Will take eight wrestlers to State
by David Tesitor
SANFORD — It all boiled down to the last three matches of the night at last weekend’s 2A Region 2 wrestling tournament for a champion to be decided.
When the smoke cleared, the County Line Rivals came back to win three of their last four matches in the heavier weights to pull ahead of John Mall and capture the Regional title with a team score of 181 points versus 174 for John Mall.
It was an excitement filled championship afternoon as the Panthers, the Rivals, and the Fowler Grizzlies battled for control of the tournament. Each team had five in the finals and each needed a big performance to claim the team title.
As Fowler’s competitors began to get pinned, including a pin by Walsenburg’s Trystan Estrada over Dyan Palomino in the 145 pound finals, the Grizzlies were mathematically eliminated from contention, leaving the Rivals and the Panthers to battle it out. With the Estrada win, the Panthers took a 167 to 163 lead over County Line.
Nick Griego at 160 pounds, the fourth Panther to wrestle, claimed a pin over Aaron Anderson of Custer County. With his win, the Panthers took a slim 174-163 advantage over County Line. With four Rivals yet to wrestle, they still had a chance.
The way teams’ scores are calculated in the championship finals, win by pin is worth six points. A regular win is worth 3 to 5, depending on the type of win. At that point, it looked like the title could have been decided with the battle of the Heavyweights, Dylan Crump of John Mall and Ken Cox of County Line, the #2 wrestler in the state.
Cox of the Rivals won his 170 pound match by pin, narrowing the margin, but the Rivals lost their 182 pound bout, then won their 195 and 220 pound classes by pins giving them an eight point margin. As it turned out, even had Crump won the Heavyweight match, the Panthers could not have caught up.
Wesley “AJ” Van Matre wrestled Bret Benavedias of Del Norte for the 132 pound championship. Van Matre had defeated #2-ranked Benavedias two weeks earlier in a last second takedown. He told the World Journal he wouldn’t let it get that close. He kept his word.
Anthony Aldretti was the other Panther to win the regional championship. Aldretti dedicated the tournament, and his win, to his grandfather, Joseph Anthony Aldretti, who passed away only days earlier.
In total, the Panthers will take eight wrestlers to the state meet. They include Travis Vialpando (113#), Michael Sanchez (120#), Van Matre (132#), Aldretti (138#), Estrada (145#), Griego (160#), Kaleb Rehn (182#) and Crump (Heavyweight). (See Related stories and bios for more on the Panthers.)
There was one final hope for John Mall to qualify a ninth wrestler, but a missed opportunity by 152# Johnny D`Ambrosia kept him home. He placed fifth after losing in the final seconds a wrestle back opportunity for a fourth place finish. D’Ambrosia had some exciting matches, going 2-3 for the tournament. He pinned Michael Garza (Dolores Huerta) in 15 seconds, giving him the chance to move on but lost by pin in 1:56 to Cosme Cordova (Center) whom he had not previously met.
Zander Ross and Dale Van Matre failed to advance beyond the consolation rounds. Van Matre placed fifth but was not given a wrestle back opportunity to advance to state. For all the details, see related story
