“I felt stronger on my feet than him, and I was able to move faster than him on bottom,” said Matthew Lavengood, who won his 120-pound match against Trevor Wilch of Lewis-Palmer. “He was leaning really far into me, and I was able to suck him back.”Sam Green/Cortez Journal
DENVER – Durango High School wrestling head coach John Gurule told his team its trip to Denver for the state championships was a business trip.
The Demons clocked in Thursday and put three of four wrestlers into Friday’s quarterfinals.
Matthew Lavengood proved he was over the shoulder injury that plagued him leading up to regionals by pinning Trevor Wilch from Lewis-Palmer with 14 seconds remaining in the third period.
Lavengood went up 8-2 after one period and controlled the 120-pound match from the start.
“I felt stronger on my feet than him, and I was able to move faster than him on bottom,” said Lavengood, son of Steve and Tamra Lavengood. “He was leaning really far into me, and I was able to suck him back.
Lavengood will wrestle Jon Lewis of Windsor in Friday’s quarterfinals.
Hunter Hall found himself on the other side of that equation at 126 pounds. Derek Huff of Broomfield pinned him with 1 minute, 5 seconds left in the first period.
“Hunter had a tough match. That kid’s an extremely talented wrestler, highly decorated,” Gurule said. “But (Hall) still let that guy know he was in a match.”
Hall will meet Cheyenne Mountain’s Mitch White in the consolation preliminaries Friday at the Pepsi Center.
Patrick Cunnion picked up another win for DHS when he pinned Brad Ellis from Lewis-Palmer at 182 pounds. He led 2-0 after one period and made the pin 56 seconds into the second period.
Cunnion will wrestle Pueblo East’s Phillip Benavidez in the quarterfinals.
Daniel Gustavson gave DHS its third victory by pin when he took down Hunter Mooring from Pueblo West with 28 seconds left in the first period at 220 pounds.
Gustavson flipped onto his back and continued rolling with his opponent to finish the move.
“I learned it in eighth grade,” said Gustavson, son of Catherine and Dan Gustavson. “It’s something I felt comfortable doing in an uncomfortable situation.”
He’ll wrestle in a Demon vs. Demon quarterfinal against Noah Lennox of Golden on Friday.
The Class 4A semifinals will start at 1 p.m. Friday.
“We’ve still got a lot of wrestling to do,” Gurule said. “Practice is done. It’s time to take care of business.”
DENVER – First-round results Thursday from the CHSAA Class 4A Wrestling State Championships at the Pepsi Center:
Team Scores: Thompson Valley 25; Pueblo South 22; Windsor 22; Pueblo County 21.5; Discovery Canyon 19; Broomfield 18; Air Academy 12; Durango 12; Elizabeth 12; Pueblo Centennial 12; Berthoud 11; Lewis-Palmer 11; Longmont 10; Mesa Ridge 10; Pueblo Central 10; Pueblo East 9; Rifle 8; Montezuma-Cortez 7.5; Delta 6; Erie 6; Falcon 6; Ft. Morgan 6; Golden 6; Montrose 6; Mullen 6; Palisade 6; Canon City 4; Conifer 4; Glenwood Springs 4; Greeley Central 4; Mead 4; Mitchell 4; Mountain View 4; Sand Creek 4; Silver Creek 4; Steamboat Springs 4; Weld Central 4; Widefield 4; Niwot 3; Pueblo West 2; Vista Ridge 2; Wheat Ridge 2.
120: Jon Lewis, Windsor, pinned Tom Hancock, Woodland Park, 2:53; Matthew Lavengood, Durango, pinned Trevor Wilch, Lewis-Palmer, 3:46; Chris Sandoval, Pueblo County, dec. Donald Sisneros, Mullen, 13-8; Erin Carrera, Pueblo East, dec. Tylar Francis, Roosevelt, 9-2; Gavril Houston, Elizabeth, pinned Hayes McCracken, Delta, 4:42; Davis Baxter, Pueblo South, dec. Sage D’Ambrosia, Thompson Valley, 4-2; Samuel Freeman, Mesa Ridge, dec. Juan Lopez, Northridge, 8-4; Sam Turner, Discovery Canyon, pinned Jesus Casillas, Vista Peak, 4:00.
126: Dalton Robertson, Weld Central, pinned Jeremiah Montoya, Pueblo South, 3:57; Sage Budd, Mead, pinned Jesus Morales, Battle Mountain, 1:12; Peter Hanenberg, Air Academy, pinned Nick Wittrock, Summit, 3:28; Darian Manzanares, Pueblo Centennial, dec. Austin Anaya, Mountain View, 7-6; Justin Davis, Pueblo County, pinned Romelo Salas, Golden, 6:00; Collin Williams, Thompson Valley, major decision Trent Fair, Pueblo East, 11-2; Matteo Ambriz, Windsor, major decision Mitch White, Cheyenne Mountain, 8-0; Darek Huff, Broomfield, pinned Hunter Hall, Durango, 1:05.
182: Zach Stodden, Broomfield, pinned Connor Lawson, Montrose, :45; Tremell Stanley, Mesa Ridge, pinned Thomas Nichols, Longmont, 1:27; Mitchel Chavez, Pueblo South, dec. David Eusea, Thompson Valley, 6-4; Alex Weber, Discovery Canyon, major decision Max Althouse, Palmer Ridge, 11-2; Phillip Benavidez, Pueblo East, major decision Quinton Barber, Mountain View, 14-4; Patrick Cunnion, Durango, pinned Brad Ellis, Lewis-Palmer, 2:57; Cordell Stroud, Delta, pinned Alfonso Nunez, Arvada, 1:15; Brandon Brauser, Windsor, dec. Anthony Lagorio, Falcon, 10-7.
220: Evan Lancelot, Pueblo Central, pinned James Brown, Thomas Jefferson, 3:04; Mitch Webster, Silver Creek, pinned Jonathan Dela Cruz, Palmer Ridge, 1:25; Noah Lennox, Golden, dec. Mason Barber, Mountain View, 6-0; Daniel Gustavson, Durango, pinned Hunter Mooring, Pueblo West, 1:27; Toby McBride, Fort Morgan, pinned Jorge Cortez, Mead, 5:30; Blake Repshire, Canon City, dec. Xavier Mendoza, Eagle Valley, 11-9; Demitrius Miller, Pueblo Centennial, pinned Alejandro Medina, Delta, 1:09; Nate Ryken, Berthoud, pinned Demetrius Zissimos, Broomfield, 4:41.
Associated Press
