BY JIM THOMAS

DENVER — Five area wrestlers finished as state runners-up after all was said and done at the 65th annual State Wrestling Championships held at the new Pepsi Center before a three-day total record crowd of 46,608.

Justin Peters and Stephen Snyder of Dolores, Scott Koppenhafer and Mike Montoya of Mancos and Kyle Riddell of Dolores County all finished second in their respective weight divisions. They all competed in the Class 2A bracket.

Nick Montgomery, 112 pounds, of Mancos came in third place. Jade Husky, 135, of Dolores County also came in third. Jeremiah Muniz, 125, of Mancos placed fifth. Chess Johnson, 145, of Dolores County grabbed sixth. Phillip Wilson, 160, of Mancos also took sixth as did Derek Thompson, 215, of Dolores.

Several wrestlers participated at State but did not place. Quintin Seevers, 103 of Dolores; Daniel Wilson, 112, of Mancos; Casey Spitzer, 119, of Dolores County; Kelly Mitchell, 119, of Mancos; Randy Curtis, 130, of Dolores County; Quincy Wood, 152, of Dolores County; Kevin Everett, 160, of Dolores; Bill Ransom, 275, of Dolores County all participated.

Peters, a two-time champion (first in 1998 at 130 and first in 1999 at 140), had a very tough bout against two-time champion Andrew Wilkins of Crowley County.

They came out and taunted each other for a few seconds in the first period. But it was the muscular Wilkins who would take the early control. He scored on a takedown with 1:15 on the clock. The lanky Peters escaped about 8 seconds later. Peters trailed 2-3 when the period ended.

Wilkins scored with another takedown at 1:20 of the second period. Wilkins was in control and on top of Peters with 54 seconds left. Peters escaped but fell into Wilkins’ clutches and was nearly pinned. Peters was in trouble, trailing 3-9 when the period ended.

In the third, it was all Wilkins, although Peters did score with an escape early. Wilkins came back with a takedown to go up 4-11 at 1:13 and then Peters escaped. But Wilkins scored again with 9 seconds left for the final 5-13 count.

Wilkins jumped a backflip three times, one for each title. He now joins a select fraternity of less than 60 wrestlers who have won three times.

Riddell took on Brady Walter of Wiggins for the finals. Riddell was tossed to the mat for an early score by Walter but Riddell came back to tie the score with a reversal with 27 seconds left. Riddell was holding his own in the second until Walter tied the score with 12 seconds remaining. The wrestlers were locked in a stalemate and then Walter was whistled for his stalling. Walter was called again for stalling and Riddell was given a point but it was not enough as he lost 3-4.

Hard luck followed for two Mancos wrestlers in the finals as Scott Koppenhafer lost 2-4 in overtime and Montoya lost 4-5.

Koppenhafer came out the aggressor. He shot to the legs of Florencio Salomon of Mountain Valley. The two wrestlers then locked horns and a stalemate was called. The score was 0-0 when the first period ended. They were scoreless through the early goings of the second as well. They locked up again. Salomon was given a whistled for stalling a second time and Koppenhafer received a point. In the third period they locked up again with Koppenhafer holding him with his legs. Salomon continued using time off the clock and was called for a second stalling and Koppenhafer picked up another point. But Salomon became the aggressor and with literally no time left was awarded points which tied the match at 2-2. There was no action early and they were locked in a stalemate. But with 54 seconds left, Salomon made a reversal and won.

Montoya followed immediately on the mat. He fell behind 0-2 with a takedown with 1:21 showing in the first period. He got himself in a precarious position and couldn’t roll out. But with 49 seconds left, he escaped. Kyle Witzel of Stratton scored on a reversal with 1:15 left but Montoya got out of it. The score was 2-4 at the end of the period. Witzel was warned for stalling with 1:05 to go. Montoya scored on a reversal but Witzel escaped for the final 4-5 count.

Snyder was the final wrestler to take the mat. He faced Rudolfo Mendez of Wiggins. The two wrestlers locked arms and were scoreless at the end of the first period. With 1:18 on the clock in the second period, Mendez took Snyder down. However with 58 seconds remaining, Snyder made a reversal but Mendez came back a few seconds later with a nearfall. Synder escaped but trailed 3-4 when the period ended. Following a blood time, Mendez picked up another point with an escape and the 3-5 win.

Dolores County coach Shane Baughman was not happy at times with the calls but overall he was pleased with his wrestlers. The Bulldogs finished seventh with 69 points.

"Husky got the worst call of the tournament (in semifinals). I was very pleased with Chess Johnson. Hey, what more can you say about Jade Husky who came back and got third. But it was not a bad tournament. We ended up among the top 10," he commented following his team’s final match.

Mancos coach Travis Bryant was dejected after watching both Koppenhafer and Montoya lose by just a point each in the finals. He also was not happy with the officiating, especially in the finals. Mancos finished in eighth with 61.

"We did not get a call in both of those matches. And both of those refs missed the locked hands. I’m proud of my kids, everyone of them. I thought we had a chance to get four champions. We got two to the finals but we just missed. We brought six kids and they did well. This will just give us more incentive for the next year," he noted.

Dolores coach Bill Kralicek was philosophical about the tourney. Dolores finished right behind Mancos with 60.

"We had a great tournament. Two of them made the finals and I’m very, very proud of them. Like I told them last week, ‘there is only one guy who is going to leave here happy.’ But that is what wrestling is all about. Justin and Stephen are both first class young men and I’m sorry they didn’t win but they did a good job."