Click here for live updates from Day 2
The Colorado high school wrestling state tournaments take place Thursday through Saturday at Ball Arena in Denver. Our staff will be there throughout the weekend providing live coverage. Refresh this page for the latest updates and results.
Tournament info: Schedule, returning champions, undefeated wrestlers and storylines to watch
Preview
+ How community and wrestling became intertwined in small-town Rocky Ford, owner of 12 state titles
Day 1 coverage
Updates
6:42 p.m. — Bear Creek’s DaMarri Russell wasn’t on the mat long Thursday, dispatching Taylor Graff of Thompson Valley in 20 seconds on a fall to open his weekend within the 215-pound bracket in Class 4A. But teammate Markus Martinez wasn’t far from his mind while he was out there.
“I’ve known Marcus since I was in sixth grade,” Russell said of Martinez, a senior Bear Creek wrestler who’d left the team after suffering a major heart attack last November, not long after in-season practice got underway. “He was always just like a role model for everyone, because he was just an outgoing guy and everyone looked up to him and it was just like heartbreaking to see him go through what he did.” — Sean Keeler
3:07 p.m. — After the morning session, defending champion Wray is already in charge of the Class 2A standings with 39 points. Meeker, which could challenge Wray, sits in second with 27.5 points. Meanwhile, Eaton (27 points), Brush (22), Gunnison (21), Fort Lupton (20) and Pueblo Central (19) are all in the mix in Class 3A. — Kyle Newman
12:01 p.m. — The state tournament begins today at Ball Arena. In the history of the tournament, 30 wrestlers have finished their careers with four state titles (tap here to see the full list). And depending upon who you ask, Loveland’s Morgan Johnson can become the first girl to join the exclusive club this weekend. That’s just one of many storylines to watch over the next three days.
Some pre-tournament reading: Post reporter Kyle Newman embedded with the Rocky Ford Meloneers to see how a small town community has become synonymous with school wrestling.
The 2A, 3A and girls preliminary matches take place from noon to 3:15 p.m., while 4A and 5A matches run from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets for the tournament can only be purchased online. Here’s a collection of links to purchase tickets for each session. — The Denver Post
Results
For results from the preliminary rounds on Day 1 of the tournament, find the official CHSAA brackets for the boys tournaments and girls tournaments. On the final two days of the tournament, we’ll have live championship bracket results on this page.
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