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Thirteen local wrestlers qualify for state tournament

Competing in the 3A Region 1 wrestling tournament at Alamosa High School Friday and Saturday, Coal Ridge’s Jacx Power (182 pounds) and Grand Valley’s AJ Serna (120 pounds) won their respective weight classes, clinching spots in next weekend’s 3A state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Along with Power and Serna, nine other local wrestlers qualified for the state tournament at Alamosa High School, led by the Rifle Bears’ top four wrestlers of Brian De La Rosa (fourth, 152 pounds), Colt Rohrig (third, 138 pounds), Conrad Demann (fourth, 132 pounds), and Cauy Smith (third, 126 pounds).

Joining Power for the Titans at the state tournament is teammate Braxton Hauser (second, 113 pounds), while Michael Kelly (second, 182 pounds) will join Serna for Grand Valley at the state tournament next weekend. The Basalt Longhorns will sent three wrestlers to the state tournament, as Thomas Wirth (fourth, 195 pounds) secured the final qualifying spot in the weight class, while William Rivera (second, 220 pounds) and Oswaldo Morales (third, 285 pounds) clinched spots for the Longhorns.



At the 4A Region 3 tournament at Northridge High School, the Glenwood Springs Demons’ wrestling team saw just two wrestlers qualify as Amos Wilson (second, 170 pounds) and Antonio Ordonez (fourth, 182 pounds) secured spots in next weekend’s state tournament at the Pepsi Center.

Power was rarely tested in the 195-pound weight class at the 3A Region 1 tournament, rolling through all three matches, winning by fall in each one. Receiving a bye into the quarterfinals, Power pinned Rifle’s Alex Guardado in just 2:43 before then pinning Basalt’s Thomas Wirth in just 4:40 of the semifinal match. Taking on Alamosa’s Zendon Bernal in the championship match, Power won by fall in just 1:59, winning his second straight regional championship for the Titans.



Much like Power, Serna received a bye for Grand Valley into the quarterfinals, where he started the tournament with a major decision (13-0) win over Pagosa Springs’s EJ Monterosso. Serna then followed that major decision win up with a 4-3 decision win in the semifinals over Valley’s Javier Gonzalez, setting up a championship match against Buena Vista’s Owen Berry. In the championship match, Serna and Berry battled into sudden victory, where Serna claimed the 7-5 win.

Hauser clinched his spot in the state tournament by pinning Valley’s DJ Mathews in just three minutes in the quarterfinals, before then topping Summit’s Alex Barela, 8-3, in the semifinals. Hauser came up short in the championship match against Alamosa’s Elijah DeLaCerda, losing a technical fall decision (16-1) to finish second in the 113-pound weight class.

Kelly turned in a second-place finish for the Cardinals in the 182-pound weight class, receiving a bye into the quarterfinals, where he pinned Coal Ridge’s Couy Harrington in just 3:34 to advance to the semifinals. Kelly then topped Pagosa Springs’s Caleb Janowsky with a 9-7 decision, setting up a championship match showdown with Valley’s Josh Flanagan. In the title match, Kelly lost by fall in just 1:36, but was able to clinch a spot in the state tournament for the Cardinals.

The Rifle Bears had the most wrestlers clinch posts in the state tournament for local schools, sending four wrestlers to Denver next weekend.

Rifle’s Brian De La Rosa finished fourth in the 152-pound weight class, clinching a state berth with a rin by rule over Delta’s Brandon Harper. Prior to the fourht-place match, De La Rosa started the tournament with a fall win over Grand Valley’s Cristain Barragan in just 28 seconds, before then winning by major decision (12-2) over Buena Vista’s Micah Hertich in the quarterfinals. De La Rosa then lost by fall in the semifinals to Alamosa’s Reis Martinez, but the Rifle senior battled back with a fall win at 3:52 over Harper in the consolation semifinals, but things got interesting for De La Rosa in the third-place match, dropping a 2-0 decision to Pagosa Springs’s Trevor Bryant. Fortunately, the senior kept his final year alive with the win by rule over Harper, sending him to the state tournament.

Demann also clinched a state tournament spot by rule, this time over Grand Valley’s Isaiah Tigert in the 132-pound weight class. Prior to the ruling, Demann pinned Summit’s Tommy Tobias in just 52 seconds to start the tournament, before then pinning Tigert in the quarterfinals at the 3:43 mark. In the semifinals, Demann was tripped up by Buena Vista’s Anthony Quintana, but the Rifle product bounced back with a major decision win (10-0) over Montezuma Cortez’s Anthony Abeyta. Demann then lost in the third-place match to Alamosa’s Tyler Kenison by major decision (15-4), but the Bear clinched a spot in the state tournament over Tigert by rule.

Teammate Cauy Smith placed third in the regional tournament at 126 pounds, topping Valley’s Noah Damian by 7-0 decision in the third-place match. Smith reached the third-place match by winning two of his first three matches by fall before losing in the semifinals to Alamosa’s Joe Chavez by fall.

Colt Rohrig heads back to the state tournament for the Bears after placing third in the 138-pound weight class, topping Bayfield’s Garret Beebe in the third-place match by decision, 6-0.

At the 4A regional tournament, Amos Wilson placed second in the 170-pound weight class, receiving a bye into the quarterfinals, where the junior pinned Roosevelt’s Clayton Ostermiller in just 1:13, setting up a semifinal match against Canon City’s Mason Repshire. In the semifinal match, Wilson won again by fall, this time in 5:37 to clinch a spot in the championship match. Wilson lost by fall to Greeley Central’s Cody Solis in just 1:19, but the Glenwood product will compete in the 4A state tournament next weekend in Denver.

Fellow Glenwood wrestler Antonio Ordonez will join Wilson in representing the Demons at the state tournament after placing fourth in the 182-pound weight class. Ordonez earned a bye into the quarterfinals, where the Glenwood wrestler pinned Mead’s Tony Romero in just 50 seconds.

Ordonez then dropped the semifinal match to Fort Morgan’s Bryan Paxton by fall, but the Glenwood product bounced back with a fall win over Greeley Central’s Michael Serna in just 1:18. Things went wrong for Ordonez in the third-place match as the Demon lost to Skyline’s Angel Peres due to injury default just 3:07 into the match.

Fortunately for Ordonez, the Demon earned a spot in the state tournament by rule over Serna from Greeley Central.


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