Glenwood Springs placed third at Saturday’s Denver South Invitational wrestling tournament, finishing behind only Vista Ridge and Arapahoe.

Eight of the Demons’ 12 wrestlers placed at the event, including championship finishes by juniors Miguel Vega (103 pounds) and Mike Mills (125) and senior Chris Ayala (160).

Vega dominated his bracket, pinning his way through. He defeated John F. Kennedy High’s Deon Aguirre in 40 seconds and Chris Miller of Monarch in 1 minute, 36 seconds to make the finals.

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Vega went on to pin Mead’s Cody Heskett in just 1:27 to claim the 103-pound crown.

“We talked all week about finishing when we put an opponent on his back, and Mickey took it to heart,” Glenwood assistant coach Miles Cook said.

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Mills wrestled “a smart finals match” against Vista Ridge’s Lucas Keller, Cook said. Mills took a 2-0 lead going into the third en route to a 4-1 win.

“Mike is starting to figure out how to manage these tight, close matches,” Cook lauded. “Hopefully, it will pay off for him at regionals this year.”

Ayala faced off with Skyler Velasquez of Ridge View Academy in the finals. The match went back and forth, with Ayala escaping to knot it up at 6 late in the third period. He then scored an early takedown in sudden-death overtime to put the match away.

Freshman Hector Chagoya (112) matched his performance from last Saturday’s Eagle Valley Invitational, losing his first match before working across the bottom of the bracket to place third. He pinned Austin VanHooker of Mead in 4:22 in the consolation final.

Casey Montoya (140) lost to Battle Mountain’s Mario Rodriguez in the semifinals, going up 11-7 before getting caught and pinned late in the third period. Montoya went on to place third, defeating Nate Roe of Arapahoe by major decision in the consolation final.

Freshman Ruben Chagoya (145) placed fourth, as did junior Jesus Martinez (119) and senior Alan Bencomo (130).

Glenwood will be back on the mat Thursday at Summit, followed by a Saturday trip to Lake County.