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State wrestling notebook: Shelton, seeking fourth title, wins first match

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Meeker's T.J. Shelton. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

Meeker’s TJ Shelton, pictured shortly after his opening-round win on Thursday. More photos from the first day of state wrestling. (Ryan Casey/CHSAANow.com)

DENVER — Meeker’s TJ Shelton opened his quest for a fourth title with a pin of Wiggins’ Dillon Donaghy in 49 seconds in the first round of Thursday’s Class 2A state wrestling tournament.

Shelton, who wrestles at 170 pounds, will face Edgar Pedigo of Custer County in Friday’s quarterfinals. Pedigo pinned Rhett Uhland of Eads in 4:22.

Shelton won 2A’s 170-point title as a freshman, 160 pounds as a sophomore, and 170 again as a junior last season.

He is aiming to become the state’s 19th four-time champion.

Last season, Paonia’s Jesse Reed won a fourth championship, and Broomfield’s Phil Downing did the same in 2014. Only once before has the state has had a four-time champion in three-consecutive tournaments. The came in 2003-05, when a total of five wrestlers accomplished the feat.

Willits makes triumphant return to state

Pueblo County Grant Willits wrestling

Grant Willits. More photos. (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com)

Grant Willits has a lot to prove this year.

The junior from Pueblo County came into the 2015 state wrestling tournament with his eyes on taking his second state championship. But when weigh-ins took place, Willits missed his cut by a tenth of a pound and was disqualified.

Thursday he made a triumphant return to the floor at Pepsi Center and pinned Littleton’s Poe Di in the 4A 126-pound bracket.

“It feels nice,” Willits said. “I definitely feel like I have a chip on my shoulder. This whole summer I just thought about it all the time and worked harder and harder to make up for what happened last year and try to chase a title this year.”

Willits will face Riley Prough from Glenwood Springs in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Returning champions, unbeatens roll on

  • In addition to Shelton, each of the other returning champions in every class advanced to the quarterfinals during the first session at the Pepsi Center. There are a total of 26 — six each in class 2A and 3A, nine in 4A, and five in 5A.
  • Included in that group are two juniors who have each won championships in their first two seasons: John Mall’s Jonathan Andreatta (2A 120), and Pueblo County’s Hunter Willits (4A 152).
  • Likewise, all wrestlers who entered the day unbeaten stayed that way. There are five undefeated wrestlers in both 2A and 4A, and three in 3A. The 5A tournament does not have an unbeaten in its field.

Quick pins, total pins

  • 40 wrestlers finished with pins in less than a minute during the first round on Thursday. Of those, 12 came in less than 30 seconds.
  • The quickest pin of the day belonged to Sergio Campos of Hotchkiss, who took down Calhan’s Matthew Heitmann in 15 seconds at 2A 106. The record for the quickest pin is four seconds.
  • In the first round of each of the four tournaments, there were a total of 213 pins. By class, 2A had the most first-round pins with 68, 4A had 52, 3A had 51, and 5A had 42

Team races

  • In 2A, defending champion Rocky Ford leads the field at Round 1 with 30.5 points. Meeker, runner-up a year ago, was second with 28. Centauri is third with 25.
  • The 3A race is also being led by a defending champion in Valley, which sits at 30 points after the first round. Berthoud is currently in second (24 points), and Dolores Huerta is third (22).
  • Pueblo County jumped out ahead in the 4A team race, and leads with 34.5 points. The Hornets were runner-up last season. Greeley Central is second with 29.5, Cheyenne Mountain is third with 25, and defending champion Thompson Valley sits fourth with 19.5.
  • Pomona heads the 5A race with 27 points. Legacy and Pine Creek sit in a tie for second with 21 points, Ponderosa is fourth with 16.5, and Poudre is fifth with 15.5.

Friday’s schedule

  • The 2A/3A championship quarterfinals will begin at 10 a.m. at the Pepsi Center, with first-round consolations immediately following.
  • The 4A/5A championship quarterfinals are scheduled for 12:45 p.m., against with first-round consolations immediately following.
  • Semifinals in all classes are scheduled for 7:15 p.m.
  • Find a complete schedule here.

Notables

  • Berthoud’s Christian Kalinoski beat Eaton’s Hayden Gavette 2-1 in a match that went three overtimes in the 3A 106-pound bracket.
  • Estes Parks’ Eric Todd also had a three-OT win, beating Coal Ridge’s Jacx Power 8-7 in 3A 160.
  • One other match went to overtime: Highland’s Bryson Fogg beat Meeker’s Hunter Garcia in 2A 145.
  • Fort Morgan’s Toby McBride, a CSU football recruit, pinned Wheat Ridge’s Nikolos Schnebly in 27 seconds. McBride is a two-time champion.

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