DENVER – When the whistle blew and the official’s hand slapped the floor, Persaeus Gomez rose from the center mat at Ball Arena as a two-time state champion and celebrated in front of a raucous crowd.
When that official lifted her hand on Saturday night, the Pomona sophomore became one of three wrestlers to become the first ever in their sport, along with repeat team champion Chatfield, to become two-time champions in girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport in Colorado. That trio of individual champs also encompassed three of the 10 wrestlers to become the first girls to claim gold at the Ball Arena.
Personal glory aside, Gomez spoke glowingly of her pride in helping to shape Colorado girls wrestling’s early history.
“It’s a great thing,” Gomez said. “Just how girls wrestling has grown since it was sanctioned last year, there are so many more programs and I think it’s great that we’re at the Ball Arena. The crowd is like no other. I’ve wrestled at pretty big arenas but the crowd is never this wild. It’s pretty amazing. I think it was really a great experience for all the girls here and it’s history.”
In the finals of a loaded 118-pound bracket, Gomez (32-0) pinned Olathe’s Nicole Koch (35-1) in 4 minutes, 25 seconds to claim the title. Koch, a defending champion herself, also won a pair of unsanctioned titles prior to last season and the loss to Gomez was her first in 2021-22. To reach the title match, Gomez had to beat another defending champion in Denver East’s Israel Resendez (28-4) in the semifinals.
Just a sophomore, Gomez now has a chance to become girls wrestling’s first four-time champion.
In the 105-pound finals, Loveland’s Morgan Johnson (21-0) pinned Mountain Vista’s Rosalind Ramos-Cruz (21-4) in 3:21 to win the second title of her career. Her brother, Kobi Johnson, also won his second state championship in the boys tournament, and the pair are now the first-ever siblings to defend both a girls and boys championship.
“Going into the state tournament, neither one of us was really thinking about it,” Johnson said. “I don’t think it hit either one of us until after both of us won. It was really exciting.”
Calhan sophomore Ciara Monger (25-3) also gave herself a chance at a future four-peat by winning a 4-0 decision over Far Northeast’s Stefania Jaramillo (30-5) in the 215-pound finals and claiming the second championship of her high school career.
“It’s crazy winning it a second time,” Monger said. “I’ve had way tougher competition this year. I’ve lost a couple and it was way different than last year, just doing duals. We had way more tournaments this year. There’s a lot more girls and hopefully we can get to where the boys are and have classes.”
Numbers was the name of the game for team champion Chatfield, which qualified wrestlers in six of the 10 weight classes and took home the big trophy despite not having an individual champion.
Antillon, Munson, Cayko complete unbeaten seasons
In the 136-pound championship match at Ball Arena on Saturday night, Jefferson’s Alina Antillon (41-0) pinned Chatfield sophomore Camryn Scott in 38 seconds to claim her first state championship. Not only did she leave Ball Arena with a gold medal, Antillon also capped an unbeaten campaign.
Pomona’s Desza Munson (33-0) also finished the 2021-22 campaign with an unblemished record. She won a 2-0 decision over Discovery Canyon’s Victoria Guinard (35-4) in the 147-pound finals.
Eaglecrest’s Blythe Cayko (32-0) pinned defending champion Taylor Knox (16-3) in 4:19 in the 185-pound title match top finish off an unblemished season of her own.
More first-time champs crowned at Ball Arena
Fort Lupton’s Rylee Balcazar (14-1) won a 4-0 decision over Soroco’s Larhae Whaley (34-3) to win the 100-pound title. Alamosa’s Sarah DeLaCerda (35-3) pinned Jefferson's Shayla Gallegos (33-2) in 1:51 to win the 111-pound gold.
Doherty’s Sarah Savidge (32-1) won a 7-0 decision over Chatfield’s Taylor Miess (40-6) in the 127-pound finals to take home the gold. Mead’s Jenna Joseph (34-3) won a 1-0 decision over Platte Valley’s defending champion Navea Garcia (22-6) in the 161-pound finals.