Yuma High School’s men’s wrestling team capped off its season with a solid performance last week in the Class 2A State Wrestling Tournament at Denver’s Ball Arena.
Yuma finished 20th in the final team standings with 38 points.
The team was led by Kevin Hermosillo, who finished third at 175 pounds. Kallen Blach also won a medal, with 190 placing him sixth.
Wray was pushed a little by Meeker, but held on to win the program’s ??. 2A Title ?? year is 183 points. Meeker has 169.5 points for him and Mancos for 119.5 points, which puts him ahead of third place. Lower Platte has three teams in the top 10, with Sedgwick County/Fleming eighth on 68 points and Wiggins ninth on 65. Merino also made the top 20, finishing 16th with 45 points.
Hermosillo ended his high school career with a stellar finish in the 175-pound weight class. The senior did not make an appearance in December while recovering from a football injury, but when the calendar turned to his 2023 season, he showed strength, going 25-8 and looking good for 2020. It was the highest individual placement in the Yuma Boys program since Blaze Brophy’s runner-up finish.
Hermosillo kicked off state action last Thursday with a 10-4 decision in the preliminary round against Rocky Ford’s Colton Bruna. He added to his momentum on Friday morning with a win (3:44) over County Line’s Chason Turner in the quarterfinals.
That took him to the semi-finals against Caeden Bauer in Ray later on Friday. He again failed to resolve his wrestlers to the Eagle and lost in his decision 12-4 in the majors.
But Hermosillo fought back in Saturday’s Consolation Bracket. He pinned Merino’s Andrew Cowes with 1:31 on him, and Nucla’s Arthur He beat Connery to his 4–1 victory in the third-place play-off.
With weight class changes this season, Blach found himself wrestling at 190 pounds. He made the most of it and this season he is 34-11, placing him sixth in the state.
Senior wasted little time in Thursday’s qualifying round, scoring a 24-second pin for Tanner Tomkee in a swing. However, he ran into Ray’s Peyton Wade in the quarterfinals on Friday morning and was pinned at 3:48.
However, Blach struggled to return to the medal stand. It started with a 13-4 major decision against Crowley County’s Callan Halloran in the second round of consolation late Friday. We were on the mat again as it turned out to be a thriller. The two battled throughout the match, with the winner securing a spot on the podium.
Blach pulled out a last second win and appeared to reverse at the end of the third. However, despite Newton’s protests, the referee awarded only one point for the getaway. It turned out it didn’t matter as Blach quickly got out and scored a takedown and two back points to win 11-7 overtime.
Blach’s day ended in sixth place, losing out to Limon’s Gabe Schubarth and Meeker’s Brendan Clatterbaugh.
Trey Stegman came painfully close to reaching the 150-pound medal stand. Junior kicked off state action on Thursday by shooting Kaden Martin of Colorado Springs Christian School with a pin (2:50) . However, he ran into Rocky his Ford’s Joe Zamora in Friday morning’s quarterfinals and lost by 7–2 decision. Stegman rebounded in the second round of consolation late Friday in his fall-to-fall win (2:30) over his Christian Jackson Martin.
He then faced Burlington’s Matthew Gutierrez in round three on Saturday morning. Stegman, who had beaten Gutierrez in the past, was not deprived of the podium spot this time around, and an 11-0 defeat kicked Stegman out of the tournament. Still, it’s been a great run for Stegman as he went 36-11 this season.
After being pinned in Thursday’s qualifying round, Peyton Wells won one match at £195, the pin for Seadridge’s Frankie Gargas in the first round of consolation on Friday. He was then pinned in the second round of consolation late Friday, finishing the season with a 19-9 record.
