Pomona wrestling dominates Arvada West Invite

ARVADA — Pomona had a perfect 10 at the 2024 Arvada West Wrestling Invite on Saturday.

The Panthers sent 10 wrestlers to the individual championship matches. All 10 won their title bouts as the 5-time defending Class 5A state champions racked up 310 team points to cruise to the team title.

“Good. They wrestled hard,” Pomona coach Sam Federico said accessing the tournament after he and his coaching staff jumped from championship to championship match during the finals. 

Grandview finished a distance second with 155.5 points.

Freshmen Logan Dellow (106) and Ignacio Villasenor (113), along with sophomores Zaidyn Quinonez (120), Angel Serrano (138), Derek Barrow (144), Emmitt Munson (157), Kalob Ybarra (175) and Maddux Najera (190) joined seniors Geno Cardenas (126) and Dante Hutchings (165) atop the podium for the victorious Panthers.

Villasenor was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler by the coaches of the A-West Invite. The freshman had a pair of tech falls and a pair of pins in winning the 113-pound title. 

Villasenor has already made a name for himself despite not wrestling in the Colorado state tournament yet. He was on the world stage this summer winning the bronze medal at 45 kg in the men’s freestyle at the 2023 U17 World Championships in Istanbul, Turkey wrestling for Team USA. 

“I’ve been training with Ignacio since I got here,” said Dellow, who moved from New York a handful of years ago. “It has got me nothing but better and allows me to defend my spot.”

Dellow had a pair of first-period pins and a major decision in picking up the 106-pound title. 

“That kid (Dellow) practices his butt off. He works with Ignacio every day which isn’t fun,” Federico said. “He takes it the right way. He takes his licks from Ignacio, but keeps working and working. He doesn’t just surrender to him.”

The freshmen duo, along with Quinonez — 5A 106 state champion last year — gives Pomona a remarkably strong first three wrestlers in the lighter weights.

It was just the second tournament of the season for Quinonez, who is coming off an injury. Really the only negative for Pomona on Saturday was junior heavyweight Adrian Arellano suffering an injury in his semifinal match.

Pomona has three returning state champions — Quinonez, Barrow and Ybarra — from last year’s squad. The Panthers currently have eight wrestlers ranked in the top-3 of their weight class by Tim Yount’s On the Mat rankings.

“It’s a whole new group and a whole new team,” Hutchings said talking about this year’s team to last year’s squad that racked up a record-braking 278.5 team points at state. “The vibe is completely different and that isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually a good thing.”

Hutchings was a state runner-up last season at 165.

“We push each other every single day to be the best we can be,” Hutchings said. “It’s awesome to have a group of guys that are so young, but push you so hard. I’m so appreciative of these guys.”

Hutchings and Cardenas are the lone seniors currently in Pomona’s varsity line-up. 

“I think these little guys look up to us a lot,” Hutchings said of Pomona’s senior leadership. “I try to take the role of being the captain in the room, but all these guys are busting their butts off in the room. Anyone could take that role. At the end of the day we are a great team and it’s an awesome environment to be in.”

Pomona will attempt to win a 6th straight team title at Ball Arena in Denver in about a month. 

“We talk more about individuals,” Federico said about Pomona zeroing in on another state title. “You take care of yourself and the team score will take care of itself. You have to worry about you when it comes to wrestling. They care about their team for sure and hold each other accountable.”

Pomona will hold its Senior Night coming up Thursday, Jan. 18, at Pomona High School. The Panthers will wrestle Chatfield in a dual before heading to the Top of the Rockies tournament Jan. 19 and 20 at Centaurus High School.