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Ponderosa sends 11 to 5A championships

Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 11, 2007 at midnight

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LITTLETON - By his own admission, it has been an up-and-down year for Ponderosa's Zeke Hofer. But it was all 'up' Saturday in the Class 5A Region 1 wrestling tournament at Columbine High School for the defending champion.

And, it was certainly and up day for Ponderosa, ranked No. 1 in the state by On The Mat. The Mustangs of coach Tim Ottmann scored 279.5 points while winning seven weight classes and qualifying 11 wrestlers for this week's state championships at the Pepsi Center.



Heritage, ranked No. 9, despite not having a region champion, placed second with 169 points and will be sending six wrestlers to state. Chaparral, ranked No. 6, was third with 160 points and a pair of champions.

Hofer, a sophomore who won his state title last year at 103-pounds, is at 112 this time. He defeated Chaparral's Caleb McDowell, 6-2, improving to 29-7. McDowell, also a sophomore, fell to 30-13.

"It has been an up and down season, but I'm definitely feeling a lot better now," said Hofer, ranked No. 4. "I just want to go out and be mentally tough and I feel really confident going into state. I know that I have my work cut out for me, but I'm definitely ready.

"I didn't feel a lot of pressure (at regionals) just feeling more excited," Hofer said. "I felt good at practice all this week. I didn't wrestle as well as I felt I could in the finals. It exciting that we are going for our fifth championship and it helps having all the guys together."

Freshman Steven Kelly (No. 4, 28-7) got Ponderosa off and running at 112-pounds beating No. 5 Gabe Mamigonian of Heritage 2-1. Hofer followed with his win then Jake Snider (ranked No.1, 35-8) and Daniel Kelly (No. 2, 25-7) with victories at 125 and 130, respectively. Snider defeated Tyler Nelson (No. 6) of ThunderRidge, 6-0, Daniel Kelly beat Jacob Milewski of Denver East (No. 10) via a 17-1 technical fall.

Ponderosa would collect its final three titles behind Stephone Kling (No. 10) at 140, Jesse Snider (No. 1) at 145, and Jake Ottmann (No. 4) at 215.

"I think we had a real good day Friday only losing two matches, but a real good semifinal round (Saturday)," Ottmann said. "I didn't think we were seeded well and it was very, very tough. I was proud of our kids, we won some close matches and it looks like we are in pretty good shape.

"The tournament went about what we expected - our goal is 14 as it always is like most teams," Ottmann said. "But we are taking 11, which should give us a good chance downtown."

One of the biggest wins in the tournament was at 135 where Denver East's unranked Syris Pernell defeated Ponderosa's No. 7 ranked Zach Valdez, 9-7. It was the first tournament win for the senior Angel grappler and came at the right time.

"Basically I did this like 'Rocky'," said Pernell, who improved to 25-10. "The guy who trains underground is the guy who is going to come out on top in the end. Some people let things go to their heads. I felt my coach (Randy Gallegos) had me prepared the best I could. If I just went out and wrestled the way I knew I could, I would win."

Unranked East was the surprise of the tournament. The unranked Angels, who have won the Denver Prep League the past three seasons, are sending six to state.

Fruita Monument's Joe Meinhart, ranked No. 1 at 152, and Chaparral's No. 1 ranked Matt Murphy at 160, kept their rankings in check. Meinhart (37-1) pinned Columbine's Tyson Blatter in 2:29 and Murphy (31-4) defeated Denver East's Than Hedman, 17-7.

"I wanted to make a statement here going into state and to show that I am worthy of being No. 1," said Meinhart, who was third at 145 last season. "We have a lot of guys going (seven) and this is real good for the team. I've been confident all year. I have been wrestling really strong. Of course I feel the pressure all the time, but I've been working hard to earn it."

Class 5A Region 1, Columbine High School.

Team scores - 1. Ponderosa 279.5. 2. Heritage 169. 3. Chaparral 160. 4. Fruita Monument 151. 5. Denver East 146. 6. Arapahoe 106. 7. ThunderRidge 88.5. 8. Adams City 87. 9. Rampart 82.5. 10. Douglas County 79. 11. Columbine 75. 12. Mitchell 64.5. 13. Arvada 58.5. 14. Chatfield 27. 15. Horizon 21.

Championship matches

103-pounds - Aaron Ortiz, Adams City, def. Colby Kluesner, Arapahoe, 7-1. 112 - Steven Kelly, Ponderosa, dec. Gabe Mamigonian, Heritage, 2-1. 119 - Zeke Hofer, Ponderosa, def. Caleb McDowell, Chaparral, 6-2. 125 - Jake Snider, Ponderosa, def. Tyler Nelson, ThunderRidge, 6-0. 130 - Daniel Kelly, Ponderosa, def. Jacob Milewski, Denver East, TF, 17-1. 135 - Syris Pernell, Denver East, def. Zach Valdez, Ponderosa, 9-7. 140 - Stephone King, Ponderosa, def. Robby dePontibraind, Douglas County, 9-2. 145 - Jesse Snider, Ponderosa, def. Carlton Stephens, Heritage, TF, 17-2. 152 - Joe Meinhart, Fruita Monument, pinned Tyson Blatter, Columbine, 2:29. 160 - Matt Murphy, Chaparral, def. Than Hedman, Denver East, 17-7. 171 - Sal Howes, Arvada, pinned Matt Schnepfe, Heritage, 1:41. 189 - Steve Cruz, Chaparral, pinned Ryan Gray, Denver East, 1:02. 215 - Jake Ottmann, Ponderosa, def. Dyrell Hallcy, Denver East, 14-3. 285 - LeRoy Vigil, Adams City, pinned Taylor Stam, Ponderosa, 5:07.

Third-place matches

103 - Logan Burch, Rampart, def. Chris Martin, Heritage, 4-2. 112 - Brandon Ford, Rampart, pinned Harry Collier, Arvada, 2:14. 119 - Cade Robinson, Douglas County, def. David George, Rampart, 6-1. 125 - A.J. Maestas, Adams City, def. Zach Mamigonian, Heritage, 9-2. 130 - Bryant Hicks, Heritage, def. Blake Evans, Fruita Monument, 6-4. 135 - Nate Granahan, Douglas County, def. Matt Haage, Fruita Monument, 6-4. 140 - Travis Tullio, Fruita Monument, pinned Curt Barr, Mitchell, 4:08. 145 - Ryan Swanson, Douglas County, def. Phillip Colby, Fruita Monument, 6-4. 152 - Martin Sare, ThunderRidge, def. Tucker Korus, Arapahoe, 12-2. 160 - Patrick Armstrong, Ponderosa, def. Garrett Stowall, ThunderRidge, 11-2. 171 - T.J. Heffron, Ponderosa, def. Jake Julian, Chaparral, 3-2. 189 - Austin Harper, Fruita Monument, def. Devon Minshal, Arapahoe, 5-1. 215 - Alex Rodriquez, Fruita Monument, pinned James Anthofer, Heritage, 2:31. 285 - Chris Kiel, Denver East, pinned Travis Duffy, Columbine, 1:38.

Wrestlebacks (winner qualifies for state)

103 - Micah Self, Chaparral, pinned Chris Martin, Heritage, 2:32. 112 - Harry Collier, Arvada, pinned Gabe Metzler, Mitchell, 2:11. 125 - Zach Mamigonian, Heritage, def. Mike Roth, Rampart, 2-0. 140 - Curt Barr, Mitchell, def. Tyler Croshal, Arapahoe, 3-2. 152 - Tucker Korus, Arapahoe, def. Roman Padilla, Chaparral, 3-0. 160 - Mitch Schubert, Columbine, def. Garrett Stowall, ThunderRidge, 7-6. 171 - Jake Julian, Chaparral, def. Cody Barday, ThunderRidge, 5-1. 189 - Devon Minshal, Arapahoe, def. Jack Anthofer, Heritage, 5-3.

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