Colorado state wrestling: Storylines, defending champions, undefeated wrestlers and tournament schedule

The CHSAA state wrestling tournament returns to Ball Arena this Thursday through Saturday for three days of mat madness in downtown Denver. Here’s a look at some of the top storylines going into the event:

No Sharon the spotlight: A year after four wrestlers added their names to the list of four-time champions in state history, only one senior has a shot at joining that exclusive club this weekend: Fowler’s Traven Sharon. The senior 126-pounder has lost just 12 times in his prep career and twice this season. It’s been nearly 40 years since Fowler last produced a four-time champion (Brent Van Hee, 1983-86). Get four more wins this week, and Sharon can join him.

Double the fun: It’s been four years since CHSAA began running an officially sanctioned girls wrestling tournament, and it’s already expanding to two classifications as participation continues to grow in Year 5. The additional set of brackets means there will be two more mats added to the floor, and the time frame of each session has been altered. That includes an earlier start (4 p.m.) for Saturday’s Parade of Champions.

Seven up: The Pomona boys wrestling juggernaut is going for its seventh straight 5A team title and ninth in 10 years. The Panthers won a record 10th consecutive 5A Jeffco League crown earlier this winter and will have a wrestler in all 14 weight classes at Ball Arena. Translation: The odds are good that their run of dominance continues. If there is a program that could upend the dynasty, it’s Ponderosa. The Mustangs have 13 state qualifiers and a legit anchor in 190-pound Michigan commit De’Alcapon Veazy. Get contributions across the board and Pondo can put some Saturday night pressure on Pomona.

More Pomona? Of course, more Pomona: A year after ending Chatfield’s reign as the top girls program in the state, the Panthers face an uphill battle trying to hold onto that title this weekend in the 5A girls championship. While Pomona has serious star power in sophomore 100-pounder Justice Gutierrez (69-1 varsity record) and junior 140-pounder Timberly Martinez (two-time state champ), Grand Junction Central has more depth (12 qualifiers to Pomona’s nine) and three-time champion Chatfield (nine qualifiers) can’t be counted out. This one could go down to the wire.

Super sophs: The Class of 2027 delivered six freshman champions last year, and all six return to Ball Arena to defend their titles. Severance’s Drake VomBaur may have the toughest road of them all after moving up from Class 3A to 4A and filtering into the same bracket as returning 4A champion Manuel Amaro of Pueblo East. VomBaur comes from a strong wrestling family — his brothers Vance (Minnesota) and Will (Air Force) both wrestled in college, and his father, Ben, was an All-American at Boise State — but he’s vying to be the first to win four Colorado prep titles. Can’t get there without winning No. 2 first.

Champ vs. champ: A total of seven brackets feature two previous state champions, including four with a pair of returning state titlists. As good as VomBaur-Amaro may be, the most intriguing potential matchup out of that group might be in 3A at 175 pounds, where Mullen junior Isaak Chavez is opposite Brush junior Ritchie Bruno on the bracket. While Bruno has lost just once in the last two prep seasons, Chavez (25-0) is chasing perfection this winter after moving up two weight classes after claiming the 157-pound title as a sophomore.

Repeat performance?: Another reason why Chavez-Bruno could generate drama? Brush is among Mullen’s top challengers in the 3A championship race. The Mustangs won their first team title in program history last winter, topping the runner-up Beetdiggers by less than 20 points. While four-time champ Dale O’Blia has graduated, Mullen remains a threat to repeat with six qualifiers and two returning champions in Chavez and sophomore heavyweight Champion Dyes. But they’ll need every win they can muster.

Nationally known: The biggest star on the Ball Arena stage this weekend? If we’re going off FloWrestling’s rankings, that’s Doherty senior Katey Valdez, who the site currently has slotted at 17th nationally in its pound-for-pound rankings and No. 1 at 100 pounds. Valdez was denied a shot at defending her 2023 100-pound title after suffering a season-ending injury midway through last season, but she has lost just once this season in her quest to return to the top of the podium.

Schedule

Thursday

Preliminaries
Class 2A/3A boys, Class 4A Girls — Noon – 4 p.m.
Class 4A/5A boys, Class 5A Girls — 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

Friday

Quarterfinals
Class 2A/3A boys, Class 4A Girls — 8:30 a.m. – noon
Class 4A/5A boys, Class 5A Girls — 12:45 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Semifinals
All classifications — 6:30 p.m.

Saturday

Consolation rounds
All classifications — 9 a.m.
Parade of Champions
All classifications — 4 p.m., with championship matches to follow

Returning 2024 state champions

Girls

2024 team champ: Pomona

(Click here to view champions in mobile.)

Other undefeated wrestlers: Acelyn Duran (Pueblo Central, so., 4A-100), 25-0; Jaydin Cuevas (Prairie View, so., 5A-115), 39-0; Kate Doughty (Canon City, jr., 4A-135), 30-0;  Ryen Hickey (Chatfield, jr., 5A-145), 38-0; Dakota Hull (Westminster, sr., 5A-145), 16-0; Mariah Gonzalez (Poudre, jr., 5A-235), 27-0.

Class 2A

2024 team champ: Cedaredge

(Click here to view champions in mobile.)

Other undefeated wrestlers: Coen Schmidt (Merino, sr., 138), 46-0; Tavery Chappell (Wray, sr., 215), 39-0; Paxtin Caruso (Nucla, sr., 215), 14-0.

Class 3A

2024 team champ: Mullen

(Click here to view champions in mobile.)

Other undefeated wrestlers: Isaiah Johnson (Resurrection Christian, sr., 215), 24-0; Samuel Stockton (Resurrection Christian, jr., 285), 25-0.

Class 4A

2024 team champ: Mead

(Click here to view champions in mobile.)

Other undefeated wrestlers: Alan Cruz (Falcon, jr., 144), 12-0; Evan Perez (Windsor, jr., 215), 37-0.

Class 5A

2024 team champ: Pomona

(Click here to view champions in mobile.)

Other undefeated wrestlers: Carson Hageman (Erie, sr., 190), 18-0.

*** Three-time state champion | ** Two-time state champion | + Won in different classification

Other previous champions

(Click here to view champions in mobile.)

All records taken from TrackWrestling.com.

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams.