Pomona wrestling overcomes adversity to claim second 5A trophy in four years
DENVER – Pomona came into the Class 5A state wrestling tournament expecting to come away with the team trophy, and the Panthers did exactly that.
How the team secured its first championship since 2013 may have been unconventional, but sometimes a little adversity isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Pomona finished the three-day tournament with 139.5 points, a state champion and eight placers. Along the way the team lost one qualifier to a skin issue before the tournament even began, and saw both of its defending state champions lose in the quarterfinals.
Instead of folding, the squad regrouped and pulled away from second-place Poudre (106.5 points), Ponderosa (95.5) and Pine Creek (95) on Saturday night at Pepsi Center.
“We overcame adversity right here. We lost one kid to ringworm before the tournament even started,” said Panthers coach Sam Federico, whose team finished second to Arvada West in each of the previous two seasons. “We battled the whole weekend and got it done.”
Freshman Theorius Robison captured the lone state title for Pomona at 126 pounds with a 9-5 decision over Cherry Creek’s Josh Finesilver.
“The start of the season was a little bit rough. It was an adjustment from eight-grade to high school,” Robison said. “But I expected to win, because I don’t really ever expect to lose.”
Robison spent the final 20 seconds of the match moving away from Finesilver, which drew a pair of stalling penalties and also caused Pomona to have a point deducted from its team score because of unsportsmanlike conduct. The team was hit with a second deduction later in the tournament for a separate infraction.
“He’s a freshman that’s excited and he dominated a match,” Federico said. “I wish it wouldn’t have ended like that, of course. But he’s a freshman, he’s excited, and there’s nothing wrong with that, either.”
Jason Romero (145 pounds) and Cameron Gonzales (170) finished second for the team.
Poudre’s charge to second place was led by sophomore Jacob Greenwood, who captured his second state title with a 15-4 major decision over Monarch Cole Polluconi.
“I’ve been working all year for this,” Greenwood said. “Everything’s paying off right now.”
Greenwood defeated Legacy’s Ryan Deakin in overtime as a freshman. He did so while dealing with a slight fracture in the L-5 vertebrae in his back, an injury which kept him sidelined until November.
He said the pressure was much more evident this season than a year ago.
“I think last year was easier, as far as the mental game goes,” Greenwood said. “Nobody expected me to win and I was the underdog by quite a bit.
“This year the mental piece was a little harder at points because I knew everybody was expecting me to win again.”
Deakin bounced back Saturday night to win his second championship in three years, shutting out Denver East’s David Kavanagh 7-0 at 138 pounds.
Another sophomore who came up big Saturday was Grand Junction’s Josiah Rider, who lost nearly three minutes of stoppage time to a bloody nose. Rider ultimately held on for a 5-3 victory at 152 pounds over former state champion Matt Finesilver of Cherry Creek.
“He’s very determined, very focused and he’s a very seasoned wrestler,” Grand Junction coach Cole Allison said. “It takes a lot to rattle Josiah Rider, so he knew if we could get the blood stopped and not let the time become an issue, he’d find a way to get the match.
“He wanted a pin, he wanted a tech, but there are no style points in the finals. Just find a way to get it done however it comes, and that’s what he did.”
Castle View’s Malik Heinselman won his first title with a second-period pin at 106 pounds and Adams City’s Fabian Gutierrez followed with his own pin at 113 pounds.
Pine Creek’s Jordan Martinez edged Ponderosa’s Hunter Matney 3-1 at 120. Lakewood’s Gabriel Dinette also landed his first crown with a 2-1 victory over Pomona’s Romero via ultimate tiebreaker in overtime.
Other winners included Pine Creek’s Peter Isais with a 3-1 OT decision at 160; Chaparral’s Dawson Kranmer by a 3-1 decision at 170; Pine Creek’s Garrett Neil via a 6-5 decision at 182; and Mountain Vista’s Trenton Schultz by an 8-3 decision at 195.
Ponderosa freshman Cohl Schultz scored a first-period pinfall with one second left to secure his first title at 220. Fruita Monument’s Clayton Voytilla scored a 3-1 decision at heavyweight.
