Paden Mason and Mountain View are looking like state championship contenders this season.
Photo by Chris Hook
Complacency can work its way into the mind like a bunch of termites gnawing away at the foundation of home.
It must be stopped before being condemned.
Bob Callison is on it.
The
Mountain View (Mesa) wrestling program has reached a new level and its coach, Callison, figures he might as well find out just good it can be in 2014-15 instead relishing in its accomplishments.
The Toros return a good portion of the lineup from last year's Division I state title team that finished No. 44 in the nation by Wrestling USA, have won 54 straight duals entering the weekend and are the clear favorite to be Arizona's top team this season.
And yet there is plenty more to achieve.
First and foremost is defending the D-I title, but with the schedule Mountain View has, the wrestlers are going to be tested nationally.
The Toros will try match or better their fourth-place finishing at Reno Tournament of Champions on Dec. 19-20 and then head to Callison's home state of Wisconsin for the Cheesehead Invitational in Kaukauna. There will be top programs from Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin in attendance, and two teams from the west, as Green Valley (Nev.) joins the Toros in one of the top national tournaments since 1999.
"We are going to know exactly where we are at, get battered and bruised," Callison said. "We want to be able to hang with the top teams like Poway (in Reno).
"There are going to be like nine teams (from the top 50) and if we can finish in the top five or six it would be good for us and Arizona. I am an Arizona guy now and I want to go back there and show some of those Midwest programs there is good wrestling here."
There has certainly been a step up at the national events during the summer in recent years, with individuals bringing home national titles and Team Arizona placing in the top 10.
The Toros lineup is about as strong as it gets with defending state champion Blake Monty and state runner-ups Paden Mason, Weston Keifer and Taylor Keifer, and others including Queen Creek transfer Travis Wokasch, a former Division II runner-up.
There will be challengers –
Chandler,
Sunnyside (Tucson),
Ironwood Ridge (Tucson) – and that's exactly what will keep Mountain View at the top.
"Everyone is going to bring their A game," Callison said. "We are kind of used to it at Mountain View. I've been in other wrestling rooms and I've looked up at their goals (posted on the wall) and beating Mountain View was on there and that was before we won state.
"People get beat and sometimes it is beneficial. I don't want them to get complacent."
Division II will belong to
Cibola (Yuma) behind that toughness that comes out of that wrestling room and defending state champion Vicente Guerrero, while
Seton Catholic (Chandler) behind Quentin Hovis, Sergio Chavez and former Corona del Sol state placer Bridger Barker.
Division IV seemingly always comes down to
St. Johns and
Camp Verde, which will be led by three-time state champion Ryan Allred.
Here is a list of some of the state's top wrestlers with projected weight classes:
106 Roman Bravo-Young Sunnyside
106 Jason Holmes Chandler
113 Danny Vega Ironwood Ridge
113 Nathan Mendivil Gila Ridge
113 Hayden Uhler Camp Verde
120 Sergio Hernandez Gomez Glendale
120 Alex Casillas Camp Verde
126 Quentin Hovis Seton Catholic
120 Paden Mason Mesa Mountain View
126 Josh Kramer Desert Edge
126 Juaqin Olivas Sunnyside
126 Ted Rico Combs
126 Aaron Herder Parker
126 Collin Anderson Coconico
126 Alfredo Calzadillas Ironwood Ridge
132 Ethan Workman Round Valley
132 Kyle Ford Gila Ridge
132 Cory Crooks Boulder Creek
138 Brian Mitchell Desert Vista
145 Geovanni Payan-Diaz Ampitheater
145 Jacob Swift Deer Valley
145 Zach Davis Catalina Foothills
145 Anthony Wokasch Mesa Mountain View
152 Blake Monty Mesa Mountain View
152 Ryan Allred Camp Verde
170 Sergio Chavez Seton Catholic
170 Sherod Bride St. Johns
160 Weston Taylor Mesa Mountain View
170 Jesse Villegas Sunnyside
170 Chad Porter Desert Vista
182 Vincente Guerrero Cibola
170 Keiffer Taylor Mesa Mountain View
182 Gabe Ortiz Buena
195 Kieran Makestead Benson
195 Bridger Barker Seton Catholic
195 Blake Smith Deer Valley
195 Jeremiah Imonode Desert Vista
195 Frankie Salinas Mesa
220 Daniel Hernandez Prescott
220 Davion Gray Moon Valley
220 Danny Reyes Barry Goldwater
220 Samuel Reeves Vista Grande
285 Santiago Robledo Morenci
285 Lewis Arendall Centennial
285 Nathan Eldridge Boulder Creek
Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothills News staff writer, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.
