ARVADA | The Class 5A Region 2 wrestling tournament — which includes two Aurora programs, Eaglecrest and Overland — 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 2 WRESTLING AT A GLANCE
Schedule: Feb. 10-11 at Legacy High School; Feb. 10 — Opening round, 3 p.m., championship quarterfinals & 1st round consolation (following); Feb. 11 — 2nd round consolations, 9:30 a.m, championship semifinals & 3rd round consolations, following; lunch break (40 minutes); consolation semifinals; gym cleared; parade of champions, wrestlebacks (if necessary)
Aurora teams: Eaglecrest and Overland
Other teams: Brighton, Chatfield, Cherry Creek, Denver South, FNE Warriors, Fairview, Heritage, Lakewood, Legacy, Mountain Vista, Northglenn, Ponderosa, Ralston Valley
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: Overland — Sean Kelly, sr. (qualified last season at 132 pounds, now at 138) and Kaelin Chin, jr. (qualified last season at 195 pounds, again at 195)
Ranked Aurora wrestlers in Region 2 field (per On The Mat’s Week 10 rankings): Eaglecrest — Caeleb Knoll, fr. (No. 13 at 106 pounds), Morgan George, jr. (No. 20 at 126 pounds) and Tyler Maccagnan, soph. (No. 15 at 138 pounds); Overland — Grant Bradley, fr. (No. 8 at 106 pounds), Isaiah Bradley, soph. (No. 6 at 120 pounds), Sean Kelly, sr. (No. 8 at 138 pounds) and Kaelin Chin, jr. (No. 9 at 195 pounds). Full list of Aurora wrestlers ranked by On The Mat in Week 10, here
Total ranked wrestlers in Region 2 field: 56 (Brighton 12, Chatfield 1, Cherry Creek 5, Denver South 2, EAGLECREST 3, Fairview 1, Heritage 3, Lakewood 5, Legacy 6, Mountain Vista 4, Northglenn 3, OVERLAND 4, Ponderosa 6, Ralston Valley 1)
Ranked teams in Region 2 field: No. 3 Brighton, No. 7 Ponderosa
Aurora breakdown: Eaglecrest and Overland, a pair of Centennial League Aurora programs, head to Legacy High School to compete in the Region 2 field that is ripe with opportunity as the regional with the second-fewest number of ranked wrestlers (56) of any of the four 5A tournaments, while there’s two ranked team in No. 3 Brighton and No. 7 Ponderosa. Though it doesn’t mean much once the wrestling begins, Overland has the highest-ranked 120-pounder in the field in sophomore Isaiah Bradley (No. 6) and also the highest-rated 138-pounder in the tournament in senior Sean Kelly (No. 8), while the Trailblazers’ other two ranked wrestlers (freshman Grant Bradley and junior Kaelin Chin) have plenty of ranked company at 106 and 195 pounds, respectively. Kelly and Chin represented Overland at state last season. Eaglecrest has no returning state qualifiers, but have three ranked underclassmen who could make it downtown. Undersized freshman Caeleb Knoll is a possibility to make it out the 106-pound bracket, while sophomore Tyler Maccagnan may be Kelly’s biggest challenge at 138 pounds. Junior 120-pounder Morgan George is new to the rankings and also has opportunity in his bracket.