Local wrestlers find success at Niwot's Gary Daum Classic
Jan. 6—NIWOT — Lyons junior Jaden Gardner often finds himself breezing through his regular season wrestling schedule this time of year. And while the number next to his record looks good on paper, it does him no favors when the state tournament rolls around.
During the Gary Daum Classic on Saturday night at Niwot High School, he finally met an opponent worthy of the strength and speed he brings to the mat. Erie junior Carson Hageman, however, found himself on the losing end of the 165-pound match when an escape and two takedowns handed Gardner a 5-0 victory to bring his overall record to 17-1.
Hageman fell to 9-2.
"I had a loss last week that helped me push a little harder than I usually do. That helped with this tournament, too. I lost 4-3, close match. After that, I got in the room and just pushed myself more," Gardner said. "Through the year, I don't really get a lot of competition because I pin, pin, pin. And then I get to state, and it's a little tough, but I work my way through it. These tough opponents in the final matches help me become better every day. It challenges me more and more."
Last year, Gardner finished state runner-up in the Class 2A 157-lb. weight class as the result of a last-seconds pin.
Hageman, likewise, has been able to string together a strong start to his wrestling season, and lauded Gardner for a well-balanced competition that tested both of their strengths. He hopes that the taste of state glory, weeks after winning a football state championship with the Tigers, will help motivate him even more once the tournament at Ball Arena rolls around next month.
He needs to add to his ring collection.
"Two's better than one. I want to get two championships. I already have one on my football team," Hageman said. "I'm just wrestling when I can, and football starts as soon as spring. I mean, we're already doing football stuff. I'm always doing football and then when I have time, I'll go wrestle, go to a few camps. Really, just being active all the time is what makes me athletic."
Float like a butterfly
Slender looks good on Skyline's Rene Perez.
The senior, who weighed in at 229 pounds on Saturday morning, has spent much of the season adjusting to the lower end of the heavyweight class, but seems to have acclimated just fine. At the Gary Daum, he finished runner-up.
"I've just been working a lot on my conditioning and stuff," Perez said. "I've lost a lot of weight since last season. I was 30 pounds heavier, so I'm still getting used to being a lighter heavyweight. I've been making a lot of progress so far."
In his finals match against Air Academy's Jackson Downs, Perez lost by pin to bring his overall record to 14-4. And, while his coach admitted the Falcons were trying to get Perez to put a little more weight back on, he's finding he can still win if he puts his mind to it.
"Being lighter, it's an advantage, but it's also a disadvantage," Perez said. "Sometimes, I get caught under these big guys. It's a lot of weight to have on you, but I still try my best. I just got to be smarter on what I do. There's a lot of moves that I used to be able to do that I can't do to these guys."
Sting like a bee
Boulder junior Abe Pomeroy, like Perez, has had to rework his approach to the mat as he chases a placement — and maybe even a title — in the 144-lb. weight class at the state tournament come February.
His coaches helped put him on the right track through conditioning in practice and encouraging him to be his own advocate, instead of always going on defense.
"We've been working on coming out with that tenacity, that wanting to score that I think I lacked in some of my matches last year," Pomeroy said. "In the room, they've been putting me through situations, where I'm down by points, I'm up by points, and how am I going to work in those periods?"
Through his 14-4 record at this point in the season, he's found that scoring first helps build his confidence as the match wears on. That's made all the difference.
"I feel like I'm building both the physical record, but also that mental record of how many tough guys I can beat and how I'm up there and how I can compete at these higher levels," he said.
He finished his night with a loss against Pueblo County's Tony Macaluso in the finals, after Macaluso defeated him with a tech fall in the second period.
Winner winner
Amid tough competition, two more local grapplers rose all the way to the top of their respective classes.
The most thrilling victory came by way of Erie's Hunter Waneka, who fell behind 10-0 midway through his 132s championship match with Pueblo County's Thomas Velasquez. He erased all of Velasquez's hard work with a pin in the second period.
Holy Family's Abram Moore continued his dominant streak with an easy, first-period pin on Horizon's Jordan Harris to win the 215s.
