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Turney helps lead Ponderosa to win in Arvada West Invitational

By Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 12, 2008 at 10:10 p.m.

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ARVADA - Brighton's Dietrick Turney wanted to send a message to other wrestlers that he is going to be difficult to deafeat come state tournament time in February.

Turney did just that Saturday when he pinned Ponderosa's Stephone Kling in :49-seconds in their championship match at 152-pounds in the Arvada West Invitational tournament. The win helped the undefeated senior earn Most Valuable Wrester honors and also put a slight damper in the Mustangs run to the team championship. With the win Turney, ranked No. 1 in the weight class, improved to 24-0 while Kling, ranked No. 2, fell to 14-5.

Top-ranked Ponderosa had the team championship wrapped up by the end of the semifinal round advancing eight into the finals. By the time time the consolation rounds were finished the Mustangs had accumulated an unsurmountable 190 points while No. 5 Legacy was in second with 135 points and three wrestlers in the finals. The only question from here would be how many individual champions they could crown. The answer, six, and a final point total of 220 points.

Legacy, ranked No. 4 by On The Mat, finished second with 139 followed by Class 4A's No. 6 ranked Thompson Valley with 138.

Turney pinned three of his four opponents, Mike Baird of Heritage (1:45) and Jake Gogan of Air Academy (3:06) were also shouldered along with Kling. Only Grandview's Bryce Lucerini managed to go the distance, losing 8-2.

"I thought I wrestled good this tournament, so I think I kind of deserve this honor," said Turney, a senior. "I felt pretty confident and strong going out there against (Kling) and I was not really worried about him. This season I have been pretty confident and pumped and just getting ready for state. I think this win helps send a message to others around the state, big time. It would be pretty important to me to stay undefeated all the way to state. I just kind of felt his body pressure and used it to my advantage. I've only pinned about 10, but I'm undefeated and that's all that counts"

Ponderosa got its first win of the night at 125-pounds where former state champion Zeke Hofer, ranked No. 4 upended No.1 ranked Gavin Peters of Standley Lake, 6-5. The Mustangs then picked up their second at 140 when Jake Snider, ranked No. 1, defeated No. 2 Oliver Yaney of Air Academy, 7-4.

"I've had a very rough season," said Hofer, who improved to 10-6. "I'm just trying to get my weight under control and get my confidence back up. I'm pretty focussed, now. I just want to get my ranking back up and set a presedence that no one is going to beat me at state. I'm feeling very confident in myself and it's great having the support of a great team around you.

"I knew going in that this would be a tough one," said Hofer, who won the 103-pound title at state in 2006. "I just had to have my head right."

Snider is unbeaten in Colorado, but 18-2 overall. He should manage to hold onto his ranking, but this one against Yaney was not easy.

"This is the first time that I've wrestled him and he's very talented and tough," Snider said. "I probably could see him again in the final at state since he is ranked No. 2. We went out of state and I lost two times in Chicago and they were tough matches. Tonight's win, too, is a confidence builder."

There were seven wrestlers ranked No. 1 in their respective weight classes in the 16-team field and eight that were ranked No. 2. In all, there was a total of 60 wresters ranked among the top 15 in the tournament by On The Mat. So, Ponderosa coach Tim Ottmann was more than pleased with the effort put forth by his kids.

"Winning six out of eight - I thought we wrestled very well, I really did," said Ottmann, who has announced he will retire as the Ponderosa coach after this season. "We met some tough kids and we won some close matches. Zeke wins a lot of close matches, but he showed me he had a lot of stamina. His record is not that good, but we've seen some real tough kids this year.

"I felt our 189-pounder (Zach Pella), who has only wrestled two years and placed (third) was good effort," Ottmann said. "But I'm pleased with all thd kids tonight. And, it is fun, too, watching my son, Jake, win. He is a wrestling a lot smarter and I'm proud of him."

Jake Ottmann, who placed second at state last season and is currently ranked No. 5, pinned Ali Kayeni of Heritage in the 215-pound match in 4:24. Ponderosa would then close out the night with 285-pounder, Taylor Stam, who is ranked No. 1, pinning Grandview's No. 2 ranked Cody Gilmore in 1:59. The Mustangs won their final two titles of the night, via the Kelly brothers, Steven and Daniel. Steven defeated Ellizabeth's Cody Goldschmidt, 8-4, to win at 130 while Daniel beat Legacy's Ashton Renshaw, 13-10, at 145.

Renshaw had pulled of a substantial upset in the semifinals when he defeated Thompson Valley’s No. 4 ranked Jeff Phillips, 12-3.

Only one other wrestler, Johnny Ortega of Thompson Valley, left the tournament with an undefeated record still in tack. He pinned Legacy's Danny Mitchell, who is ranked No. 3, in 3:56 of their 160-pound match to go 18-0 on the season.

Brighton claimed its second title of the night at 103-pounds as Jeremy Robledo, ranked No. 2, defeated Rocky Mountain's No. 8 ranked Jeremy Luna, 12-0. However, the Bulldogs came up short at 119 when Legacy's Chris Wessel, ranked No. 5, upended No. 2 Paul Montoya, 4-3.

Arvada West's Kyle Sweeney gave the home folks some hope becoming the first Wildcats wrestler since 2004 to reach a final match in the tournament. However, Rocky Mountain's Casey Norgard ended those hopes when he won a 15-0 technical fall victory in their 171-pound match. Rocky Mountain also came through with a second title at 112 where Jeremy Schmidt, ranked No. 2, defeated No. 3 Eric Wilson of Grandview, 5-1.

Pomona's Nick Jones kept his No. 1 ranking at 135 with a 8-1 victory against Ponderosa's Austin Gabel. The nights final championship was won by Air Academy's Zach Batey at 189, who pinned Thompson Valley's No. 2 ranked Mike Dellatto in 5:35.

Third-place matches were not wrestled and the points were split between the wrestlers who had advanced to the consolation finals.

Team scores:

Ponderosa 220, Legacy 139, Thompson Valley 138, Air Academy 109, Brighton 105, Grandview 102, Rocky Mountain 98, Pomona 85.5, Heritage 83, Standley Lake 60, Elizabeth 57.5, Arvada West 45.5, Adams City 41, Cherry Creek 35, Bear Creek 27.5, Thornton 18.5.

Championship matches

103 - Jeremy Robeldo, Brighton, def. Jeremy Luna, Rocky Mountain, 12-0. 112 - Jeremy Schmidt, Rocky Mountain, def. Eric Wilson, Grandview, 5-1. 119 - Chris Wessel, Legacy, def. Paul Montoya, Brighton, 4-3. 125 - Zeke Hofer, Ponderosa, def. Gavin Peters, Standley Lake, 6-5. 130 - Steven Kelly, Ponderosa, def. Cody Goldschmidt, Elizabeth, 8-4. 135 - Nick Jones, Pomona, def. Austin Gabel, Ponderosa, 8-1. 140 - Jake Snider, Ponderosa, def. Oliver Yaney, Air Academy, 7-4. 145 - Daniel Kelly, Ponderosa, def. Ashton Renshaw, Legacy, 13-10. 152 - Dietrick Turney, Brighton, pinned Stephone Kling, Ponderosa, :49. 160 - Johnny Ortega, Thompson Valley, pinned Danny Mitchell, Legacy, 3:56. 171 - Casey Norgard, Rocky Mountain, def. Kyle Sweeney, Arvada West, 15-0. 189 - Zach Batey, Air Academy, pinned Mike Dellatto, Thompson Valley, 5:35. 215 - Jake Ottmann, Ponderosa, pinned Ali Kayeni, Heritage, 4:24. 285 - Taylor Stam, Ponderosa, pinned Cody Gilmore, Grandview, 2:31

Third-place (wrestlers considered tied)

103 - John Godin, Grandview, and Tanner Taylor, Thompson Valley. 112 - Gabe Mamigonian, Heritage, and Andrew Lujan, Standley Lake. 119 - Jimmy Zahitila, Thompson Valley, and Maichael Balagna, Grandview. 125 - Adam Dunne, Legacy, and Gavin Garza, Elizabeth. 130 - Darrick Chavez, Pomona, and Tino Laureles, Rocky Mountain. 135 - Billy Holifield, Heritage, and Luke Case, Brighton. 140 - Joshua Starr, Grandview, and Mike DeBaca, Legacy. 145 - Darian Roberts, Arvada West, and Jeff Phillips, Thompson Valley. 152 - Jake Gogan, Air Academy, and Jacob Southard, Legacy. 160 - Derek Good, Ponderosa, and Justin Marts, Bear Creek. 171 - Zach Sundgren, Air Academy, and Sam Van Horn, Thompson Valley. 189 - Zach Pella, Ponderosa, and Nick Benedetto, Elizabeth. 215 - Caleb Egli, Air Academy, and Shawn Jenkins, Legacy. 285 - LeRoy Vigil, Adams City, and Al Erie, Heritage.