Colorado state wrestling tournament preview 2014

The start of the state wrestling tournament can't come quick enough for Broomfield senior Phil Downing.

Downing is attempting to become the 17th four-time state titlist in Colorado history, and said he's been in championship mode for the past two weeks. And he's taking no chances, getting on and off the mat as quickly as he can in pursuit of his place in history. The state tournament for all classifications starts Thursday at the Pepsi Center.

Last Saturday at the Class 4A Region I meet, Downing needed only 3 minutes and 5 seconds to dispatch four opponents en route to the 160-pound regional title. Once his matches started, Downing went immediately into attack mode, taking his opponents down and finishing them off before fans even realized what happened.

"That's my plan for the state tournament, too," Downing said. "I'm pumped for (state), definitely. I've been thinking about it a lot."



"He's focused and ready to go," Broomfield coach Pat DeCamillis said. "I'm really pleased with where he's at and the kind of tunnel vision he has. He's ready."

The rest of the Eagles appear ready to defend the 4A team championship, as well. Broomfield is sending 11 wrestlers to the Pepsi Center, including six regional champions. In addition to Downing, Darek Huff (126 pounds), Randall Baker (145), Jared Albo (152), Zach Stodden (182) and D.J. Zissimos (220) all won crowns for the Eagles.

"We're in good shape," DeCamillis said.

The biggest challenge Broomfield will face in its bid to repeat may come from Thompson Valley (Loveland), which actually jumped over the Eagles in the final regular-season rankings by On the Mat. Thompson Valley qualified 12 wrestlers out of the Region 3 tournament, including regional champions Morgan Fogg (106), Matt Berg (132) and Parker Simington (145).

Downing is one of seven returning champions in the class, along with teammate Stodden, Dalton Robertson of Weld Central (Keenesburg) (126), Dalton Harrington of Palisade (132), Isaac Naro of Pueblo South (138), Windsor's Kennen Lanteri (152) and Kyle Couch of Mead (Longmont) (195).

State wrestling tournament brackets
State wrestling tournament schedule



CLASS 5A
The state's largest classification is loaded with marquee performers, with seven returning champions and eight undefeated wrestlers.

P.T. Garcia of Bear Creek (Lakewood) is on both those lists, as the 132-pound senior will be looking to pick up his third consecutive championship. Only a 1-point loss in the finals as a freshman is stopping Garcia from having a similar shot as Downing to become a four-time titlist.

Regis Jesuit (Aurora) 220-pounder Grant Neal is also a returning champion who brings an unblemished mark into the tournament, having gone 35-0 this year.

The 126-pound weight class could feature a clash between two returning champions as Jess Hankin of Coronado (Colorado Springs) (champion at 113 last season) and Mitch Finesilver of Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village) (champ at 120 in 2013) are both in the field. If that battle does happen, it would have to be in Saturday night's finals as the two are on opposite sides of the bracket.

Legacy (Broomfield) standout Ryan Deakin (113) and Jacob Seely of Fruita Monument (195) both have racked up more than 40 victories this season and bring undefeated records into state. Deakin, who finished third as a freshman last year, knocked off Cherry Creek's Matt Finesilver in last week's regional final in a match that pitted the top two ranked wrestlers at that weight, according to On the Mat.

Deakin told BoCoPreps.com that the key to winning state is "just wrestling loose, and wrestling ready. Making sure everything's right and just performing my best every match."



Arvada West is a decided favorite to win the team title. The Wildcats are bringing 11 wrestlers to state, including undefeated Jimmy Rothwell at 138 pounds. Pine Creek (Colorado Springs) and Ponderosa (Parker) also qualified 11.

All four Finesilver brothers – Josh (103), Matt (113), returning champion Mitch (126) and Zach (138) – qualified for Cherry Creek, and the Bruins (eight qualifiers) are poised to push A-West. Defending champion Pomona (Arvada) (seven qualifiers) and Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins) (eight qualifiers) should also be in the mix.

CLASS 3A
The team race in this class should be a tight one with top-ranked Valley (Gilcrest) (10 qualifiers) and No. 2 Brush (11 qualifiers) expected to battle deep into the tournament for the title. The two Patriot League foes squared off in last week's Region 2 tournament, with the Vikings pulling out a 2.5 point victory.

Valley crowned four regional champs – Robert Lucero (126), Zac Miller (152), Brendan Gonzales (160) and Jackson Wright (170) – while the Beetdiggers claimed only two. Returning state champ Conrad Cole nabbed one of those titles at 120 pounds; Jose Rodriquez at 195 was the other.

Lamar qualified a classification high 13 wrestlers, while Olathe and Cedaredge both are bringing 11. Centauri (La Jara) has a pair of returning state champs in its group of 10 qualifiers – Jason Buhr at 153 and undefeated Jared Aziz at 195.

CLASS 2A
Defending team champion Paonia remains the team to beat. The Eagles won six regional titles and will be sending 10 wrestlers to the state meet. Chief among them is undefeated 126-pounder Jesse Reed, who will be going after his third state championship.



Josh Altman at 120 pounds needed only 31 seconds to win his regional title, the Eagles first of the event, and he was joined at the top of the podium by teammates Reed, Bo Pipher (132), Ty Coats (152), Zach Milner (160) and heavyweight Tony Darling.

Sedgwick County/Fleming (11 qualifiers) and Meeker  (10) should push Paonia in the team race.

Returning champion Seth Harrington (138) leads Sedgwick County, while Meeker has a state champ of its own in T.J. Shelton at 170 pounds.