Pomona boys wrestle to a ‘Perfect 10’

LAKEWOOD — Chasing down records and setting new milestones is something Pomona’s wrestling program has gotten accustom to. 

The Panthers set a record Friday night capturing their 10th straight Class 5A Jeffco League title, breaking Pomona’s own run of nine straight set from 2005 to 2013. 

“I wanted them to wrestle hard and they did,” Pomona coach Sam Federico said after the Panthers racked up 250.5 team points at Lakewood High School. “Our normal guys did what they do. They wrestle hard and are going to score a lot of points. It’s fun to watch.”

Lakewood finished a distant second with 95.5 points. Chatfield is currently No. 4 in the Class 5A On the Mat rankings, but the Chargers didn’t bring their full squad to the league tournament. Senior Jesse Wolf was Chatfield’s lone individual champion winning the heavyweight division, the only weight class where Pomona didn’t have a wrestler in the final.

The Panthers actually had a wrestler in 13 championship matches. Pomona placed both the wrestlers in the 126 and 132 title bouts. There were a few non-scoring wrestlers to fill positions in the 8-person brackets. In total, Pomona won 12 individual titles on the night.

“We always have a really good team,” Pomona junior Derek Barrows said of the 10th straight Jeffco League team title. “It feels good, but what we are after is state.”

Barrows hit a milestone himself. His technical-fall victory over Lakewood senior Alexander DeCianne in the 144-pound final was the junior’s 100th career victory.

“It feels good. It’s always something that people chase in high school,” Barrows said. “Hopefully I’ll hit 150 next year.”

Pomona has now won 19 Jeffco League wrestling titles over the past 21 seasons. Only Arvada West’s 2-year run of back-to-back conference titles in 2014 and 2015 created a small speed bump for the Panthers bulldozing through Jeffco over the past two decades.

“It shows that our hard work is paying off,” Pomona sophomore Logan Dellow said of the domination by the Panthers. “The extra practices. The morning practices. Staying late to work on technique. It’s all paying off.” 

Dellow was actually the first Panther to clinch an individual title Friday night. He pinned Chatfield sophomore James Prendergast in the first period to claim the 113-pound title.

The team state record Pomona is eying could be accomplished few years down the road. Ponderosa won eight straight 5A team titles from 2003 to 2010. Pomona has won the past six team titles in the largest classification, two away from Ponderosa’s record. 

“It’s that motivation in practice. We don’t want to be losers,” Barrows said of going after Ponderosa’s consecutive team title record. “We want to go out there and break records. Our (junior) class is fortunate enough to have the chance to tie the record.”

Pomona, Arvada West and Chatfield will all head to the Western Slope for the Region 1 tournament coming up Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7 and 8. The Panthers will be the favorite to win the regional title before heading to the state tournament Feb. 13-15 at Ball Arena. 

Federico talked about the same line he has had for years for his team going into the state-qualifying tournament.

“I always tell the kids, ‘You can’t win a state tournament at regionals, but you sure can lose one,’” Federico said. “If you don’t get someone down to state that you need or get injured, throws their headgear (disqualified) … you have to be careful this time of year.”

Time is something that Arvada West senior Auston Eudaly is running out of when it comes to winning his first individual state title. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the 5A 150-pound weight class.

“I try to push it away a little,” Eudaly said of the pressure of his last shot at winning an individual state title. “Keep my eyes on the prize and stay calm.”

Eudaly improved his record to 42-2 on the season by winning the 150-pound title. He defeated Pomona senior Tyler Capps with a first-period pin in the championship bout.

“I’m excited,” Eudaly said of regionals. “I’m going to go try and win it, obviously. I’ll stay confident. Hopefully we’ll be able to send a few guys down to Ball Arena.”