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4A team title belongs to Northridge

Brad Byler, Special to the Rocky

Published February 23, 2008 at 11:25 p.m.

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Nick Ludwig had a solution to all problems this weekend at the Class 4A state wrestling tournament at the Pepsi Center.

He just pinned all four of his opponents to answer any questions on the way to his first state wrestling title.

His pin in the final second of his match with Fort Morgan’s Sam Soto erased what could have been a huge controversy in the final at 130 pounds. The officials appeared to have scored the match incorrectly, giving Ludwig points on a reversal when he had started the third period on top, giving Ludwig a 5-2 lead.

While Ludwig and Soto wrestled on, oblivious to the scoring error, the Fort Morgan fans and coaches tried to tell the scoring table about the error, and one of the referees went to the scoring table to investigate. But with the controversy brewing, Ludwig pinned Soto with 1 second left in the match.

End of controvery.

“It didn’t really matter because I got the pin,” said Ludwig, who faced Soto for three straight weeks, including a loss in last week’s regionals.

“Last week (at regionals) he tossed me twice, so I didn’t want to tie up with him again,” said Ludwig (39-3). “I took my shots wisely.”

Ludwig’s victory also kept Fort Morgan from taking the lead in the race for the 4A team title. The Mustangs had trailed Northridge by 2 ½ points going into the finals.

Northridge made its move to secure the team title in the 140 pound championship, where Grizzlies senior Easton Ramirez made quick work of Justin Samora of Montezuma-Cortez with a pin in 34 seconds.

“He came off aggressive at first and I just capitalized on it,” said Ramirez (37-4).

“I caught him in what I like to call the snowman. That’s my favorite move. I pinned other guys in this tournament with that.”

In fact, Ramirez joined Ludwig as the only 4A wrestlers to pin their way through the tournament.

The Grizzlies crowned three state champions to win their first team title with 161.5 points. Alamosa had won the last two 4A team titles.

“This was our year,” Ramirez said. “We have five seniors, so this was our last chance.”

Fort Morgan finished second with 151 points, but the night was not without satisfaction for the Mustangs. At 152 pounds, Mustangs senior Matt Chavez capped his career by beating returning state champion Cory Casady of Broomfield 9-6. Casady won the 140 pound title last year. And the Mustangs won another individual championship at 215 pounds, when Joe Hochanadel edged Englewood’s Justin Williams 5-4.

Two three-time state champions were crowned in 4A on Saturday night. Saul Guerrero of Fort Lupton had to go to overtime to beat freshman Nathanial Garcia of Greeley West, 5-1, for his third title. Guerrero had lost to Garcia 6-5 in the finals of last week’s regional tournament, but that’s a formula that worked for Guerrero before.

“This was the hardest,” said Guerrero (39-3). “He was just a really tough kid.

Just like last year, I lost to my opponent in the regional (championship) and then beat him in the state finals.”

Cody Yohn of Alamosa easily handled Derek Vasquez of Northridge in the championship at 171 pounds to join his brother, Sonny, as a three-time champion. Yohn (42-1) won 18-2 for a technical fall in the championship. His toughest match of the tournament came in the quarterfinals, when he beat defending 171 pound champion Brice Wolf of Greeley Central 7-6.

Only one 4A wrestler finished the season unbeaten. Pueblo West 189-pounder Tony Chavarria, who led West to a state title in football in the fall, finished 29-0 with a 6-4 overtime victory over Brandon Martz of Liberty.

Team scores

1. Northridge 161.50,

2. Fort Morgan 151,

Alamosa 114,

Broomfield 105.5,

Berthoud 90.5,

Greeley Central 70.5,

Fort Lupton 69.5,

Pueblo West 67,

Montezuma-Cortez 56,

Thompson Valley 54,

Pueblo South 52.5,

Delta 50,

Longmont 49,

Conifer 44.5,

Greeley West 44,

Palisade 35,

Ridgeview Academy 31,

Rifle 29,

19. Prairie View 28,

20. Englewood 27,

21. Thomas Jefferson 23,

22. Elizabeth 21.5,

23. Mesa Ridge 21,

24. Liberty 20,

25. Widefield 18,

26. tie, Pueblo Centennial, Pueblo Central 17,

28. Fountain-Fort Carson 16.5,

29. Glenwood Springs 14,

30. Silver Creek 13.5,

31. Moffat County 13,

32. Ranum 11,

33. tie, Mountain View, Steamboat Springs 10,

35. tie, Canon City, Fossil Ridge 9,

37. Montrose 7,

38. tie, Rock Canyon, Windsor 6,

40. Falcon 5.5,

41. Mullen 5,

42. Mountain Range 4.5,

43. tie, Cherokee Trail, Frederick, Pueblo County, Sierra 2,

47. tie, Cheyenne Mountain, Niwot, Skyview 1.

Championship matches

103 – Jesse Meis, Alamosa major dec. Jerry Huff, Broomfield, 10-0

112 – Gabe Gomez, Broomfield dec. Joseph Martinez, Greeley West, 11-9

119 – Travis Himmelman, Conifer dec. Vinnie Sanchez, Pueblo West, 3-0

125 – Dale Shull, Fort Lupton pinned Brandyn Wahlert, Berthoud, 1:42

130 – Nick Ludwig, Berthoud pinned Sam Sota, Fort Morgan, 5:59

135 – Saul Guerrero, Fort Lupton dec. Nathanial Garcia, Greeley West, 5-1 OT

140 – Easton Ramirez, Northridge pinned Justin Samora, Montezuma-Cortez, :34.

145 – Justin Gonzales, Northridge beat Ryan Buck, Fort Morgan, 4-2.

152 – Matt Chavez, Fort Morgan dec. Cory Casady, Broomfield, 9-6.

160 – Johnny Ortega, Thompson Valley dec. Patrick Gomez, Northridge, 9-5.

171 – Cody Yohn, Alamosa tech. fall Derek Vasquez, Northridge, 18-2.

189 – Tony Chavarria, Pueblo West dec. Brandon Martz, Liberty, 6-4 OT.

215 – Joe Hochanadel, Fort Morgan dec. Justin Williams, Englewood, 5-4.

285 – Tim Sauceco, Northridge dec. Bob Switzer, Longmont, 6-1.

Third place matches

103 – Tony Pena, Conifer def. Casey Lynn, Montezuma-Cortez, 4-3.

112—Gilbert Garcia, Prairie View def. Aaron Lujan, Delta, 1-0.

119 – Derrick Ruiz, Pueblo South def. Graeden Sadlo, Berthoud, 5-2.

125 – Blayne Walker, Fort Morgan def. Jordan Wagner, Longmont, 4-3.

130 – Robert Pickrell, Northridge def. Steven Vigil, Ridge View Academy, 6-5.

135 – James Conrardy, Rifle pinned Scott Schaeffer, Greeley Central, 2:00.

140 – Rodney Heese, Greeley Central dec. Kyle Holman, Alamosa, 7-6.

145 – Eric Mortenson, Broomfield dec. David Shawcroft, Pueblo South, 8-3.

152 – Drake Huggans, Northridge pinned Jake Schabinger, Berthoud, 4:54.

160 – Luke Laurita, Delta major dec. Danny Robinson, Silver Creek, 14-1.

171 – Brice Wolf, Greeley Central tech. fall Zach Fischer, Elizabeth, 15-0.

189 – Ryker Haddock, Longmont dec. Daniel Suriani, Fountain-Fort Carson, 3-2.

215 – Fabian Guerrero, Fort Lupton dec. J.J. Velarde, Ridge View Academy, 5-4.

285 – Kevin Davis, Mesa Ridge dec. Vincente Apodaca, Alamosa, 5-1.

Fifth place matches

103 – Francisco Diego, Fort Morgan dec. Robbie Workman, Berthoud, 6-0.

112 – Angel Aragon, Pueblo Central dec. Abrum Griego, Pueblo Centennial, 8-4.

119 – Dalton Kelley, Alamosa major dec. Matt Francis, Thomas Jefferson, 12-2.

125 – Chad Pompa, Pueblo South major dec. Charlie Griffiths, Moffat County, 10-1.

130 – Drake Smith, Montezuma-Cortez dec. Michael Rangel, Greeley Central, 9-8.

135 – Brian Wilson, Prairie View dec. Nathan Lecher, Fossil Ridge, 5-4.

140 – Tyler Gieck, Delta major dec. Houston Mader, Steamboat Springs, 11-2.

145 – Jeff Phillips, Thompson Valley pinned Bryce Penn, Englewood, 3:54.

152 – Dominic Gaitan, Alamosa dec. Dylan Contreras, Greeley Central, 10-4.

160 – Josh Vantine, Broomfield dec. Rudy Chavez, Fort Morgan, 5-4.

171 – Mike Ross, Pueblo West dec. Devin Hightower, Widefield, 6-1.

189 – Aaron Wagler, Palisade pinned Mike Dellatto, Thompson Valley, 2:40.

215 – Rico Garcia, Canon City dec. Caleb Sisneros, Palisade, 4-2.

285 – Moises Alcala, Ranum dec. Kyle Graulus, Fort Morgan, 4-1.

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