Cortez Journal

State wrestling had plenty of action

Feb. 22, 2001

By Jim Thomas
Journal Sports Editor

Notes from the 66th annual Colorado High School Wrestling Championships held Feb. 15-17 in the Pepsi Center in Denver:

Mancos High School’s team standings in the Class 2A Tournament fluctuated between second and third place throughout the whole tournament. At one point, Mancos was right behind defending champ Wiggins and was in the third place after the first night of competition. The Blue Jays went into second place for a brief time on Friday night, nudging ahead of Akron, but slipped back to third by the end of the evening. On Saturday night they got close but could not quite nose ahead of Akron and finished in third place.

One of the most exciting matches and history being made was in the Class 5A ranks when Colorado Spring’s Wasson’s Brett Roller upset Pomona’s Tom Clum 13-12 in the championship of the 125-pound bout on Saturday night.

It certainly was a big story that night. Everyone thought that Clum would finish his high school career undefeated and win a fourth straight title. Roller went out and turned one of the greatest upsets in the tournament’s history.

Roller made an exciting and unlikely 13-12 decision in the final seconds to become the first schoolboy wrestler in Colorado to beat Clum, who entered the match 148-0 in his career, 45-0 in 2000-01.

Indeed, the final seconds, just like the outcome, were nothing short of bizarre. Not only did Roller put Clum on his back inside the 10-second mark as the crowd rose to its feet, but he barely missed pinning him at the buzzer.

Plus, the score at the end of the match indicated it was 12-11 in favor of Clum, but officials quickly acknowledged that Roller should have had an additional two points for a takedown that were not registered. The scoring move was not signaled by the official to the scoring table before Roller's three back points for a near-fall, officials said. In essence, they added later, it was a five-point move. Neither wrestler said he was aware of the correct score but the fans were as they booed until the correct score was made and the place erupted in cheers.

Roller threw Clum who had been taken down only three times in 148 matches, according to reports. Roller did it twice in the match alone.

Clum, who was stopped from becoming the state's ninth four-time champion, enjoyed leads of 8-4 and 10-6 into the final period. He had a series of takedowns and Roller had escapes.

Cole Allison of Montezuma-Cortez High School won a second straight state title, winning 171 this year with a record of 41-1 and he captured the 160-pound crown last year with a perfect 48-0 record. Allison signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Northern Colorado, an NCAA Division II school. His college roommate and good friend will be Jared Deaguaro of Adams City, who won at 160 pounds this and 145 last year. They even signed their letters together.

The announced attendance of 20,094 was a record for a Saturday night. That mark eclipsed the 19,000-plus set last year.

It would be tough to call it an upset, but Josh Ingrim, from Broomfield, ran his record to 41-0 for the season with a narrow 4-3 victory in the heavyweight title match against two-time defending champion Mullen’s Brian Benight, who finished 22-3.

The much-anticipated match between the two giants capped off a wild night of 4A action. Moffat County, as expected, captured the team championship, some 20 points better than runner-up Alamosa.

Earlier in the night, the 4A division belonged to Alamosa’s Meis brothers. Both D.J. and brother Brandon won titles. D.J. capped a perfect 41-0 season by winning at 135 while Brandon won a few minutes early at 125. Both brothers were anxious to climb to the top step of the podium after finishing second each of the past two seasons.

Copyright © 2001 the Cortez Journal. All rights reserved.
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