News and notes from the first round of the wrestling state championships

The first day of the 2022 wrestling state championships completed on Thursday. Below are some storylines and notes to follow.
 

---

Cardenas kicks off four-timer bid
 
Pomona’s Daniel Cardenas is widely expected to complete his high school career as a four-time wrestling champion at this year’s state championships. That final push of four state tournament wins won’t end until Saturday’s finals, it began with a dominant statement on Thursday.
 
In the first match of his senior state tournament, Cardenas pinned Chatfield’s Noah O`Dougherty in 39 seconds in the first round.
 
Hankin, Garza-Alarcon still on high-stakes collision course
 
At 138 pounds in Class 3A, potential four-time champion Brady Hankin of Woodland Park and Fort Lupton’s sophomore sensation D’Mitri Garza-Alarcon appear to be destined to meet in the finals. Hankin is surrounded by a history-making mystique but the two have had some battled this season, including a win by Garza-Alarcon at regionals.
 
Both wrestlers won their first-round matches on Thursday and moved closer to one another from opposite ends of the bracket.
 
Trio of potential three-timers starts strong
 
Jefferson’s Angelo Lozado, Loveland’s Kobi Johnson and Weld Central’s Roberto Estrada are all wrestling with a chance to complete their high school careers as three-time champions
 
Lozado received a bye, Johnson, whose sister Morgan Johnson is also a defending state champion, pinned Palmer Ridge’s Tyson Stahlecker in 1 minute, 21 seconds, and Estrada won by technical fall, 17-0, over Mullen’s Cayden Robbins.
 
Pomona opens title defense with strong first day
 
Pomona has been on a dominant run, winning the last three Class 5A team titles, and the heavy-favorite Panthers didn’t show any signs of letting that streak end at three. On Thursday, 12 of the Panthers’ 14 wrestlers advanced to the quarterfinals and the defending champs will take a 8.5-point lead into Day 2.

Fastest pins of the day

There were plenty of pinfalls on Thursday at the state championships, but a few were far faster than the other. The title of fastest pin of the first day went to Fruita Monument’s Joseph Shepardson, who pinned his opponent in 17 seconds. Pueblo East’s Xavier Freeman and Brush’s Dominick Ontiveros each pinned their opponents in 18 seconds.

Girls wrestling championships debuts at Ball Arena

In the sport’s second year as a CHSAA-sanctioned sport, girls wrestling made its debut at Ball Arena. It was an historic moment for girls wrestling in Colorado.

Ranked Colorado Springs grapplers hold strong heading into quarterfinals
 
At moments, Discovery Canyon’s Dominic Hargrove first round win in the Class 4A 132-pound bracket looked like child’s play. He couldn’t quite get Cheyenne Mountain’s Brennen Feign’s shoulders on the mat, but he built a steady stream of points that resulted in a 16-1 technical fall.
 
Hargrove was one of several Colorado Springs area kids to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals, keeping his state championship hopes alive. In the same bracket, Lewis-Palmer’s Isaiah Blackmon held off a tough challenge from Mead’s Victor Salazar to get a 12-10 decision. Hargrove and Blackmon both have a shot at reaching the final and could end up wrestling each other for a state championship.
 
Defending team champion Cheyenne Mountain had a bit of a mixed day. Nicholas Grizales needed just three minutes, nine seconds to advance to the quarterfinals and Nico Gagliardi also cruised in his first-round match. He pinned Silver Creek’s Bradon Tanner in 29 seconds to move on.
 
But the Red-Tailed Hawks struggled in other spots. On top of Feign’s loss to Hargrove, Patrick Ransom was upset by Vista Ridge freshman Daniel Evans. The Hawks ended the day in the team lead with 23.5 points but will have plenty of work to do to retain their title.
 
Raife Manjazrrez (152) and Erza Mabe (182) should both contribute to that effort as they made their way into the quarterfinals.
 
Mesa Ridge grabbed four early wins in the session before stumbling a bit. The Grizzlies had a chance to get a quality win as Isaiah Jones took Falcon’s Drew Fuschino to overtime but it was Fuschino who pulled out the sudden victory.
 
The highlight of the day for Mesa Ridge was heavyweight Matt Moore who needed just 29 seconds to pin Erie’s Calin Demmer.
 
Widefield got its lone win of the day at 285 as Christopher Walker beat Skyline’s Cisco Aranday 4-3 in a tiebreaker.
 
In 5A, Pine Creek won seven of its 11 matches, highlighted by Logan Noble’s 22-second pinfall win over Mountain Vista’s Conrad Draper.
 
The Eagles are currently tied for fourth in the 5A team standings with 26 points.
 

---