Jefferson wins wrestling dual against Wheat Ridge
WHEAT RIDGE — It was all about being aggressive and not wasting time on the mat Thursday night at Wheat Ridge High School.
Jefferson, Class 3A’s No. 5 ranked team in the current On the Mat rankings by Tim Yount, defeated Wheat Ridge 48-36 on the Farmers’ home mat. The dual ran a total of 32 minutes thanks to some aggressive wrestling on both sides.
“It’s that time of year. You have to get after it,” Jefferson coach Oscar Fonseca said. “There is no time for holding back.”
While there were five total forfeits — three by Jefferson and two by Wheat Ridge — the remaining nine matches ended all with pins. Not a single match even got into the third period.
“For our side, it’s just being young and inexperienced,” Wheat Ridge coach Dave Osse said of the quick matches. “We are excited and want to get into the match. Sometime we get the (early) takedown, but sometimes we are so excited we put ourselves in a bad situation.”
Jefferson’s Cruz Ortega (106), Kyle Cisneros (132), Nick Gallegos (138), Brandon Onofre (152), Giovanni Lopez (170) and Oscar Lopez (220) were all victorious by pin for the Saints. Cisneros, Gallegos, Onofre, Lopez, along with freshman Jimmy Ramirez III (120) — won by forfeit — are all ranked in the top-8 of their 3A weight classes.
Cisneros had the distinction of being a returning state champion.
“In the beginning of the season was a little rough, but I think I’m back on track for a second state title,” Cisneros said talking about his season so far.
Cisneros had a scare at the Arvada West Invite last Saturday. He cruised to a quarterfinal victory in one of the toughest tournaments in the state, but injured his ankle in the semifinals. Thursday was his first match back and he didn’t look hampered by the injury. Cisneros pinned Wheat Ridge junior Angelo Vecchiarelli in the second period.
“It was the first time I’ve been injured during my high school career,” Cisneros said. “I’m just focused on getting as healthy as I can and getting back (to state). I already know what I have to do. I’ll be a lot more confident down at Pepsi Center. On finals night I’ll have the upper hand.”
Fonseca believes Cisneros will be ready when the state-qualifying regional tournament rolls around in a few weeks.
The key dates ahead for all wrestlers in the state is regionals — Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10 and 11 — where the top four placers in each weight class will earn the right to wrestle at the state tournament Feb. 16-18 at Pepsi Center.
Jefferson is slated for the Class 3A Region 4 tournament at Elizabeth High School.
“The guys who qualify are going to be very competitive at the state tournament,” Fonseca said. “We are doing 6 a.m. practices in the morning and then in the evening. It’s showing.”
Wheat Ridge earned victories by pin Thursday from Josh Moler (145), Jayce Chea (160) and the Farmers’ lone senior Nikolos Schnebly (285). Schnebly was initially slated to win by forfeit in the final match of the night, but the Saints inserted 220-pound freshman Anthony Lozano to allow Schnebly to wrestle on Senior Night.
“It’s hard when it’s your last match in your home gym and you don’t have anyone to wrestle and take a forfeit,” Osse said. “It was a nice gesture on Jefferson’s part.”
Schnebly is also the Farmers’ lone returning state qualifier, but there is hope that Wheat Ridge can get a few more down to Pepsi Center next month.
“I’ve got to work a lot more on setting up takedowns,” said Moler, who scored a first-period pin. “I’m much better than where I was at last year. I think I have a much better shot this year.”
Wheat Ridge is slotted for the Class 4A Region 3 tournament at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs for its state-qualifying tournament in a couple of weeks.
“I think we are in a really good situation going into the last month of the season,” Osse said.
