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Rifle's Wooten begins with pin; Sauer loses in her historic match

Brad Byler, Special to the News

Published February 17, 2006 at midnight

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Opponents might not recognize Rifle's Luke Wooten this year.

Start with the hair. It's dyed black on top and blond on the sides for the Class 4A state wrestling tournament.

On his back he sports a tattoo he got after last season, a cross with the initials of his whole family down the sides.

His wrestling style is the same, though. Dominating.

Wooten (31-2), who won a state title at 125 pounds last year, began his attempt to win a 130-pound title by pinning Sand Creek's Manual Martinez in the second period during the preliminaries Thursday at the Pepsi Center.

Like the barbed wire tattoo around his left arm, Wooten is a tightly wound spring of muscles. Once he strikes, his opponents rarely can counter.

Wooten, a senior ranked No. 1 in 4A by On The Mat rankings, never had faced Martinez. Guarding against the unknown, and the target that comes with a state title, are Wooten's top concerns.

"Everyone knows and everyone is gunning for me," he said.

Wooten also never has faced Easton Ramirez of Northridge, his likely opponent in the finals. Ramirez (28-4) is ranked No. 2.

"Hopefully, I'll dominate him, just like the rest of them," he said.

All four returning state champions attracted attention in their successful returns to the Pepsi Center, but match No. 105 in the 103-pound class probably attracted the most interest of the night.

All eyes, it seemed, were on senior Brooke Sauer of Golden, the first girl in Colorado to ever qualify for the state tournament, as she squared off against freshman Jeremy Aguero of Pueblo South.

Sauer, the daughter of Golden coach Dave Sauer, was active at the start of the match, but Aguero scored a first-period takedown and turned Sauer onto her back in the second period. Aguero (26-8) went on to post a 14-0 victory against Sauer (26-13).

Perhaps the toughest weight class in 4A is at 145 pounds.

Two returning state champions prowl in that class and appear headed for a showdown in Saturday's final. Pueblo South's Mark Beaudry (28-1) won by a third-period pin against Sterling's Kenny Carey and Moffat County's Korey Kostur (39-2) pinned Brandon Cordova of Widefield in the second period.

They have wrestled against each other three times in their careers, with Beaudry winning all three matches. He won their only match this season, 11-9 in overtime.

Beaudry had a brief scare when Carey threw him to his back in the third period, but Beaudry escaped too quickly for Carey to score any points.

"I got caught with a head throw," he said. "It seems to be a trend at this tournament. It was luck more than anything, but I may have been a little sloppy."

While Beaudry, who won his title at 135 pounds last year, said he doesn't think beyond his next match. Kostur, the 140-pound champion in 2005, said he is hoping they meet again.

"I've lost to him three times already," Kostur said. "I kind of stuck to this weight to make it a challenge. But I gotta make it to him first. There will be a couple tough kids in the way."