State wrestling semifinals: T.J. Shelton set to wrestle for a fourth title
DENVER — T.J. Shelton will have a shot at a fourth-straight wrestling championship on Saturday night.
Shelton, the Meeker senior who has won titles his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons, pinned Paonia’s Jeramiah Hillman in the semifinals of the Class 2A 170-pound bracket at the state wrestling tournament on Friday night. The match lasted 3 minutes and 58 seconds.
Now, Shelton has a chance to join elite company and become the state’s 19th four-time champion. He will face Centauri’s Chris Martin in the final.
Shelton has advanced to the finals with three pins, including a match earlier Friday in the quarterfinals.
Two sets of twin brothers advance to Saturday’s finals
The first person ton congratulate Cherry Creek senior Matt Finesilver on his win in the 5A 152-pound semifinal match was his twin brother, Josh.
Both Finesilver brothers will be wrestling for state titles Saturday night. Josh had advanced earlier in the 126-pound bracket and is looking to win his first championship.
Matt won the 152-pound title last year.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Matt said. “I probably get more nervous to watch his matches than I do to wrestle in mine.”
If the post-match behavior is any indicator, Josh probably feels the same way. Having already advanced, Josh was pacing around like a madman as he waited on his brother.
In 4A, another set of twin brothers will be trying to bring home individual titles. Grant and Hunter Willits each won state championships in 2014, but Grant was disqualified last year after missing weight the morning of quarterfinals.
On track for three titles
Heading into Friday night’s semifinals, there were eight wrestlers who had a chance to win three titles. After the semis, all eight of those remain on track.
John Mall junior Jonathan Andreatta narrowly advanced to the championship match in 2A 120 with a 6-3 win over Moises Juarez of Monte Vista.
Pueblo County’s Hunter Willits, another junior, also won, as mentioned above via his 14-1 major decision.
The six others? Well, all pinned their respective opponents:
- Paonia’s Bo Pipher (2A 145) over Highland’s Bryson Fogg in three minutes.
- Berthoud’s Jimmy Fate (3A 160) beat Sergio Campos of Hotchkiss in 1:16.
- Dalton Robertson of Weld Central (3A 182) pinned Sterling’s Patrick Holtzhauser in 1:49.
- Sam Turner of Discovery Canyon (4A 138) beat Thompson Valley’s Braydon Besse in 1:04.
- Fort Morgan’s Toby McBride (4A 285) fell Montrose’s Sam Distel in 29 seconds.
- Parker Simington of Thompson Valley (4A 160) over Pueblo East’s Zion Freeman in 2:25.
Pomona’s Tomas Gutierrez also entered the tournament with two previous championships, but he fell in the quarterfinals of 5A’s 120-pound bracket.
How other returning champions fared
Aside from that group, every other returning champion that was alive entering the semifinals advanced to a final.
That means that on Saturday evening, a total of 24 wrestlers will have a chance to repeat as champions. The breakdown is as follows: There are six returning wrestlers still alive in both 2A and 3A, nine from 4A, and three remaining in 5A.
Barker’s tournament comes to an end
Kaley Barker, the seventh girl to qualify for the state wrestling tournament, was eliminated from the competition with a loss to Thompson Valley’s Kasey Gault in the second round of the consolation bracket of the 4A 106 field.
Gault won, 11-5.
Barker became just the fourth girl to win a match at the tournament in the first round of the consolation bracket on Friday morning.
Team race update
The closest race is shaping up to be in 2A, where Centauri and Meeker head into Saturday tied with 110 points. Centauri has four finalists, and Meeker has three. And, of course, the two teams will face off in the 170-pound final as Shelton seeks his fourth championship.
Narrowly behind them in third place is Rocky Ford with 104.5 points.
In 3A, two-time defending champion Valley looks to have a firm grip. The Vikings lead the field with 112 points, ahead of second-place Dolores Huerta’s 91.5.
Pueblo County continues to head the 4A race, and now has 157 points. Greeley Central is second with 105.
Likewise, Pomona has held firm in 5A with 100 points. Pine Creek has 78 points, and is second. Legacy is third with 74.
Notables
- Highland senior Morgan Fogg advanced to the final in 2A’s 126-pound bracket with a pin of Paonia’s Sackett Chesnik in 3:46. He is actually a defending champion, having won 4A’s 113 title last season while at Thompson Valley. Fogg transferred to Highland.
- Buena Vista’s Keegan Wentz pinned his opponent, Ethan Barnes of Norwood/Nucla in 15 seconds in the 2A 220 semifinals to reach the final. Wentz is a returning champion, having won 2A’s 182 title last season.
- Centauri’s Zach Martin ended a perfect season for Merino’s Trevor Elliott in the 2A 106 semifinals with a 6-0 decision. Elliott is now 33-1. Martin will wrestle for a title on Saturday.
- Another unbeaten lost for the first time when Widefield’s Kris Davis beat Aron Pino Valenzuela of Littleton in sudden victory. Davis will wrestle for a title in 4A’s 220-pound division.
- Here is a look at Saturday’s schedule.
More coverage
- Valley’s Macoy Flanagan is one win away from tying the state record for wins in a season.
- Photos from the second day of the tournament, including the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
- Complete results from all classes and weights.
- Replay the day via our live coverage.
