After move to 5A, Broomfield wrestling works to rebuild foundation

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hen Pat DeCamillis took over the powerhouse Broomfield High School wrestling program it didn’t take him long to find success.

In year one with DeCamillis, the Eagles won the Class 4A state championship last February at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Broomfield defeated Thompson Valley 127.50 points to 120 points, thanks to senior state champions Phil Downing (160 pounds) and Zach Stodden (182). Fellow Eagle seniors Jarod Albo (152) and heavyweight Austyn Harris also took second for the Eagles.

Downing actually became only the 17th wrestler in Colorado prep history to capture four state wrestling titles.

This season, everything has changed for the Eagles. Not only did they move up to the Class 5A ranks, but they did so after losing six total wrestlers to graduation.

“With the number of kids we lost to graduation it wouldn’t matter if we were 4A or 5A this year as far as working toward a championship,” DeCamillis said. “We are just trying to rebuild the foundation we have.”

DeCamillis was a three-time state champ at Arvada from 1988-90. And he is no stranger to 5A. Prior to taking over Broomfield, he spent eight seasons as the head coach at 5A Pomona.

Fueling the Broomfield charge this season will be senior Darek Huff.

Huff was a state-runner at 126 pounds last season and is expected to remain at that weight class this year. Huff will be joined by three state qualifiers Brandon Tyson (113), Randall Baker (145) and Connor Ventura (160).

“It’s not going to be an overnight fix,” DeCamillis said about getting his program back in contention to compete for a state title. “We have about 50 kids out for the program, so we have a lot of young kids, a lot of first timers. It has been a change of philosophy from teaching the elite to kind of having everybody come out and see what we have.”

This is unfamiliar territory for Broomfield’s wrestling program. Broomfield has won four state wrestling team crowns in the last six years. The Eagles won state titles in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014.

Since 2005, Broomfield finished no worse than fourth in the Class 4A state team standings.

“I’m going to build from within, and coach the kids who I have in the room,” DeCamillis said. “I wouldn’t expect us to be battling Arvada West and Pomona this year or even next year, but we will be back battling once we kind of get our foundation. With that said, I don’t expect these kids (this season) to be out of the top 10. If we are not in the top 10, I will not consider it a failure, but certainly that we didn’t do our job as coaches.”

Arvada West is the preseason choice to win the state 5A team title again. A year ago, Arvada West ran away from the competition with 179 points, followed by Pomona with 92 points.