Live updates: Evan Perez wins state title as Windsor finishes 2nd at Colorado state wrestling tournament

DENVER — The always-frenetic Colorado state wrestling tournament is back in Ball Arena.

The annual high school wrestling championship runs Thursday through Saturday in Denver and features 43 Fort Collins-area wrestlers.

That includes 35 boys wrestlers, led by a dozen from Class 4A No. 2 Windsor and eight more from 5A No. 7 Poudre. There are also eight girls qualifiers from Fort Collins in just the third season CHSAA has sanctioned girls wrestling.

Action began Thursday with first-round action and wraps Saturday night with the championship matches. Follow along here for live updates all weekend.

Windsor's Perez wins 165-pound title

The next great Windsor wrestler has arrived, and he's well aware of the Wizards' championship tradition.

Now he's adding to it.

Freshman Evan Perez absolutely controlled his title match Saturday night, stifling Evergreen's Gabe Zimmerer in an 8-1 decision to win the Class 4A 165-pound title in the Colorado state wrestling tournament at Ball Arena.

"I just knew I could dominate him," Perez said. "That was the gameplan the whole time. I was ready for anything he threw at me and I put some back on his end too."

Perez worked that plan to perfection, snapping a title drought by Windsor standards with the school's first wrestling championship since Vince Vombaur in 2021.

Read the fully story:Windsor freshman wrestler dominates title match to win state championship

Windsor's Kenney drops close title match

John Kenney was oh-so-close.

For a second straight year, Kenney leaves Ball Arena as a state wrestling runner-up.

This time was different, though. Last year, Kenney lost to local Loveland rival Levi Arguello by major decision (11-2) in a match that wasn't really in doubt.

Saturday night's championship match was an absolute dogfight against Roosevelt's Chris LaLonde, with LaLonde holding off Kenney by a 3-2 decision.

It was close throughout, though Kenney could never quite get the multi-point scoring opportunity he needed to overcome the Rough Rider wrestler's defensive strength.

The senior Kenney has been a Wizards' wrestling staple going for four years in a steady career. He's a three-time state qualifier (likely four without a COVID-limited field in 2021) and has finished in the top 5 each time.

Kenney made the finals in spectacular fashion, turning the tide against top-ranked Makai Alirez of Greeley Central in the semifinals and winning going away by a 10-3 decision.

Windsor wrestlers take 3rd

• 106: James Pantoja WON 3rd place with a tight 4-3 decision against Riverdale Ridge's Mikey Medina. Pantoja had wins over Montrose's Aidan Gonzales, Thompson Valley's Gabe Hall and Skyline's Brody Hufford, with a semifinal loss to top-ranked Pueblo East wrestler L.J. Herburger.

• 113: Robert Kendall WON 3rd place in a defensive battle (2-0) vs. Skyline's Calvin Mendez. Kendall had wins against Roosevelt's Cade Liniger, Durango's Ryan Dugan and Thompson Valley's Tavin Morey, with a semifinal defeast against top-ranked Pueblo County wrestler Zion Mares.

• 190: Zeb Mirriam WON 3rd place with a 3-1 sudden-victory in overtime against Canon City's Gabriel Renn. Mirriam battled all the way back through the consolation bracket after an opening-round loss, beating Discovery Canyon's Ethan Schulte, Greeley West's Ricardo Castillo, Falcon's Alex Thorauer and Cheyenne Mountain's Griffin Larue en route.

OTHER WINDSOR PLACERS

• 120: Zach Eaton WON 5th place in a close 4-3 battle against Thomas Jefferson's David Estrada. Eaton lost a quarterfinal and fourth-round consolation but won earlier matches vs. Pueblo West's Benjamin Kauffman, Liberty's Ayden Woodhead and David Valdez (Greeley Central).

• 157: Santi Fernandez WON 5th place by pin (4:24) over Montrose's Quinn Brown. Fernandez scored early wins over Canon City's Tyler Carochi and Greeley West's Alex Somer, with a semifinal defeat to Mead's Leister Bowling and a consolation loss to Pueblo East's Sully Deherrera.

• 138: Hayden Haase lost a 5th place match via 7-0 decision to Pueblo East's Tatum Rivera and placed 6th. Haase won earlier matches against Littleton's Luke Suro, Cheyenne Mountain's Wyatt Boley and Jesse Riopel (Canon City) but dropped matches to Pueblo County's Boden White and Roosevelt's Travis Long.

• 175: Cale Meuchel lost a 5th place match via fall (1:00) to Mesa Ridge's Isaiah Jones, placing 6th. Meuchel won earlier matches over Palmer Ridge's William McCoy, Evergreen's Max Johnson and Thompson Valley's Brayden Schmidt, while dropping bouts vs. Roosevelt's Sergio Cantu and Pueblo East's Sebastian Freeman.

KNOCKED OUT

• Hayden Welton lost in the first consolation round, while Adrian Czyszczon (144) and Tristan Cox (150) lost in the second consolation round.

Winter championship centralTracking Fort Collins-area high school sports in the postseason

Poudre pair rallies for 3rd place

Poudre was the strongest Fort Collins team, ranked No. 7 in Class 5A and qualifying a city-high eight wrestlers. The Impalas got a pair of 3rd place finishers and finished 7th as a team.

• 132: Billy Greenwood WON 3rd place with a dominant 5-1 win over Pomona's Angel Seranno. Greenwood lost his semifinal by decision (8-4) to Ponderosa's Jacob Myers but won earlier matches against Serrano, Grandview's Gunner Lopez and Boulder's Abraham Pomeroy. That makes consecutive top-3 state finishes for Greenwood, who was runner-up at 126 as a freshman.

• 150: Banks Norby WON 3rd place via 4-2 decision over Ponderosa's Payton Harris. Norby dropped a tight semifinal via 1-0 decision to Adams City's Seth Deaguero but claimed earlier wins over Columbine's Samual Schraeder, Monarch's Dominik Gendreau and city rival Max Buffington of Fossil Ridge.

BEKKEDAHL BROTHERS LEAD OTHER POUDRE PLACERS

• 138: Nico Bekkedahl WON 5th place with a sudden victory in overtime vs. Grandview's Jonathan Montes Gonzales. Bekkedahl had earlier wins vs. Brighton's Keagan D'amico, Mountain Vista's Connor Price and Kaden Ontiveros (Castle View), with losses to ThunderRidge's Nic Vicic and Ponderosa's Brandon Cannon.

• 106: Marcus Bekkedahl lost his 5th place match via 6-0 decision to Grand Junction Central's Elijah Hernandez, placing 6th. Bekkedahl has earlier wins over Northglenn's Anthony Rodriguez, Smoky Hill's Dashawn Jenkins and Nicholas Vasquez (Adams City), with losses to Pine Creek's Griffin Rial and Eagle's Adonias Cantu.

• 157: Brett Lamb lost a 5th place match to city rival Cam Soto by sudden decision in overtime. Lamb had earlier wins over Pine Creek's Luke Graver, Chaparral's Chase Bell and Smoky Hill's Zach Brophy, with losses to Fruita Monument's Dylan Chelewski and Pomona's Emmitt Munson.

KNOCKED OUT

• Ty Reeves (113) fell in the second consolation round, while Colter Junker (165) and Ryder Clarkson (190) both lost in the first consolation round.

Fort Collins' Soto beats city rival for 5th

• 157: Cam Soto WON 5th place, outlasting city rival Brett Lamb of Poudre with a sudden victory in overtime. Soto had earlier wins over Smoky Hill's Zach Brophy, ThunderRidge's Aiden Jones and Columbine's Jeyden Perez, with losses to Pomona's Emmitt Munson and Fruita Monument's Dylan Chelewski.

KNOCKED OUT

• Jude Miller (138) lost in the third consolation round after making the quarterfinals. Milo Harmon (106) and Miguel Garcia (165) fell in the consolation round, while Izak Ramirez (120) and Ben Rios (215) lost in the second consolation round.

Rocky Mountain's Stutzman takes 4th

• 165: Josh Stutzman lost a 3rd place match to Grandview's Charlie Herting, finishing 4th. It was a successful weekend for the Lobo, as he battled through consolation brackets and won matches against Brighton's Izaiah Schoepp, Grand Junction Central's Devin Hickey, Legend's Brody Shuss and city rival Miguel Garcia of Fort Collins.

OUT

• Isaac Roybal (126) lost in the third consolation round after fighting back through the brackets. Jack Durant (106), Lir Loughlin (113) and Vaughn Shallenberg (285) all lost in the first consolation round.

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PSD girls wrestler Smith finishes 4th

The PSD girls team qualified six girls for state, with three making quarterfinals and two placing.

• 140: Abbigail Smith lost her 3rd place match via fall (3:48) to local rival Sierra Moskalski of Loveland. Smith had previous wins over North Fork's Kacey Walck, Pueblo Central's Gabby Downling and West Grand's Sage Lechman, with a semifinal loss to Mead's Ashley Booth. It was another top-5 finish for Smith, who took 3rd last year at state.

• 235: Mariah Gonzales lost her 5th place match to Grand Junction Central's Rya Burke, placing 6th. Gonzales had earlier wins over Legacy's Cassandra Mehia, Jefferson's Athalie Mickelson and Harrison's Alicia Rowe, with losses to Calahan's Ciara Monger and Olathe's Lynessia Duran.

KNOCKED OUT

Pearl Morris (115) lost in the second consolation round, while Lindsey La May (120), Aubrey First (125) and Ezry Bonomo (190) all fell in the third consolation session.

Fossil Ridge's Iverson falls in consolations

• 285: Thomas Iverson ultimately fell in third consolation round to Regis Jesuit's Dirk Morley after a second-round consolation match via 3-2 decision over Grandview's Cayden Bird. Iverson lost a quarterfinal match by fall to Valor Christian's Winston McBride but won his first-round match by pin vs. Zach Rusin (Douglas County).

KNOCKED OUT

• 144: Alex Husen lost in the second consolation round, while Max Buffington (150) fell in the first consolation round.

Liberty Common girls lose in consolations

This is the first season for the Eagles wrestling program, and the girls team qualified a pair of wrestlers.

• 145: Viviana Torrejon won two matches over Gunnison's Ava Witzel and Coronado's Raegan Mitchell but ultimately fell in the third consolation round to Vista Peak's Rachel Allred.

• 235: Breanna Johansen LOST her consolation match by fall to Woodland Park's Cheyenne Becker, ending her state tournament. Johansen lost to Alejandra Alfaro (Denver East) in the 1st round.

Wellington wrestler makes state in school's first season

Tanner Gray (285) LOST by decision (7-0) in the consolation bracket to Florence's Weston Sweigart, ending his state tournament. Gray lost by fall Thursday to top seed Aidan Trujillo (Valley) in the first round.

This is the first year for the Wellington wrestling program in the school's return after 60+ years.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Live updates: Fort Collins, Windsor wrestlers compete at Colorado state tournament