The Pagosa Springs High School Pirate wrestling team placed 24th at the 3A State Championships last weekend in Denver behind senior Colton Lucero’s finish as the state runner-up.
“I felt like we wrestled well,” said coach Dan Janowsky. “There were very many instances where you see kids, they get kind of shell-shocked when they step into that environment, and we didn’t have any.”
The Pirates had five wrestlers qualify for states this year, four of whom qualified for the tournament for the first time. Lucero was the only returning qualifier.
Lucero was the only placer for the Pirates, finishing as a state runner-up at 157 pounds, losing in the finals to a two-time state champion.
Lucero made quick work of his first two opponents, defeating the first by a 15-0 technical fall after one minute and 24 seconds, and the second by a 17-2 technical fall after 3:07. He won his semifinal match by a 7-6 decision, giving himself a chance to wrestle for a state championship.
In the championship match Lucero faced Salida’s Sam Johnson, the reigning state champion.
The match was close throughout and Lucero got the first takedown, but Johnson was the better wrestler on the ground and he was able to control the last period of the match and keep it on the ground, Janowsky explained.
Lucero lost the match by a 7-4 decision, finishing as the state runner up.
“It ends so suddenly,” Janowsky said. “And you put so much of your life into it. It’s just — it’s almost too big for words.”
Janowsky noted that Lucero was heartbroken after losing the final match of his high school career, but emphasized that Lucero is a special athlete and is undoubtedly one of the best wrestlers in Pagosa Springs High School history.
Lucero finished with 136 wins in his career as a Pirate, the most in school history. He was a four-time state qualifier, three-time medalist and two-time finalist in his four years.
Lucero will be playing football and running track at Fort Lewis College in Durango next year.
Despite not placing, the experience at the state tournament was irreplaceable for the other four qualifiers, Janowsky stated. All four — Hudson Mazur, Devin Gonzalez, Jimmy Elledge and Hunter Martinez — will have a chance to make it back to the state tournament.
Mazur wrestled at 150 pounds.
He lost his first match by a 7-0 decision and moved to the consolation bracket. Mazur won his first match in the consolation bracket by a 17-2 technical fall after 1:34, but his tournament came to an end after losing by a 1-0 decision in the second round of the consolation bracket.
Mazur finished with a 32-15 record on the year.
Gonzalez wrestled at 165 pounds.
He lost his first match after being pinned in 37 seconds and moved to the consolation bracket. Gonzalez pinned his first opponent after 4:14 in the consolation bracket, but was pinned in his next match after 2:15, ending his tournament.
He finished with a 25-18 record on the season.
Elledge wrestled at 215 pounds.
He was pinned after 3:52 in his first match of the tournament and was sent to the consolation bracket. He won his next match by a 17-11 decision, but lost the following match, getting pinned after 2:25.
Elledge finished with a 37-15 record on the season.
Martinez wrestled at 285 pounds. He was pinned after 15 seconds in his first match and his tournament ended after being pinned after 4:53 in his second match.
Martinez finished with a 30-15 record on the season.
With the season coming to end, Janowsky emphasized how proud he is of everyone on the team for grinding out the long season.
“The mornings are early and the evenings are late,” he said . “You’re leaving in the dark and getting home in the dark, and yet they hung in there, you know, from the earliest, ... freshmen all the way to the seniors.”
Lucero, Truman Vasek, Johnny Baker and Gabe Ramirez are the four seniors who will be graduating this year.
Janowsky called his seniors invaluable and noted that, without them, this season would look a whole lot different.
Despite the departures of the four seniors, the program is in a great spot, noted Janowsky.
He added he feels the team will be competitive at dual meets and more kids will qualify and medal at the state tournament.
There are also great freshmen waiting in the wings, Janowsky stated.
With the depth that the team currently has they may not be starting right away, but they will be able to make a name for themselves eventually, Janowsky explained.
Janowsky emphasized that this season was marked by tons of growth and progress, and he is very appreciative of everyone who helped with that progress.
“Everybody from the coaches down to the youngest kids all put their heart into it,” said Janowsky when talking about his biggest takeaway from this season. “We made a lot of progress because of that. There’s a lot of ... There’s a lot of satisfaction in my heart at how we all pulled together and got a lot out of ourselves.”
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