CENTER – The Center High School boys wrestling team, ranked sixth in Class 2A, won the annual Valley Classic Saturday at the Vikings’ gym.
The Vikings scored 168 ½ points …
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CENTER – The Center High School boys wrestling team, ranked sixth in Class 2A, won the annual Valley Classic Saturday at the Vikings’ gym.
The Vikings scored 168 ½ points which was 17 points better than second place Centauri, ranked sixth in Class 3A, with 151 ½.
“A lot of good teams showed up,” said Center coach Angel Chavez. “Not a whole lot of teams, but still, a lot of good competition. Our boys did their thing.”
Center
The Vikings had six finalists with three of them winning individual championships. Michael Archuleta won at 113 pounds, Andre Meraz was the champion at 144, and Aaron Valadez took the championship at 150.
The other three finalists were Martin Palma (165), Nicolas Palma (120) and Caden Ruggles (157).
Also placing for Center were Noah Swanson who was fifth at 190, Matthew Archuleta who was sixth at 126, Derriq Thompson who was sixth at 165, and Devan Garcia who was eighth at 150.
Centauri
The Falcons also had three individual champions including Parker Buhr (157), Matthew Salazar (106) and Spencer Smith (175). Salazar was also named the Most Outstanding Wrestler in the lower weights.
Other Centauri placers included Troy Munson who was third at 165, Dorian Quintana who was third at 215, Erik Garcia who was fifth at 113, Konner Horton who was fifth at 132, Aiden Knecht who was fifth at 138, Nik Skadberg who was sixth at 144, and Levy Recinos who was eighth at 126.
Sierra Grande/Centennial
The Panthers finished in 11th place with 53 points and they had seven placers including Bryant Tijerina who was third at 132, Aden Gallegos who was fourth at 106, Garrick Pettigrew who was fourth at 113, Dakota Rael who was sixth at 157, Daniel Sanchez who was sixth at 190, Joseph Diem who was seventh at 157, and Giovanni Jaquez who was eighth at 215.
Del Norte
The Tigers took 13th place with 33 points and they had four placers. Leading the way was Eulogio Garcia who was third at 106 and Anthony Conn who was third at 120, followed by Modesto Gutierrez who was fourth at 285, and Tomas Benevides who was sixth at 103.
Antonito
The Trojans placed 16th with 12 points and they had had two placers including Matthew Bradley who was fourth with 126, and Antonito Velasquez who was sixth at 285.
Sargent
The Farmers were 17th with seven points and they had one placer in Jaycian Sierra who was eighth at 132.
Tripp Duvall of Holly was the Outstanding Wrestler in the upper weights.
Regionals are next
Next for all the schools involved is their respective regional tournaments which take place Friday and Saturday. Centauri will be at the Class 3A Region 3 Tournament in Parachute, while Center, Antonito, Del Norte, Sargent and Sierra Grande/Centennial will be at the Class 2A Region 4 Tournament in Walsenburg.
“I think we should be in the running for the regional title once again,” Chavez said. “It’s going to be tough. Highland and Swink are going to be there, so that’s going to be good competition. They have a lot of good wrestlers. It’s going to be close race next weel.”
Team scores
Center 168 ½, Centauri 151 ½, Trinidad 125, West Grand 120, Dayspring Christian Academy 119, Salida 114, Primero 97 ½, Holly 88 ½, Merino 67 ½, Nucla 63 ½, Sierra Grande/Centennial 53, Custer County 46, Del Norte 33, Dove Creek 31, Norwood 15 ½, Antonito 12, Sargent 7, La Veta 3.
Individual champions
106 – Matthew Salazar, Centauri; 113 – Michael Archuleta, Center; 120 – Casey Kaus, Merino; 126 – Liam DeBoer, Dayspring Christian Academy; 132 – Teagan Larimore, Dove Creek; 138 – Coen Schmidt – Merino; 144 – Andre Meraz, Center; 150 – Aaron Valadez, Center; 157 – Parker Buhr, Centauri; 165 – Tripp DuVall, Holly; 175 – Spencer Smith, Centauri; 190 – Lawson Landrus, West Grand; 215 – Paxtin Caruso, Nucla; 285 – Andreas Bowman, Trinidad.
Individual runners-up
106 – Santino Garcia Sanchez, Trinidad; 113 – Jose Garcia, Trinidad; 120 – Nicolas Palma, Center; 126 – Kyler Spleen, Primero; 132 – Hudson Fisher, Salida; 138 – Calhoun Hill, Salida; 144 – Jason Hemsath, Custer County; 150 – Samuel Johnson, Salida; 157 – Caden Ruggles, Center; 165 – Martin Palma, Center; 175- Corbyn Martin, Custer County; 190 – Jairo Vicente-Dominguez, Primero; 215 – Ryan Van Oosten, West Grand; 285 – Johnny Dochter-Rivera, Primero.