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Poudre High wrestlers secure second straight city title with win at Fort Collins

Kelly Lyell, Fort Collins Coloradoan
·4 min read

Two of Poudre High School’s best wrestlers had to give everything they had to come away with a win Thursday night at Fort Collins.

As a team, though, the Impalas once again flexed their collective muscle to post a 52-15 victory and clinch the city championship for the second year in a row.

Poudre used pins from Henry Ciardullo (152 pounds), Saje Camirand (182), Christian Perez (220), Ty Reeves (106) and Billy Greenwood (126) to spoil the Lambkins’ Senior Night after Fort Collins’ Cam Soto opened the match with a pin at 145 pounds.

“It’s definitely a lot of fun to be a part of this team,” said 132-pounder Banks Norby, who squeaked past club teammate Sam McManus 4-3 in the closest match of the night. “I think we’re better than just the city; I think we can win the whole region, to be honest.”

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Norby, who is ranked No. 7 in the state at the Class 5A level by Tim Yount’s On The Mat, used an escape in the third round to score the decisive point against McManus, his GRIT Athletics club teammate and the state’s 10th-ranked 132-pounder.

Winning a regional title would be a tall task, given that Ponderosa, the No. 2 Class 5A team in the state, and two others ranked in the top 10 will compete in the same 14-team regional as Poudre on Feb. 11-12, hosted by Fort Collins.

But Poudre could send several wrestlers to the state championships Feb. 17-19 at Ball Arena in Denver.

Six Impalas are ranked among the top nine in their respective weight classes by On The Mat, led by Tony Garcia-Lopez, who is No. 2 at 120.

Poudre High School's Billy Greenwood pins Fort Collins Alexi Lindsay to win the 126-pound weight class match during a wrestling dual Thursday at Fort Collins High School.
Poudre High School's Billy Greenwood pins Fort Collins Alexi Lindsay to win the 126-pound weight class match during a wrestling dual Thursday at Fort Collins High School.

“I think this team has a lot of potential,” said Greenwood, the younger brother of four-time state champion Jacob Greenwood and ranked No. 5 in 5A at 126 pounds. “We haven’t done our best quite yet, but I think we’ll peak at the end of the season, for sure.”

Poudre got off to a pretty good start this season, winning the Wizard Duals on Dec. 5 by taking out host and traditional Class 4A power Windsor 45-30 in the championship round.

The Impalas have kept it going with wins in dual matches and strong showings in weekend tournaments to earn a No. 7 ranking as a team at the 5A level.

Although Poudre still has to face Rocky Mountain, the team it usually battles for the city championship, next week, an earlier victory over Fossil Ridge and Thursday’s win over a Fort Collins team that defeated Rocky Mountain assures Poudre of hanging on to the city championship trophy for another year.

“We have the best coaches in the whole town, definitely, and a really good team to stand behind them,” said Camirand, ranked No. 4 at 182 pounds.

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He pinned his opponent, Chris Scarberry, in 1:29 on Thursday.

Fort Collins' Jayce Conner wrestles Poudre High School's Henry Ciardullo in the 152-pound weight class during a wrestling dual Thursday at Fort Collins High School.
Fort Collins' Jayce Conner wrestles Poudre High School's Henry Ciardullo in the 152-pound weight class during a wrestling dual Thursday at Fort Collins High School.

Garcia-Lopez had a much tougher time in his match, scoring three points with an escape and takedown in the final 20 seconds to secure an 8-4 victory over Jude Miller.

“He was looking a little sluggish, but he did pull it out,” longtime Poudre coach Barrett Gollyer said.

So did teammate 113-pounder Tate Shearer, who rallied from a 6-1 deficit midway through the second round to beat Izak Ramirez 12-8.

Poudre’s fastest pin of the night came from Christian Perez, who needed just 18 seconds to beat Fort Collins’ Ben Rios at 195. Perez had just moved up from 182 pounds, while Rios had just moved down from 285, where he was stuck behind top-ranked teammate Cade Whish.

Fort Collins’ wins came from Camren Soto, who pinned Flint Neagle in 3:20 at 145 pounds in the first match of the night, 195-pounder Ky Berlin and Whish, who won by forfeit.

This is the best team Fort Collins has had in several years, Gollyer said.

Poudre proved it is better. The best in the city.

Again.

“It’s important to me,” Billy Greenwood said. “Poudre’s been winning most of the city championships the last couple years and for me and my family, with my brothers wrestling for Poudre, it’s pretty fun for me to keep that tradition going of Poudre being pretty tough city champs.”

Kelly Lyell reports on CSU, high school and other local sports and topics of interest for the Coloradoan. Contact him at kellylyell@coloradoan.com, follow him on Twitter @KellyLyell and find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KellyLyell.news. If you 're a subscriber, thank you for your support. If not, please consider purchasing a digital subscription today.

Fort Collins' Cam Soto wrestles Poudre High School's Flint Neagle in the 145-pound weight class during a wrestling dual Thursday at Fort Collins High School.
Fort Collins' Cam Soto wrestles Poudre High School's Flint Neagle in the 145-pound weight class during a wrestling dual Thursday at Fort Collins High School.

This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Poudre High wrestlers secure city title with win at Fort Collins