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Roosevelt runs roughshod over 3A field

By John Rosa, Special to the News

Published February 23, 2008 at 11:20 p.m.

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Roosevelt’s Dan Frank thinks a state title of his very own is nice, but he also likes the kind he can share with a dozen or so of his closest friends.

Frank, a 130-pound junior, picked up his second state championship Saturday night, rolling over Adam Garcia of Monte Vista 9-0 in front of a record crowd of 18,569 fans at the Pepsi Center.

And while Frank was happy to have a bookend to go with the 125-pound title he won last year, he was thrilled that his teammates ran away with the Class 3A team championship as well.

“An individual title means a lot, but the guys on my team are my brothers,” said Frank, who ran his record to 33-3. “It feels great.”

The Roughriders had wrapped up the title before the championship even started, but they added a couple of state title points to their total for good measure. Roosevelt, which won its third team championship in school history, easily outpointed second-place Centauri 186.5-125. Nathan Heuer (171) also picked up a state title for the Roughriders.

Florence, which finished third with 116.5 points, picked up a pair of championships in consecutive weight classes.

Nate Halpin started the run at 135, crushing Edgar Castro of Weld Central 16-0. Matt Addington added the 140 pound title, edging Jeff Kielian of Roosevelt 7-1.

Centauri senior Mitchell Polkowske capped off his career in style, winning his second straight title at 145 by scoring a tech fall over Jared Cass of Platte Valley in 2:29. Polkowske, who has a 90-0 record over the past two seasons, also broke Colorado’s single-season takedown record during the tournament, and finished with 347 this year.

Highland heavyweight Austin Kinnison also picked up his second state title, topping Gilbert Martinez of Trinidad 14-5.

Kinnison, who is only 5-foot-7 and 245 pounds, said he’s had to battle bigger and heavier opponents his entire career, but is able to use his size to his advantage.

“All my career I’ve had to deal with bigger people, but this shows I know how to deal with them,” Kinnison said. “I can use my leverage against them.”

Kinnison, who ran his record to 33-1, became the first two-time champion in school history.

“This is even better than the first one,” Kinnison said.

In one of the most thrilling finishes of the night, St. Mary’s Ethan Martinez capped a perfect 24-0 season and won his second championship by eking out a 2-0 victory over Phillip Sheridan of Centauri. The match was tied 0-0 heading into the third, but Marinez was able to score a reversal out of the down position to get the win.

Platte Valley’s David Clark picked up his second 189-pound title, pinning Stephen Fox of Lamar in 1:31.

Gunnison’s Scott Redden picked up the 215-pound title, edging familiar foe Michael Beard of Hotchkiss in the finals 3-1. Those two Western-Slope rivals have faced each other seven times during their career, with Redden owning a 6-1 record.

Redden’s only loss came at last week’s regional finals, and he admitted facing Beard made the title even more special.

“I always know that (Beard’s) the toughest kid I’m going to wrestle,” Redden said. “He goes all out, and he’s who I wanted to face in the state finals and it happened.”

In the 112 pound title match, Monte Vista senior Pablo Mascrenas appeared to be in total control over Casey Haga of Ignacio, enjoying a 13-5 lead late in the second period. But that’s when things turned scary.

Haga caught Mascrenas in a cradle and took him to his back, and was inches away from getting the pin. But Mascrenas was able to avoid going horizontal, and stayed alive until the end of the period, although his lead was cut to 13-10.

Mascrenas finished Haga off in the third, securing a 18-10 major decision, but later admitted that he had his doubts that he would survive the final moments of the second period.

“When he caught me in the cradle, I got really nervous,” said Mascrenas, who finished the year with a 19-0 record. “I’m just glad I broke out of that. If I couldn’t have got out of the cradle, that would’ve been the match.

Estes Park junior Jake Eitzen was crowned champion of the brutal 119-pound bracket, scoring a 15-6 victory over Centauri sophomore Cahlen Keys. Eitzen built an 11-0 lead midway through the second period, and then was able to ride Keys out to pick up the state title.

Jordan Larsen of Bayfield topped Mike Smith of Pagosa Springs 3-1 overtime for the 152 title.

TEAM SCORES:

Roosevelt 186.5, Centauri 125, Florence 116.5, La Junta 98, Gunnison 98, Lamar 94, Platte Valley 73.5, St. Mary’s 73.5, Brush 71.5, Monte Vista 70.5, Olathe 62, Pagosa Springs 57.5, Hotchkiss 52, Bayfield 46, Yuma 39.5, Eaton 36, Valley 35, Highland 31, Ignacio 29, Trinidad 28.5, Weld Central 28, Estes Park 27, Arrupe Jesuit 25.5, Bennett 25.5, Buena Vista 24, Erie 24, Manitou Springs 18, University 18, Sheridan 17, Strasburg 16, Middle Park 14, Rye 13, Salida 13, Clear Creek 7, Coal Ridge 7, Peyton 7, Classical Academy 6, Holy Family 6, Cedaredge 5, Lutheran 3, Ellicott 2, The Pinnacle 2, Castle View 1.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

103: Josh Jaime, Lamar, def. Kurtis Romero, La Junta, 4-2.

112: Pablo Mascrenas, Monte Vista, Sr. maj. dec. Casey Haga, Ignacio, 18-10.

119: Jake Eitzen, Estes Park, maj. dec. Cahlen Keys, Centauri, 15-6.

125: Ethan Martinez, St. Mary’s, def. Phillip Sheridan, Centauri, 2-0.

130: Dan Frank, Roosevelt, maj. dec. Adam Garcia, Monte Vista, 9-0.

135: Nate Helpin, Florence, tech fall Edgar Castro, Weld Central, 16-0.

140: Matt Addington, Florence, dec. Jeff Kiellan, Roosevelt, 7-1.

145: Mitchell Polkowske, Florence, tech fall Jared Cass, Platte Valley, 2:29.

152: Jordan Larsen, Bayfield, def. Mike Smith, Pagosa Springs, 3-1 OT.

160: Zach Diaz, Yuma, dec. Bryce Kammerzell, Eaton, 9-5.

171: Nathan Heuer, Roosevelt, pinned Kyle Symonds, Platte Valley, 4:51.

189: David Clark, Platte Valley, pinned Stephen Fox, Lamar, 1:31.

215: Scott Redden, Gunnison, dec. Michael Beard, Hotchkiss, 3-1.

285: Austin Kinnison, Highland, def. Gilbert Martinez, Trinidad, 14-5.

THIRD PLACE MATCHES

103: Dustin Hass, Brush, maj. Dec. over Corbin Bennetts, Buena Vista, 14-3.

112: Presley Papachek, Roosevelt, def. Mario Espinosa, Centauri, 9-5.

119: Gabrian Martinez, St. Mary’s, def. C.J. York, Roosevelt, 5-1.

125: Vincente Gallegos, Arrupe Jesuite, def. Zach Legino, Roosevelt, 5-2.

130: Tommy Ketchum, La Junta, maj. Dec. Caleb Wyatt, Hotchkiss, 13-1.

135: Phillip Gallegos, La Junta, def. Ronnie Blea, University, 8-3.

140: Brandon Downing, Lamar, def. Cole Kembel, Brush, 7-5.

145: David Vasquez, La Junta, dec. Colton Garcia, Gunnison, 7-1.

152: Brandon Montoya, Roosevelt, def. Will Hannah, Valley, 1-0.

160: Joe Du Charme, Pagosa Springs, maj. dec. Tony Magno, Florence, 14-4.

171: Justin Rogers, Centauri, pinned Jesse Rivera, Olathe, 2:14.

189: Daniel Rubalcaba, Brush, pinned Kip Hefftner, Gunnison, 2:05.

215: Tanner Wilcox, Florence, def. Brandon Vaughn, Lamar, 2-1 OT TB.

285: Cees Doxsey, Erie, def. Geoffrey Grayson, St. Mary’s, 6-2.

FIFTH PLACE MATCHES

103: Garrett Eastep, Manitou Springs, pinned Casey Bollinger, Olathe, 1:32.

112: Alex Quinonez, Hotchkiss, def. Even Boyer, Valley, 9-2.

119: Ross Leyba, La Junta, def. Steven Smith, Pagosa Springs, 4-3.

125: Michael Williams, Strasburg, pinned Darrian Adame, Lamar, 2:57.

130: Ely Martinez, St. Mary’s, inj. default Jacob Caldwell, Gunnison.

135: Josh Roper, Gunnison, pinned Jovan Chavez, Erie, 1:54.

140: Elliot Copeland, Bennett, def. Joe Viscontie, Middle Park, 5-3.

145: Roy Grauberger, Brush, tech fall Eric Tiedeman, Bennett, 22-6.

152: Casey Seifert, Sheridan, pinned Clint Myers, Salida, 3:47.

160: Marvin Rivera, Olathe, dc. Jeff Plumb, Roosevelt, 8-5.

171: Scott Campbell, Florence, dec. Ethan Hasty, Monte Vista, 3-2.

189: Markus Eckstein, Bayfield, def. Adam Liges, Roosevelt, 7-6.

215: Dustin Frank, Roosevelt, pinned Justin Forell, Rye, 0:49.

285: John Kuykendall, Gunnison, def. Vincent Chacon, Centauri, 4-3 OT TB.