Four local wrestlers place at state

DENVER – Prairie View’s Alec Wyatt capped off his freshman wrestling season for the ThunderHawks with a third-place finish at 132 pounds in the state 5A wrestling tournament over the weekend.

Photos by Kathy Schneider

Brighton's 113-pound wrestler Eric Yamaguchi tries to roll over Jordan McVicker of Grandview during the Class 5A state wrestling prelims Thursday at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Yamaguchi won the match 6-0 and placed fifth.

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Prairie View's 126-pound wrestler James Rothwell looks a the referee for the pin against Rocky Mountain's Danny Clark during the Class 5A state wrestling prelims Thursday at Pepsi Center in Denver. Rothwell won the match by pinning Clark in the second period and placed sixth.

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Adams City 145-pound wrestler Kyle Mayville right tries to stay out of a pin against Mountain Vista's Dylan Formby during the Class 5A state wrestling prelims Thursday after noon at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Mayville lost the match to a 12-9 decision.

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Prairie View's 138-pound wrestler Luis Bejarano tries to get out of a pin against Gateway's Brandon Muniz during the Class 5A state wrestling prelims Thursday at Pepsi Center in Denver. Bejarano came from behind to the win match by pinning Muniz in the second period and wound up fifth in the tournament.

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Prairie View's 132-pound wrestler Alec Wyatt right tries to pin Thaddeus Hayes of Doherty during the Class 5A state wrestling prelims Thursday at Pepsi Center in Denver. Wyatt won the match by pinning Hayes in the second period and took third at the weight class.

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Prairie View's 120-pound wrestler Ricky Becker, right tries to take down Ben Drysdale of Rocky Mountain during the Class 5A state wrestling prelims Thursday at Pepsi Center in Denver. Becker won the match 9-4.

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Brighton's 160-pound wrestler Ryan Siert tries a move on Pine Creek's Alex Markowoski during the Class 5A state wrestling prelims Thursday at Pepsi Center in Denver. Siert lost the match by a pin in the second period.

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    He beat the same wrestler – Michael Fanning – of Rocky Mountain High School twice. Once was in Saturday’s third-place match, which turned into a 12-2 major decision. The other time was in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals.
    In that contest, Wyatt used a favorite move of his – not necessarily one of anyone else’s – to pick up an overtime pinfall win. It was a head and arm bar combination.
    “It’s known as a trash move,” he said. “I am a definite thrower. I do a lot of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. It’s not recommended, and a lot of my peers told me it wouldn’t work in high school. So far, it’s worked in every match.”
    The move can result in a lot of points. If Wyatt hadn’t earned the pinfall win – worth more team points to the ThunderHawks at the state meet than an outright decision – he would have had five points on his individual score and won the match.
    “They don’t teach it, but I love that move. I’ve used it since I was 4,” Wyatt said.
    Wyatt beat Doherty’s Thaddeus Hayes in 2:17 of Thursday night’s preliminary round. Wyatt’s only loss was in Friday night’s semifinals to top-seeded Geo Martinez of Pine Creek. He bounced back to win his two matches Saturday and claim third place.
    “It’s a tough tournament,” Wyatt said. “When I came into high school, I knew I would be wrestling up to seniors. A lot of kids are strong wrestlers, but there are people you can beat.”
    Wyatt wasn’t the only ThunderHawk to place. Luis Bejarano, a sophomore, finished fifth at 138 pounds. His state championship run ended with a semifinal loss at 138 pounds to Jerry McGinty, of Pine Creek. But he bounced back Saturday to split two matches including a 5-4 decision against Evan Boulton of Doherty. It was Bejarano’s second win against Boulton in the tournament. They met in the quarterfinals Friday, and Bejarano held on for a 6-5 decision.
    Bejarano appeared in deep trouble in the opening round Thursday as he trailed 5-1 at one point to Branden Muniz, of Gateway.  Bejarano (27-13) rallied and pinned the senior in 3:46 of their match.
    Prairie View’s James Rothwell (16-4) took sixth place at 126 pounds. He was unable to compete Saturday because of an injury sustained during a 12-2 semifinal round loss to Emilio Martinez Friday night. Martinez picked up two back points as time ran out in the second period. In the process, Rothwell injured his hip. Though the PVHS freshman was able to finish out the match, Rothwell wasn’t able to mount much of an offense in the last two minutes of the match.
    Rothwell pinned Coronado’s Devin House in the first period of their quarterfinal match earlier in the day.    Rothwell pinned Rocky Mountain’s Danny Clark in 2:56 of their 126-pound, first-round match Thursday night.
    Adams City’s lone qualifier to the state meet, Kyle Mayville, dropped his two matches and was out of the tournament Friday afternoon. Mayville (24-12) lost to Dylan Formby of Mountain Vista 12-9 Thursday night and lost a 6-4 decision to Brandon Dunnum of Fort Collins Friday afternoon.
    Prairie View’s Ricky Becker did not place at 120 pounds. He lost his chance at a state title Friday afternoon with a quarterfinal 8-6 overtime loss to Cherry Creek’s Zach Finesilver, the eventual third-place winner. Becker nipped Nathan Gonzales of Doherty 4-3 Friday night in the consolation round. However, Pomona’s Lucas Vagher ended Becker’s season Saturday afternoon in the third round of consolation action. Becker (35-9) rolled to a 9-4 decision against Rocky Mountain’s Ben Drysdale at 120 pounds Thursday night.
    The only member of the ThunderHawks’ state-qualifying contingent who won’t return next year is Becker.
    “It’s one of the toughest tournaments I’ve been to,” Wyatt said. “They have some real big ones in Tulsa and New Jersey.”

"We did great," PVHS coach Jason Humphrey said. "I am very excited for the kids. We have a lot of positives from this year to build on going into next year. I really wanted to finish in the top 10 and we were just a few point out of that goal with a 12th-place finish."

There were some down sides, too, for Humphrey.

"Its hard to see strong seniors like Ricky Becker finish his career here at Prairie View. But he should be able to compete at the next level even though he come up a little short on his goals for his high school season," Humphrey said. "As far as the younger boys, we have a lot to look forward to and will continue to work hard this off season and get that top 10 finish next year."  

Contact Sports Editor Steve Smith at ssmith@metrowestnewspapers.com or at 303-659-2522, ext. 224.