3A boys wrestling: Pagosa Springs claims first state championship
PUEBLO — For the first time in school history, Pagosa Springs is a team state wrestling champion.
The Pirates put together a solid Class 3A state tournament performance across the board, ending the night with one state champion and three additional top-three placers. They finished with 110.5 points. After clinching a share of last year’s team title, Eaton finished second with 84.5 points.
They got their first state champion of the night when Cameron Lucero finished off an undefeated season, beating Fort Morgan’s Cael Langford in a 9-6 decision to claim the 160-pound title. The win gives Lucero his third state championship and it gives him a win in his final match as a high school wrestler.
After falling in the semifinals, Erik Wyman battled back to get a third-place finish after pinning Elizabeth’s Andrew Kramer.
Dylan Tressler had a chance to give the Pirates two gold medalists on the night, but ran into two-time state champion, Zane Rankin. The Lamar senior is no stranger to the big stage as he had previously won to wrestling titles and was also named the 2A football player of the year last fall.
Even with Tressler’s second-place finish, the Pirates had plenty to celebrate. They get to go home with their first team trophy in the sport and they got to watch head coach Dan Janowsky get honored for his 20-plus years of service to high school wrestling. He has been coaching the Pirates for 40 years, the last 31 as head coach.
And while the Pirates left the Southwest Motors Event Center as the ultimate winner, there were plenty of other notable achievements from the 3A wrestling tournament, some of which will have an impact for next season.
Woodland Park’s Brady Hankin needed a 5-3 sudden victory to advance to the 138-pound championship match. Hankin, a junior, is going for his third state title and with Jefferson’s Angelo Lozado getting beat in the 126-pound semifinal, Hankin will be one of two wrestlers to have a shot at a fourth state championship next year as Pomona junior Daniel Cardenas will be going for his third title on Saturday.
Hankin cruised to his second state title last year, beating La Junta’s Isaiah Gamez with an 11-6 decision in the championship match. He became just the third state wrestling champion in school history when he won the 106-pound title as a freshman in 2019.
Should he win a state title next year, he would be the first wrestler from Woodland Park to be a four-time state champion.
Valley’s Isaiah Rios won the 152-pound title to also claim his third state championship.
Platte Valley’s Jeremiah Garcia beat Pagosa Springs’ Skyler Hill to claim the 220-pound title. This comes 24 hours after his sister Navea Garcia won the 161-pound girls championship, making the Garcias the first brother/sister combo to claim state wrestling titles in the same year.
