NIWOT — Even when he’s the favorite to win, Kenny Jones still gets nervous before every match he wrestles for Silver Creek High.
The Raptors’ junior 182-pounder was as jittery as ever heading into the finals of the annual Gary Daum Classic on Saturday evening. As has been the case with nearly all of his matches this season, Jones’ anxiety turned out to be unwarranted.
Currently ranked fifth in Class 4A by Tim Yount’s On the Mat rankings, Jones pinned Frederick sophomore Jake Longstreth in 2 minutes, 45 seconds in the local tournament’s 182-pound championship match. He probably won’t stop getting nervous before his matches, but a Gary Daum title should help relax Jones a bit.
“I always get nervous,” Jones said. “I noticed he was a taller guy so I tried to attack the legs and stay out of any big throws and stuff like that. I have good coaching so I trusted that and went out and used my instincts. That has worked for me so far this season.”
So far this season, Jones is 16-2 and added three pins to his total on Saturday. One of four Raptors who advanced to championship matches on Saturday, Jones’ efforts helped his team finish fifth in the overall scoring, one point behind Fairview and 82 points behind champion Platte Valley.
Raptors senior Mitch Webster and sophomore Sawyer Novara also won individual titles.
Webster, who is ranked fourth in 4A at 220 pounds, capped his tournament run with an easy 1-minute, 10-second pin over Northglenn’s Cruz De Lara in the championship match. Novara, who is ranked fifth at 106 pounds, won an 11-2 major decision over Erie’s Adam Evertz in the title match.
Longmont High senior Fernando Ramos-Vega pinned Raptors senior Gavin Sais in 1:12 in the 170-pound championship match. Having dropped significant weight from the football season, Ramos-Vega accepted a challenge from his coaches to pin each opponent as quickly as possible at the Gary Daum.
“I had a bet with my coaches to help me do my thing and focus me,” Ramos-Vega said. “In the finals, I got him in a wrist and a half and stretched him out and I almost got it in under a minute. Coming out of football and trying to drop weight, I was really rusty so it really helped me focus and do my best.”
Ramos-Vega won his first match in 1:06 and his semifinal match in 2:27. Teammate Brandon Ramirez won a 3-0 decision over Monarch’s Ian Scott to take the heavyweight title.
The Longmont Trojans placed seventh, the Erie Tigers placed eighth, host Niwot High was ninth, Skyline placed 10th, Frederick was 11th and Lyons finished 12th.
Skyline’s Uriel Contreras placed second, losing 4-2 in sudden victory extra time to Platte Valley’s Nikko Jaramillo during the 113-pound championship match. Teammate Jesus Contreras was pinned by Platte Valley’s Tanner Fetzer in 3:35 during the 145-pound championship match.
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Gary Daum Classic
At Niwot H.S.
Team scores — Platte Valley 177, Monarch 148.5, Northglenn 123.5, Fairview 96, Silver Creek 95, Boulder 85.5, Longmont 84, Erie 65.5, Niwot 38.5, Skyline 38, Frederick 30, Lyons 16.
Championship matches
106 — Sawyer Novara, Silver Creek, maj. dec. Adam Evertz, Erie, 11-2; 113 — Nikko Jaramillo, Platte Valley, dec. Uriel Contreras, 4-2 (SV); 120 — Maurisio Garcia, Northglenn, pinned Cole Polluconi, Monarch, 5:07; 126 — Rocky Nava, Northglenn, pinned Tyler Steinmetz, Platte Valley, 0:41; 132 — Michael Garcia, Northglenn, dec. Caden Feenstra, Monarch, 5-4 (UTB); 138 — Cliff Lester, Fairview, dec. Ryan Waite, Platte Valley, 5-4; 145 — Tanner Fetzer, Platte Valley, pinned Jesus Contreras, Skyline, 3:35; 152 — Martin Selby, Boulder, dec. Clark Jett, Platte Valley, 10-4; 160 — Dimitri Brown, Fairview, pinned Jacob Scheller, Northglenn, 1:13; 170 — Fernando Ramos-Vega, Longmont, pinned Gavin Sais, Silver Creek, 1:12; 182 — Kenny Jones, Silver Creek, pinned Jake Longstreth, Frederick, 2:45; 195 — Tino Ciddio, Platte Valley, dec. Landon Waddle, Monarch, 6-5; 220 — Mitch Webster, Silver Creek, pinned Cruz De Lara, Northglenn, 1:10; 285 — Brandon Ramirez, Longmont, dec. Ian Scott, Monarch, 3-0.
Third-place matches
106 — Parker McQuade, Monarch, won by forfeit; 113 — Morgan Reynolds, Boulder, pinned Duncan Lester, Fairview, 4:05; 120 — Tommy Stager, Niwot, dec. William Hickman, 6-3; 126 — Clayton Robinson, Niwot, dec. Taylor Dawal, Monarch, 12-5; 132 — Adrian Rodriguez, Platte Valley, dec. Preston Cates, Fairview, 4-2; 138 — Ben Ferrera, Monarch, maj. dec. Toby Campbell, Erie, 11-2; 145 — Nathan Morris, Longmont, maj. dec. Preston McQuade, Monarch, 11-1; 152 — Nate Prichard, Monarch, pinned Nick Shadler, Erie, 1:41; 160 — Ira Ah, Boulder, injury def. Trevor David, Erie, 0:54; 170 — Austin Albrighton, Platte Valley, pinned William Henderson, Boulder, 3:30; 182 — Garret McCullar, Platte Valley, pinned Logan Goodner, 2:01; 195 — Anthony Ornelas, Northglenn, dec. Bradin McElhaney, Fairview, 7-2; 220 — Jeremiah Land, Platte Valley, dec. Duncan Heath, 3-1; 285 — Daniel Martin, Northglenn, dec. Jacob Williams, Silver Creek, 3-2.
