1/23/2017 12:02:00 AM   

Grandview takes 6th at grueling Top of the Rockies tourney

Six Wolves make it onto medal podium at Centaurus' tough meet

By Courtney Oakes
The Aurora Sentinel
 

 
LAFAYETTE | The Grandview wrestling team continued to hold its own against top teams in and out of Colorado on its brutal schedule, which included a sixth-place finish at the rugged Top of the Rockies tournament Saturday at Centaurus High School.

Coach Ryan Budd’s Wolves had six top-five placers and earned 118.5 points to finish just outside of the top five in a tournament that featured 31 teams from Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico and Wyoming and is generally considered much more difficult than the state tournament.

Sophomore Fabian Santillan led the way for Grandview with his runner-up finish at 120 pounds, while Robert Woods and Gabriel Baumgartner placed fourth at 195 and 285 pounds, respectively, and Giovani Federico (113), Armando Santillan (132) and Tyler Ross (182) each finished fifth.

Ranked No. 2 in 5A, Fabian Santillan earned his way into the championship match with a 7-4 semifinal victory over Pueblo East’s Andrew Lucero, the top-ranked 120-pound in 4A by On The Mat, who was previously undefeated. Santillan moved into the final against Pomona’s Colton Yapoujian, who he faced for the third time this season.

Santillan won the matchup between the two at the Reno Tournament of Champions, which he went on to win, but he lost to Yapoujian on Jan. 14 at the Arvada West Invitational. The third matchup will have to wait for possibly the 5A state tournament as Yapoujian was declared the Top of the Rockies winner by injury default.

Woods, Grandview’s only champion at the Arvada West tournament, lost by fall to Mountain Vista’s Trenton Schultz in the semifinals, then dropped a 3-1 decision to Kobe Paez of Scottsbluff, Neb., in the third-place match at 195 pounds.

Baumgartner claimed the other fourth-place finish for the Wolves after 5A’s fifth-ranked heavyweight lost to No. 2 Tanner Aiken of Brighton in the semifinals and dropped a 4-2 overtime loss to No. 12 Nico Gonzales of Mountain Vista.

Federico — ranked No. 3 in 5A — topped No. 7 Jarron Martinez of Brighton in the 113-pound fifth place match, while eighth-ranked Armando Santillan beat No. 9 Brody Lamb of Poudre — which jumped over the Wolves during the placing rounds — for fifth at 132 pounds and the fifth-ranked Ross defeated No. 6 Keegan Feenstra of Monarch in the 182-pound fifth place match.

Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel

2017 TOP OF THE ROCKIES INVITATIONAL

Jan. 20-21 At Centaurus High School

Team scores: 1. Pomona 207.5 points; 2. Brighton 175.5; 3. Pueblo County 169; 4. Pueblo East 152.5; 5. Poudre 125.5; 6. GRANDVIEW 118.5; 7. Rio Rancho (N.M.) 114; 8. Scottsbluff (Neb.) 104.5; 9. Alamosa 94.5; 10. Ponderosa 93.5; 11. Monarch 93; 12. Cheyenne East (Wyo.) 79; 13. Legacy 71.5; 14. Fort Lupton 69; 15. Arvada West 68.5; 16. Thompson Valley 63; 17. Mountain Vista 61; 18. Erie 60; 19. Rocky Mountain 57; 20. Pueblo South 54.5; 21. Broomfield 46; 22. Fort Morgan 44; 23. Brush 42.5; 24. Omaha North (Neb.) 42; 25. Grand Island (Neb.) 38; 26. Cheyenne Central (Wyo.) 35.5; 27. Mead 28.5; 28. Cherry Creek 26; 29. Holy Family 18; 30. Mountain Range 13; 31. Centaurus 10

AURORA TOP OF THE ROCKIES PLACERS

113 pounds — Giovani Federico (Grandview), 5th

120 pounds — Fabian Santillan (Grandview), 2nd

132 pounds — Armando Santillan (Grandview), 5th

182 pounds — Tyler Ross (Grandview), 5th

195 pounds — Robert Woods (Grandview), 4th

285 pounds — Gabriel Baumgartner (Grandview), 4th