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GYPSUM — Not done yet.
That was the theme after Saturday's regional tournament in Gypsum for Eagle Valley. The Devils' Andy Armstrong won the title at 220 pounds, and he will be joined at state by Damien Atencio (second at 106), Satchel Jones (second at 195), Taylor Wheeler (fourth at 145), and Joey Sanchez (fourth at 182).
“We've got wrestling left,” Devils coach Ron Beard said. “We've got five kids going to state and they're not just happy going to state. They want to place.”
The Devils finished seventh out of 16 teams at this weekend's tournament with 110 points. Roosevelt won the top spot with 204.5, while qualifying 10 of its 14 wrestlers. Palisade finished second at 168 points.
With those two schools in attendance as well as Montrose, Durango and Valor Christian in the competition, consider this weekend a nice warm-up for the Pepsi Center, starting Thursday.
“For me, I feel like I've gone to battle with the best,” Sanchez said. “I've got nothing to lose.”
“It feels awesome, but I'm not done yet,” Wheeler said. “I want to place at state.”
Three in the finals
Armstrong doesn't talk much. He doesn't have to, because his wrestling with a record of 33-3 does the talking. Down 3-2 to Roosevelt's Alex Davis with 30 seconds left in the third period, Armstrong needed a takedown. The junior shot, pulling down Davis for two points and keeping him on his back for a 3-point near fall as the buzzer sounded for a dramatic 7-3 win.
“For the last period, I was just trying to run down the clock, so he wouldn't have time to score,” Armstrong said.
“I think he was trying to give me a heart attack,” Beard joked. “Andy was trying to freak us out.”
Whatever the strategy, Armstrong has clinched a top-four seed for the state tournament and will be among the favorites at 220 pounds.
At the other end of the weight spectrum, 106-pounder Atencio probably had the best fan support, even when his team was wrestling at home. His entire family was dressed in red shirts with “Atencio 106” on them.
“This is my whole family here, man,” said Atencio, who earned his second trip to Denver, after getting hugs from seemingly everyone in those shirts. “This is my support.”
And all Atencios can keep those shirts for another week. Though he lost the finals to Durango's Matthew Lavengood, Atencio made his mark on the tournament by upsetting the No. 1 seed in his division, Miguel Vega of Glenwood Springs, in the morning's semifinals.
Atencio trailed 5-0 after two periods and rallied to force overtime, where he got the takedown for a 7-5 win.
“It was nice to get that takedown,” Atencio said. “My heart wanted it so bad.”
At 195 pounds, Jones suffered a 7-2 loss in the finals to Montrose's Cole Panter. Yet this is Jones' second trip to state and this is only the senior's second year wrestling.
“It's really sweet,” he said. “... I've come a long ways from last year. That's for sure.”
‘It's like a dream'
Wheeler is probably darn tired of seeing Roosevelt's Mason Marick at 145. The Eagle Valley junior fell to him Friday in the second round. Wheeler won two of his three tournament matches to get back to the third-place match only to see Marick again.
Wheeler got pinned and then had to wait for Valor Christian's John Holst to defeat Durango's Christian Stadler for fifth place. (If one finishes fifth and has not wrestled the fourth-place finisher, the former gets “a wrestle back,” or another match, with the winner going to state.) As Holst was finishing an 11-5 decision over Stadler, Beard gave Wheeler a quiet, but meaningful handshake that said, “Well done.”
Meanwhile, Sanchez probably slept well Saturday night after capturing fourth at 182.
“It's surreal right now. It's like a dream,” Sanchez said. “My home school, big stakes, going to state, I loved it.”
As with any regional tournament, there was some heartbreak. Eagle Valley's Marcus Medina finished fifth at 112 and had a wrestle-back match with Roosevelt's Dakota Swafford.
But Medina, a sophomore, got hurt, according to Beard, in his previous match. The nature of the injury was not disclosed, but clearly in evidence with the grimace on Medina's face during his 7-0 loss to Swafford.
“Marcus is so close. Without an injury here, that's a different story,” Beard said. “Marcus is a hard worker and I know he'll be back next year.”
The state tournament starts Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934 or cfreud@vaildaily.com.
Got Pepsi?
Eagle Valley has five wrestlers going to state, starting Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
Damien Atencio, 106 pounds
Taylor Wheeler, 145 pounds
Joey Sanchez, 182 pounds
Satchel Jones, 195 pounds
Andy Armstrong, regional champion, 220 pounds
That was the theme after Saturday's regional tournament in Gypsum for Eagle Valley. The Devils' Andy Armstrong won the title at 220 pounds, and he will be joined at state by Damien Atencio (second at 106), Satchel Jones (second at 195), Taylor Wheeler (fourth at 145), and Joey Sanchez (fourth at 182).
“We've got wrestling left,” Devils coach Ron Beard said. “We've got five kids going to state and they're not just happy going to state. They want to place.”
The Devils finished seventh out of 16 teams at this weekend's tournament with 110 points. Roosevelt won the top spot with 204.5, while qualifying 10 of its 14 wrestlers. Palisade finished second at 168 points.
With those two schools in attendance as well as Montrose, Durango and Valor Christian in the competition, consider this weekend a nice warm-up for the Pepsi Center, starting Thursday.
“For me, I feel like I've gone to battle with the best,” Sanchez said. “I've got nothing to lose.”
“It feels awesome, but I'm not done yet,” Wheeler said. “I want to place at state.”
Three in the finals
Armstrong doesn't talk much. He doesn't have to, because his wrestling with a record of 33-3 does the talking. Down 3-2 to Roosevelt's Alex Davis with 30 seconds left in the third period, Armstrong needed a takedown. The junior shot, pulling down Davis for two points and keeping him on his back for a 3-point near fall as the buzzer sounded for a dramatic 7-3 win.
“For the last period, I was just trying to run down the clock, so he wouldn't have time to score,” Armstrong said.
“I think he was trying to give me a heart attack,” Beard joked. “Andy was trying to freak us out.”
Whatever the strategy, Armstrong has clinched a top-four seed for the state tournament and will be among the favorites at 220 pounds.
At the other end of the weight spectrum, 106-pounder Atencio probably had the best fan support, even when his team was wrestling at home. His entire family was dressed in red shirts with “Atencio 106” on them.
“This is my whole family here, man,” said Atencio, who earned his second trip to Denver, after getting hugs from seemingly everyone in those shirts. “This is my support.”
And all Atencios can keep those shirts for another week. Though he lost the finals to Durango's Matthew Lavengood, Atencio made his mark on the tournament by upsetting the No. 1 seed in his division, Miguel Vega of Glenwood Springs, in the morning's semifinals.
Atencio trailed 5-0 after two periods and rallied to force overtime, where he got the takedown for a 7-5 win.
“It was nice to get that takedown,” Atencio said. “My heart wanted it so bad.”
At 195 pounds, Jones suffered a 7-2 loss in the finals to Montrose's Cole Panter. Yet this is Jones' second trip to state and this is only the senior's second year wrestling.
“It's really sweet,” he said. “... I've come a long ways from last year. That's for sure.”
‘It's like a dream'
Wheeler is probably darn tired of seeing Roosevelt's Mason Marick at 145. The Eagle Valley junior fell to him Friday in the second round. Wheeler won two of his three tournament matches to get back to the third-place match only to see Marick again.
Wheeler got pinned and then had to wait for Valor Christian's John Holst to defeat Durango's Christian Stadler for fifth place. (If one finishes fifth and has not wrestled the fourth-place finisher, the former gets “a wrestle back,” or another match, with the winner going to state.) As Holst was finishing an 11-5 decision over Stadler, Beard gave Wheeler a quiet, but meaningful handshake that said, “Well done.”
Meanwhile, Sanchez probably slept well Saturday night after capturing fourth at 182.
“It's surreal right now. It's like a dream,” Sanchez said. “My home school, big stakes, going to state, I loved it.”
As with any regional tournament, there was some heartbreak. Eagle Valley's Marcus Medina finished fifth at 112 and had a wrestle-back match with Roosevelt's Dakota Swafford.
But Medina, a sophomore, got hurt, according to Beard, in his previous match. The nature of the injury was not disclosed, but clearly in evidence with the grimace on Medina's face during his 7-0 loss to Swafford.
“Marcus is so close. Without an injury here, that's a different story,” Beard said. “Marcus is a hard worker and I know he'll be back next year.”
The state tournament starts Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
Sports Editor Chris Freud can be reached at 970-748-2934 or cfreud@vaildaily.com.
Got Pepsi?
Eagle Valley has five wrestlers going to state, starting Thursday at the Pepsi Center.
Damien Atencio, 106 pounds
Taylor Wheeler, 145 pounds
Joey Sanchez, 182 pounds
Satchel Jones, 195 pounds
Andy Armstrong, regional champion, 220 pounds
