 10-8 outlasting of Prairie View’s Luis Berjerano in the 145-pound final, which he learned a lot from that he hopes to put into play in the coming weeks.
“We’ve been doing a lot of drilling and learning moves and when to use them,” he said. “Now, it’s about practicing and getting better before regionals.”
Aurora’s other finalist at Northglenn, Gateway’s Deyaun Trueblood, also learned a lot. He got the match he wanted against Grand Junction’s top-ranked 160-pounder Jacob Trujillo, but ended up losing 12-4 in the final.
Trueblood had plenty of energy in the match, but couldn’t get what he wanted going against Trujillo, a defending state champ.
“I felt like I was ready for the match, I just didn’t perform as well as well as I could,” said Trueblood, who may drop to 152 pounds. “It was mostly a good day, but the finals were disappointing. It keeps you humble, but it still doesn’t feel good.”
Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or [email protected] Twitter: @aurorasports. Facebook: Aurora Prep Sentinel
2014 NORTHGLENN NORSE WRESTLING INVITATIONAL
Jan. 25 at Northglenn High School
Team scores: 1. Grand Junction 170 points; 2. Arapahoe 142.5; 3. Greeley Central 142.5; T4. REGIS JESUIT 124.5; T4. Pueblo Central 124.5; 6. Pueblo County 111.5; 7. Northglenn 108; 8. Prairie View 106.5; 9. Castle View 106; 10. Thornton 78.5; 11. HINKLEY 77; 12. Eagle Valley 72; 13. Yuma 65; 14. Heritage 64; 15. Northridge 61; 16. Jefferson 55; 17. Lyons 51; 18. GATEWAY 38.5; 19. Frederick 15
Aurora championship matches
132 pounds: Hunter Willits (Pueblo County) maj. dec. Donovan Ronan (Regis Jesuit), 15-0; 145 pounds: Logan Ronan (Regis Jesuit) dec. Luis Berjarano (Prairie View), 10-8; 160 pounds: Jacob Trujillo (Grand Junction) maj. dec. Deyaun Trueblood (Gateway), 12-4; 220 pounds: Grant Neal (Regis Jesuit) maj. dec. Evan Lancelot (Pueblo Central), 17-5
Aurora third-place matches
113 pounds: Cody Lacy (Grand Junction) dec. Rafael Garibay (Hinkley), 6-0; 120 pounds: Keynan Davis (Prairie View) pinned Carl Composanto (Regis Jesuit), 4:36; 160 pounds: Keenan Willits (Pueblo County) dec. Trenton Schultz (Regis Jesuit), 5-0; 182 pounds: Isaiah Silva (Hinkley) maj. dec. Hudson Marker (Castle View), 12-3; 220 pounds: Max Carbajal (Hinkley) pinned Tyler Zook (Grand Junction), 3:22
Aurora consolation championship matches
120 pounds: Jordan White (Gateway) dec. Chance Warnock (Frederick), 8-5; 126 pounds: Andrian Bejar (Greeley Central) dec. Cassandra Ledger (Hinkley), 8-1; 152 pounds: Trevor Moore dec. Quintavis Styles (Gateway), 16-9; 195 pounds: Nick Elgin (Regis Jesuit) pinned Nick Henderson (Frederick), 1:39
