Loveland wrestlers win seven individual titles, team championship in Fort Collins

By Scott Stocker, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published January 10, 2009 at 10:56 p.m.
Updated January 10, 2009 at 10:56 p.m.

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FORT COLLINS — Loveland’s Connor Medberry and Pomona’s Donny Haupt are getting used to seeing one another on the wrestling mats in critical situations.

Medberry is ranked No. 1 by On The Mat at 215 pounds and Haupt No. 2. And their encounter Saturday in the finals of their 215-pound match in the Fort Collins Invitational was highly anticipated by the large crowd in the Lambkins' gym.

Medberry, while also helping lead No. 2-ranked Loveland to the team title over second-place Pomona (224-175), came through with a 9-2 victory. It was the fourth time the pair have met, three last season - including the state’s third-place match.

“I just wanted to go out and wrestle my heart out,” said Medberry, who improved to 19-0 on the season. “We were both pushing hard the whole time. I just ended up on top. I’ve seen him a few times, for sure. I haven’t lost, but I’ll not overlook Don. I have to be ready every match.

“We really wrestled well today as a team. We are building and growing as much as possible. We are looking at that state title and I would like to help our team get that.”

Loveland was in command in the team race heading into the finals with seven wrestlers advancing. It became a question of how many of the Indians, coached by Jim Sanchez, would come through with titles.

And when Loveland heavyweight Lane Stuht pinned Mountain Views Taylor Gutierrez in 48 seconds at 285 pounds, the Indians could count all seven as winners.

Loveland certainly started strong in the finals, winning three of the first weight classes. Chance Leingang began with a 5-3 victory against Pomona’s Tyler Hergert at 103. That was followed by Jordan Hendrickson 11-1 victory against Lakewood’s Eli Rosales at 112. Shawn Johnson, ranked No. 9, picked up the Indians' next win at 125 when he pinned Legacy’s No. 6-ranked Jesse Carlson in 5:37.

“I just went out there knowing I could do it,” said Johnson, who improved to 14-4 on the season. “I’ve just been working hard this season, but we all have. We certainly did well today and this was a good tournament for us.”

Josh Kreimier defeated Akron’s Layne Crumley, 14-1, at 140 and Lance Jeffries took a 13-3 victory against Legacy’s Dezmon Fernandez at 145 to finish the list of champions for Loveland.

Five teams ranked in the top 10 by On The Mat competed, led by No. 2 Loveland, No. 4 Pomona, No. 6 Legacy and No. 10 Lakewood from the 5A ranks. And making the 16-team tournament all the more interesting was the fact that 40 individuals holding top-15 rankings managed to reach the semifinals.

“Our kids have really picked it up this week,” Sanchez said. “We have worked on intensity and some technical things and we got after it. We had an excellent performance this weekend. Donny went after Connor and kept it a close match. Connor turned it on in the third period, focused on his feet, and was able to capitalize on his moves.”

Host Fort Collins, which finished third in the team race (122 points), crowned only one champion, Charles Benitez at 130. But the Lambkins were able to pick up a bevy of points due to depth.

Benitez, who transferred to Fort Collins this year from Scottsbluff, Neb., defeated his crosstown rival, Shane Story of Poudre, 9-3.

“This was pretty exciting, and pretty good since coming from Nebraska,” said Benitez, a Nebraska state qualifier last season as a sophomore. “I was second at districts last season and I think I’ve improved in just about everything so far. I’m 17-4 and feeling pretty good right now.”

Pomona’s Darrick Chavez, who is unranked, pulled off one of the most unlikely victories in the semifinals at 135 pounds against Lakewood’s Justin Frazer. Frazer, who is ranked No. 7, led 13-4 with less than 15 seconds left in the match. But Chavez was able to get a quick takedown, put Frazer on his back and get a pin with only 2 seconds left.

However, Chavez was not able to continue his good fortunes against Middle Park’s Visconti, losing 15-7 in their championship bout.

“This was a great day for me,” said Visconti, ranked No. 5 in Class 3A and now with an 18-2 record. “Coming in, regardless the size of the schools, I thought I could do pretty good. It’s great to come to tournaments like this as they help you get ready for state. The 5A guys really challenge you. My only two losses are to 5A wrestlers this season.”

Charles Martinez, at 171, and Joe Giron, at 189, were the only champions for Pomona. Martinez pinned Highland Ault's Andy Herrick in 50 seconds while Giron followed with a 5:08 pin against Brian Leistikow of Fossil Ridge.

Fossil Ridge picked up a champion at 152 when Nate Lecher defeated Yuma’s Seth Brown 17-4. The night’s final winners were Lakewood’s Isaiah Rosales with a 17-1 tech fall against Mountain View’s Steve Johnson, and Arapahoe’s Jake Wilson, with a 3-2 victory against Poudre’s Zach Bekkedahl at 160.

TEAM SCORES: Loveland 223, Pomona 175.5, Fort Collins 120, Yuma 94.5, Mountain Vista 91, Poudre 90, Fossil Ridge 82.5, Lakewood 73.5, Arapahoe 73, Legacy 54, Mountain View 48, Windsor 47.5, Highland (Ault) 38, Middle Park 33, Akron 29, Denver West 11.5.

CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

103 - Chance Leingang, Loveland, def. Tyler Hergert, Pomona, 5-3. 112 - Jordan Hendrickson, Loveland, def. Eli Rosales, Lakewood, 11-1. 119 - Isaiah Rosales, Lakewood, def. Steve Johnson, Mountain Vista, Tech Fall, 17-1. 125 - Shawn Johnson, Loveland, pinned Jesse Carlson, Legacy, 5:37. 130 - Charles Benitez, Fort Collins, def. Shane Story, Poudre, 9-3. 135 - Joe Visconti, Middle Park, def. Darrick Chavez, Pomona, 15-7. 140 - Josh Kreimier, Loveland, def. Layne Crumley, Akron, 14-1. 145 - Lance Jeffries, Loveland, def. Dezmon Fernandez, Legacy, 13-3. 152 - Nate Lecher, Fossil Ridge, def. Seth Brown, Yuma, 17-4. 160 - Jake Wilson, Arapahoe, def. Zach Bekkedahl, Poudre, 3-2. 171 - Charles Martinez, Pomona, pinned Andy Herrick, Highland, 1:50. 189 - Joe Giron, Pomona, pinned Brian Leistikow, Fossil Ridge, 5:08. 215 - Connor Medberry, Loveland, def. Donny Haupt, Pomona, 9-2; 285 - Lance Stuht, Loveland, pinned Taylor Gutierrez, Mountain Vista, :48.

THIRD-PLACE MATCHES

103 - Kegan Gavaldon, Fort Collins, def. Kegan Stritchko, Mountain Vista, 9-7. 112 - Dominic Madrill, Pomona, def. Adam Barela, Fort Collins, 10-4. 119 - Mickey Langley, Fort Collins, wins by FF Garrett Vasquez, Loveland (match limit). 125 - C.J. Brophy, Yuma, def. Austin Harris, Windsor, 7-4. 130 - Eamon Colgan, Pomona, def, Sam Kreimier, Loveland, 9-5. 135 - Justin Frazer, Lakewood, def. Ryan Moorman, Mountain Vista, 7-2. 140 - Jon Korf, Yuma, pinned Mason Johnson, Fort Collins, :37. 145 - Kyle Obenshain, Mountain View, def. Dakin Bushner, Yuma, 7-2. 152 - Kyle Walker, Loveland, wins FF, Daniel Landry, Mountain View (match limit). 160 - Zach Diaz, Yuma, wins by FF Dalton Breen-Martin, Mountain Vista (match limit). 171 - Nathan Johnson, Arapahoe, wins FF Clay Roth, Poudre (match limit). 189 - Timmy Piccaretto, Poudre, pinned Levi Miller, Highland, 1:41. 215 - Caleb Spaulding, Fort Collins, pinned Mike Schutte, Fossil Ridge, 2:03. 285 - Paris Spinelli, Arapahoe, won by FF Nick Prins, Mountain View (match limit).

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