Colorado state wrestling: Storylines, defending champions, undefeated wrestlers and tournament schedule

The CHSAA state wrestling tournament comes to Ball Arena this Thursday through Saturday for three days of mat madness in downtown Denver. Here’s a look at some of the top storylines going into the event:

Chasing history: There have been 30 four-time champions in state wrestling history, with all 30 of them being boys. That could change this weekend with Pomona’s Persaeus Gomez and Calhan’s Ciara Monger chasing their fourth state titles in the fourth edition of the CHSAA-sanctioned girls championship. Both enter the week unbeaten and nationally ranked by FloWrestling.com. Translation: It will take a significant upset to keep Gomez (30-0, No. 4 at 130) or Monger (29-0, No. 10 at 235) from reaching the top of the podium.

Four for four: A year after nary a boys wrestler had a shot at joining the four-timers club, as many as four could be crowned Saturday: Buena Vista’s Caleb Camp (2A-132), Mullen’s Dale O’Blia (3A-120), Fort Lupton’s D’mitri Garza-Alarcon (3A-138) and Thompson Valley’s Jackzen Rairdon (4A-144). If the foursome survives the week unscathed, the Class of 2024 will match 2020 for the most four-time boys champions in one year. That’s far from a given, however, especially with Camp and O’Blia sharing brackets with returning state champions. For O’Blia, a potential semifinal showdown with Elizabeth junior Thomas Lee (32-9) looms Friday night, while Camp is on a collision course with unbeaten Trinidad senior Eddie Bowman (32-0) in Saturday’s championship round.

Three for one: The toughest bracket in the tournament? Look no further than the Class 4A 190-pound draw, which features three returning state champions vying for one crown: Windsor sophomore Evan Perez (37-2), Mead senior Dalton Berg (34-3) and Roosevelt senior Bronco Hartson (31-1). The top seed belongs to Hartson, a state-title-winning quarterback for the Rough Riders football team, with Perez and Berg on the other side of the bracket. Perez handed Hartson his lone loss this winter with a 3-2 decision at the Westminster Invitational in January. Repeat that feat and Perez will be halfway to joining the four-timers’ club.

Pomona powerhouse: It’s the Panthers’ world and we’re just living in it. Pomona has won five straight Class 5A boys team titles and seven of the last eight — a run rivaled only by Ponderosa’s eight-peat between 2003 and 2010. Once again it’s the Mustangs who stand as the biggest threat to Pomona’s reign. Nebraska commit Tyler Eise and two-time champion Jacob Myers headline a loaded Ponderosa squad. But with 10 regional champions and three sophomore returning state champs (Zaidyn Quinonez, Derek Barrows and Kalob Ybarra) of its own, Pomona is as deep as they come.

More Pomona? Yes, more Pomona: As if the Panthers haven’t collected enough hardware over the past decade, they soon could be adding a girls title to the trophy case. Pomona is currently ranked No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com girls rankings and appears ready to dethrone Chatfield as the premier girls wrestling program in the state. The Chargers have won three straight girls team titles and bring six state qualifiers to Ball Arena this week, while last year’s runner-up Discovery Canyon boasts seven state qualifiers. But neither can match the quality at the top of Pomona’s roster, led by senior unbeatens Persaeus Gomez (30-0) and Desza Munson (38-0) and sophomore returning state champion Timberly Martinez (35-1).

Breaking the chain: The status quo is hard to break in the state wrestling tournament, but this might be the year at least a handful of dynasties fall. Outside of Chatfield’s run of dominance in the girls tournament, repeat champions at the Class 4A (Pueblo East), 3A (Eaton) and 2A (Eaton) levels all have their work cut out for them if they hope to three-peat. None of the three enter the week ranked No. 1 in their classification, and none bring a returning state champion to Ball Arena. It’s time for a few new teams to grab the conch.

Fresh faces: Looking for Colorado wrestling’s next big star? Pomona’s Justice Gutierrez (30-1) and Brighton’s Matilda Hruby (36-0) fit the bill. Not only do the two freshmen have only one loss between them, but both find themselves in FloWrestling’s national rankings. Gutierrez comes in as the No. 4 95-pounder in the country and a favorite to win the girls 100-pound title, while the unbeaten Hruby is the nation’s 11th-ranked 170-pounder and the top seed in her bracket despite being the lone freshman.

Sharon the spotlight: A year ago, practice partners and brothers Waitley and Traven Sharon won state titles within a few minutes of each other in the Class 2A tournament. The Fowler pair could repeat that feat once again on Saturday, with Traven eyeing a third straight state crown as the Class of 2025’s lone four-timers’ club hopeful.

Schedule

Thursday

Preliminaries
Class 2A/3A & Girls — Noon – 3:15 p.m.
Class 4A/5A — 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Friday

Quarterfinals
Class 2A/3A & Girls — 8:30 a.m. – noon
Class 4A/5A — 12:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Semifinals
All classifications — 6:30 p.m.

Saturday

Consolation rounds
All classifications — 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Parade of Champions
All classifications — 5:30 p.m., with championship matches to follow