THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

When the referee blew his whistle and smacked the center mat, signaling Dmarian Lopez’s win, the Montrose 285-pound wrestler lifted his arms and stared down both sides of the gym to thunderous applause. And as he ran to the scorer’s table, he shouted “I’m him!” Lopez was one of five local and regional wrestlers to win a title at the Warrior Classic this weekend at Central High School, and one of 28 to place. Lopez’s win came against Gage Howard of Uintah, Utah. Lopez pinned Howard in 3 minutes, 20 seconds and the defending state champion pinned all four of his opponents at the Warrior. Lopez is ranked second at 285 in Class 4A and is using this win as a confidence booster and a measuring stick as he looks to repeat as a state champion. “I was feeling where he was it and making sure I didn’t do anything too crazy,” Lopez said. “Honestly, I don’t feel like I’m opening up what I need to. I feel like I’m behind based on where I was last. But it’s OK, I’ll get there.” Dylan Chelewski had to earn his title at 157. The Fruita Monument senior cruised through his first four matches with three pins and an 11-1 major decision. Chelewski, ranked second in 5A, eked out a 5-4 decision over William Alvarado of Fort Lupton, ranked second in 3A, in the title match. Alvarado had a 4-3 lead in the final minute of the match before Chelewski pulled off a two-point reversal with only 45 seconds left on the clock. “He did a great job this weekend and works for it. He works hard every day,” Fruita coach Lucas Archuleta said of Chelewski. “He goes out and does what ever he can to get better.” At 120 pounds, Cedaredge’s Ethan Hice retained a perfect record with a 6-4 decision over Uintah’s Rykan Hacking. Hice was the lone Bruin to win a title and is ranked third in 2A. Hacking tied the match at 4-4 with a takedown with 18 seconds to go, but Hice escaped his grasp with only 12 seconds left for the win. Delta’s Dawsen Drozdik, the cream of the crop at 106 in 3A, earned a 10-3 decision over Center’s Jordan Duran for a title. Duran was close for most of the match before Drozdik broke away and scored the final six points with a pair of takedowns and a nearfall. “That was probably the most difficult match, it was hard to keep him down,” Drozdik said. “I wasn’t trying to be desperate for points. I made sure to make it my match, not his.” Total placers Central had seven wrestlers place. They were Elijah Hernandez (third at 106), JP Espinoza (first at 113), Hassin Maynes (fourth at 132), Dagen Harris (fourth at 150), Devin Hickey (fifth at 165), Jaysten Sanchez (second at 175) and Tyler Ziek (third at 190). Fruita Monument also had seven wrestlers place. Chelewski was joined by Geno Gallegos (second at 113), Tyler Archuleta (fifth at 132), Will Stewart (third at 138), Bryce Nixon (sixth at 150), Trent Target (sixth at 165) and Tatum Williams (fourth at 215). Williams scored a one-point escape in the final second of regulation to force overtime but was taken down with 21 seconds left in the extra period. Palisade’s Keyton Young finished second at 138 and was the only Bulldog to make the podium. Amadaeus Gurule-Valles was the lone Grand Junction wrestler to place, finishing fourth at 120. Lopez was joined by four of his Montrose teammates on the podium — Aadin Gonzales (fourth at 106), Kamron Alegria (third at 126), James Schaefer (sixth at 144) and Quinn Brown (fourth at 157). Including Hice, three Cedaredge wrestlers placed. The other two were Tayton Nelson (sixth at 126) and Ethan Toothaker (third at 150). Drozdik and Matthew Valdez (fifth at 113) were the only Delta wrestlers to place. Grand Valley and Nucla each had one wrestler make the podium. The Cardinals were represented by Jasen Skeen, who finished third at 120. Arthur Connelly represented the Mustangs after he finished fifth at 175. VISITORS TAKE TEAM TITLE Uintah won the team title with 286.5 points. Rounding out the top five were Central (177), Meeker (176), Fruita Monument (174) and Brush (151). Palisade tied for 15th with 55 points and Grand Junction was 25th with 43.5 points

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

WEST SLOPE IS THE BEST SLOPE AT THE WARRIOR CLASSIC

JAMES BURKEY

The Daily Sentinel | 12/18/2022

PHOTO CREDIT: Barton Glasser