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Eagle Valley wrestling sending seven to state

Off to state

Class 3A

Eagle Valley

106 — Luke Morrissey

113— Lucas Comroe

132 — Raul Lopez

138 — Noah Hermosillo

145 — Caleb Laisure

152 — Davis Ward

160 — Justin Morrison

Class 4A

Battle Mountain

132 — Mario DeLara

DENVER — Eagle Valley wrestling has a full dance card.

The Devils are sending seven to the 3A state meet next week at the Pepsi Center, after an outstanding performance at this weekends Region 3 Tournament at Denver West High School.

Eagle Valley finished second behind No. 1-ranked Alamosa, according to onthemat.com, and ahead of ranked teams like Platte Valley (No. 5) and Sheridan (No. 6).



“It’s great for our program. It’s great for our team,” Devils coach Luke Cross said. “That hard work is paying off.”

Eagle Valley’s septet is the most the program has sent to state since 2005.

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Noah rolls

Eagle Valley is bringing home a regional champ with Noah Hermosillo at 138 pounds. The senior picked up two pins and then pounded Platte Valley’s Adrian Rodriguez, 18-5.

This is not as easy as it looks. Rodriguez is 38-9 this season. He’s a very good wrestler, and Hermosillo rolled.

“It was business as usual,” Cross said. “He knows the goal is not to be the regional champ. This is just a stepping stone.”

Hermosillo is going to state with a 40-1 record.

Just as Hermosillo is making a return trip to state so is Raul Lopez at 132. Lopez ran into Platte Valley’s Dylan Yancey in the finals, but advanced to the finals easily, securing a trip to the Pepsi Center.

New and ‘old’

Luke Morrissey (106) and Lucas Comroe (113) ran into the DeLaCerda brothers of Alamosa in the finals. Elijah got Morrissey, 7-5 and Isaiah beat Comroe, 9-1. There’s no shame in either performance.

Morrissey’s a sophomore and Comroe’s a freshman and they’re both going to state, thank you.

Davis Ward’s also a sophomore and he’s earned his first state berth at 152. Ward pinned Platte Canyon’s Ryley McMahon for third place in his division.

And don’t forget about the vets. Senior Caleb Laisure qualified for state at 145, and Justin Morrison (160) are doing the Pepsi dance.

Two notes here — while Eagle Valley is sending seven to state, the Devils had 13 of their 14 wrestlers place in the top six at regionals. That’s impressive.

Just as an example, freshman Austin Raper got the call at 120 pounds and nearly wrestled his way to a state bid. It’s performances like those that help a team’s score and bode well for the future.

And with any regional meet, there is heartbreak. Eagle Valley’s Gabe Baldwin, a senior, finished fifth at 190. Everyone’s season does end, but that’s tough.

DeLara does it

MONTROSE — Battle Mountain wrestling’s Mario DeLara is going to the 4A state tournament at the Pepsi Center.

The junior finished fourth at 132 pounds at Region 4 Tournament this weekend in Montrose.

Like most things, this didn’t start this year. DeLara spent most of last winter behind Freddy Morales and Colin Stilson, both state qualifiers last year, in Battle Mountain’s wrestling room. It may have not been pleasant at the time, but DeLara learned from it.

“When you’re behind those guys, he didn’t get a opportunity to wrestle at regionals,” Huskies coach Angelo Vasquez said. “This is his first year ever wrestling in regionals and put it together.”

DeLara got a major decision, 15-5, against Standley Lake’s Thomas Zeller to start it. Central’s Andrew Bench pinned DeLara, but the junior wrestled back. The key match was against Abe Lincoln’s Craig Larsen. DeLara was clinging to a 2-1 lead, and had just been warned for stalling in the final minute. Instead of trying to hang on, DeLara (35-12) got a late takedown and clinched his spot at state.


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