Top 4 in each weight class head for Pepsi Center

Alamosa defending state champion Jesse Meis put pressure on Pueblo South. Meis is back to the weight he won last year’s state title, 103 lbs., carrying a 34-2 record.




By LLOYD ENGEN
ALAMOSA — Every match that each San Luis Valley prep wrestler has faced this season now come into the picture as the brackets are seeded for the state qualifying regional tournaments that come to a climax on Saturday.

At stake are team and individual regional championships and medals and, more importantly, qualification into the 2008 Colorado High School Wrestling State Championships at The Pepsi Center next Thursday — the largest high school sports venue in the state with close to 20,000 fans jammed into the facility for the Saturday night finals.

To get there, wrestlers have to finish among the top four in their weight classes at the regional tournaments — the higher the finish, the better, in order to improve seeding at state.

This is what the wrestlers have been working so hard to achieve, with visions of state medals and the ultimate prize, a state championship, fueling their efforts.

With three of the four state classifications represented by the Valley’s schools, the situation at the state tournament becomes non-stop wrestling from start to finish for SLV wrestling fans.

First, however, come Saturday’s concluding rounds of regional matches at three locations for Valley wrestlers.

The No. 1 ranked Alamosa Mean Moose, pursuing their third straight 4A State Championship, will be at the State Fair Events Center in Pueblo, with the finals projected to start at 6:30 p.m. with the Parade of Champions.

Their main challenger for the regional team title is No. 5 ranked Pueblo West in the field of 18 teams. There are plenty of highly ranked individuals in almost every weight class to challenge the Maroons.

The Mean Moose lost exceptional sophomore Justin Mortensen, ranked No. 7 at 103 lbs. by On the Mat, when he suffered a torn ACL during practice a little over a week ago. As a result, senior defending state champion at 103, Jesse Meis (34-2), ranked No. 1 at 112, has dropped down to 103 where he has wrestled on several occasions this season.

Senior two-time defending state champion Cody Yohn (34-1) is No. 1 at 171 lbs., junior Donovan Archuleta (13-6) is No. 4 at 145, senior Davi Martinez (30-5) is No. 4 at 189, junior Kyle Holman (29-8) is No. 5 at 140, junior Dalton Kelley (30-6) is No. 5 at 119, junior Dominic Gaitan (28-8) is No. 7 at 152, senior Duell Kelley (26-7) is No. 8 at 130, junior Sean Mahaney (27-8) is No. 8 at 135, and senior Vicenté Apodaca (29-8) is No. 8 at

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