By Brady Delander
Special to The Denver Post
Marcus Hernandez could not see it, but all of the nearly 20,000 fans at the Pepsi Center turned their attention to him, took to their feet and gave him a standing ovation. Twice.
Hernandez, a senior at Pueblo South, is legally blind. He is also the Class 4A 125-pound state champion, after holding on for a 7-6 decision against Tommy Valdez of Alamosa on Saturday night at the state wrestling championships.
Hernandez (30-4) was too caught up in the moment to hear the first round of applause, which poured down onto the floor as the referee raised his arm. He could not miss the second one as he stood atop the podium after accepting his first-place medal.
“I still don’t believe it. It probably won’t hit me until tomorrow, ” said Hernandez, who enjoyed a tearful celebration with his father.
Hernandez, a runner-up last year, lost to Valdez twice this season after leading in points. The same thing nearly happened again, but Hernandez was ready this time.
“He beat me with the same five-point move the last two times. I thought it would be the same thing all over again, “he said.
With Hernandez up 7-1 after the second period, Valdez slowly closed in before getting a takedown to make the score 7-5 with 26 seconds left in the third period. On his stomach, Hernandez was hit with a second stall call to make it a one-point match with five seconds left. But the end was near.
“I didn’t know how much time was left. Once I heard the 3-2-1 and the whistle blow, all I could think about was how happy I was, “Hernandez said.
Alamosa, led by two-time champion Sonny Yohn and first-timer Josh Hensley, won the team race. The Mean Moose, under coach Gary Ramstetter, claimed their sixth state title in school history. Pueblo South, the defending champion, was second.
Yohn (43-0), a junior, manhandled Josh Larson of Windsor for a 16-0 technical fall at 189 pounds. Yohn won a title at 171 last season.
Yohn’s brother, Cody (40-3), won the 152-pound title with a 7-4 decision over Jordan Titoni of Pine Creek.
Hensley handled Pueblo South’s Adam Urenda for a 9-1 major decision to stay undefeated and take the title at 140 pounds.
A star was born at 103 pounds, where Fort Lupton freshman Dale Shull (37-0) pinned Gabe Gomez of Broomfield in the first period.
“I was never nervous. All I thought about was what would happen after I won, not what was going to happen if I didn’t, “Shull said.
Two returning champions, Korey Kostur of Moffat County and Mark Beaudry of Pueblo South, engaged in a battle royal in the 145-pound final. Kostur has lost just seven times in his prep career, but three have come against Beaudry. That streak ended Saturday night. Trailing 4-2, Kostur (42-2) escaped with 27 seconds left in the third period and slipped in for a takedown to win it 5-4 with 10 seconds on the clock.
Moving up the weight classes, Aron Baltierra of Westminster (39-1) needed overtime to finish Pine Creek’s Kory Johnson at 112 pounds, and Fort Lupton’s
Saul Guerrero (39-2) won the 119-pound title.
At 171 pounds, John Tangeman (33-4) of Broomfield edged Brendan Best of Eagle Valley for a 3-1 decision.
Team scores
Alamosa 165 1/2, Pueblo South 108 1/2, Broomfield 94, Northridge 90 1/2, Rifle 75, Moffat County 73, Windsor 71 1/2, Eagle Valley 70, Montrose 68, Pine Creek 66, Greeley Central 65, Fort Lupton 52, Fort Morgan 48 1/2, Thompson Valley 46 1/2, Cañon City 45, Mullen 45, Sand Creek 38 1/2, Montezuma-Cortez 31, Westminster 30, Palisade 28, Widefield 28, Liberty 26 1/2, Fountain-Fort Carson 21 1/2, Greeley West 20, Cheyenne Mountain 18, Pueblo Central 18, Ranum 18, Berthoud 15, Englewood 12, Golden 12, Pueblo Centennial 11, Pueblo County 11, Pueblo East 11, Delta 10, Elizabeth 7, Harrison 7, Niwot 6, Longmont 5 1/2, Mountain View 5, Pueblo West 5, Ridge View Academy 5, Summit 3, Cherokee Trail 2, Silver Creek 2, Skyline 2, Skyview 2.
Championship matches
103 – Dale Shull, Fort Lupton, Fr. (37-0), pinned Gabe Gomez, Broomfield, Fr. (30-8), 1:54.
112 – Aron Baltierra, Westminster, Sr. (38-1), dec. Kory Johnson, Pine Creek, Jr. (35-5), 5-3.
119 – Saul Guerrero, Fort Lupton, So. (39-2), dec. Cory Casady, Broomfield, So. (32-5), 6-5.
125 – Marcus Hernandez, Pueblo South, Sr. (30-4), dec. Tommy Valdez, Alamosa, Sr. (43-4), 7-6.
130 – Luke Wooten, Rifle, Sr. (34-2), pinned Kyle Avery, Montrose, Sr. (30-11), 2:58.
135 – Robert Martz, Liberty, Sr. (30-3), pinned Jordan Reese, Montrose, Sr. (36-10), 3:18.
140 – Josh Hensley, Alamosa, Sr. (45-0), maj. dec. Adam Urenda, Pueblo South, Sr. (37-5), 9-1.
145 – Korey Kostur, Moffat County, Sr. (42-2), dec. Mark Beaudry, Pueblo South, Sr. (30-2), 5-4.
152 – Cody Yohn, Alamosa, So. (40-3), dec. Jordan Titoni, Pine Creek, Sr. (37-4), 7-4.
160 – Chris Harvey, Eagle Valley, Sr. (36-4), dec. Johnny Ortega, Thompson Valley, So. (37-3), 6-4.
171 – John Tangeman, Broomfield, Sr. (33-4), dec. Brendan Best, Eagle Valley, Jr. (27-10), 3-1.
189 – Sonny Yohn, Alamosa, Jr. (43-0) tech. fall Josh Larson, Windsor, Jr. (30-3), 16-0.
215 – David Marone, Broomfield, Jr. (35-3), dec. Calen Nicholl, Windsor, Sr. (26-6), 8-3.
Hwt. РCody Palmer, Ca̱on City, Sr. (34-1) dec. Tim Saucedo, Northridge, So. (32-8), 7-3.
Wrestling Gear
What happened to Henry Cejudo? I`ve been following his career since he left Arizona, but haven`t read about his exploits this year in Colorado. Would you please give me an update. Thanks.
Sorry David. I only post the stories. I’m not sure what Henry Cejudo is up to.