Hardware season begins Thursday for the 14 area wrestlers qualified to the state tournament.

Five athletes each from Durango High School and Ignacio High School and four from Bayfield High School will hit the mats for the final time this season at the Pepsi Center.

The round of 16 begins at 3 p.m. Thursday for BHS and IHS, while DHS will begin around 7:15 p.m.

“We always try to get a big number of qualifications,” DHS head coach John Gurule said. “Now we’re chasing hardware.”

Senior Patrick Cunnion stands the Demons’ best chance to wear a medal, at least on paper.

He’s seeded No. 2 in Class 4A at 182 pounds behind Windsor’s Joe Keller.

“I think Patrick’s on a mission to capture that state title,” Gurule said. “His goal when he goes out here is just to have fun. It’s not a pressure. He’s enjoying himself.”

Durango’s other senior qualifiers, Hunter Hall at 126 pounds and Matthew Lavengood at 120 pounds, both qualified for state last year, as well, and Lavengood placed.

Lavengood won his regional championship, just like Cunnion, and is in the middle of his bracket with a chance to avoid the top seed, Thompson Valley’s Vlad Kasakov, until the final.

Cameron Jacobs (106 pounds) and Tristan Martinez (113 pounds) round out the Demons’ legion as strangers to the state tournament.

Having three teammates that have seen it all before can only help them.

“The Pepsi Center can definitely bring some nervousness and rattle the kids,” Gurule said. “I thought we really did that well last year and do some things outside the room to deter the nerves and help the kids.”

Bayfield High School

The brackets shake out well for the Wolverines’ fearsome foursome.

“I think we’ve got as good a chance to climb on the podium as anybody up there,” BHS head coach Todd McMenimen said. “I like the way the brackets sit for us all the way through. I’m pretty optimistic going up there that we can get several guys on the podium. It’s a matter of how high we climb them up there.”

His son, 145-pound senior Colter McMenimen, has his sights set on the top with blinders to the rest of the spots.

Colter McMenimen finished third as a sophomore and fell before reaching the podium last season.

The 2015 bracket may be his toughest road yet.

“There’s two returning state champions in that bracket,” coach McMenimen said. “We’re probably going to have to go through one in the semifinals and probably the other one in the finals.”

Berthoud’s Jimmy Fate, who won the title in Class 4A last season, is the No. 2 seed on Colter McMenimen’s side of the bracket, while defending Class 3A champion Joseph Prieto of Holy Family lurks on the other side.

Olathe’s Austin Shank, who beat Colter McMenimen for the regional title, earned the bracket’s top seed.

“It’s going to be a tough road,” coach McMenimen said.

At 126 pounds, Ryan Nava will bring the rest of Bayfield’s state tournament experience.

He also finished off the podium last year and only has wrestled 13 matches this season after starting late.

“Conditioning’s still gonna be the biggest issue with him. He’s held up pretty well so far to get to this stage of the game, and every match is a tough match,” coach McMenimen said. “I’m pleased with how crisp he is. His technique and stuff has looked pretty good for the limited amount of time he’s had on the mat.”

The Wolverines’ other two qualifiers, Jake Sandrey and Sam Westbrook, both made the state tournament in their first season as high school wrestlers.

Sandrey (113 pounds) is making the trip in his freshman season, and Westbrook (heavyweight) returned to wrestling for the first time since his youth.

“Being a freshman qualifying, for Jakey, is big to get there and get some experience. With him coming on at the right time, there’s no reason he can’t find himself on the podium,” coach McMenimen said. “With Samuel (Westbrook), I’ve been saying that (he could place at state) the last month and a half now with him. What I’ve watched and seen and his desire and drive, there’s no reason he can’t find a placing spot up there.”

Both of them will have the experience of their teammates and coach who have been there before to lean on in tough moments.

“It’s the third largest high school sporting event in the country. Until you’ve been there and experienced it, there’s nothing like it,” coach McMenimen said. “To have a couple of them that have been up there and been through it, it’s big to calm some of those other guys. You get young men up there for the first time, and they get real wide-eyed and don’t know how to handle the experience.”

Ignacio High School

All of Ignacio’s qualifiers bring Pepsi Center experience to the state tournament.

Four wrestled on the floor last year, and the fifth, senior Iaasic Peña, has watched his cousins and siblings compete for years.

“That’s definitely a large asset to help your mindset going in,” said IHS head coach Cody Haga. “The state tournament is definitely a big production. I try to stress to my boys that it’s just another tournament, just another match.”

How well the Bobcats can accept that premise will determine a lot of how they handle their first match.

Stocker Robbins dealt with outside factors wonderfully in his drive to the 106-pound state championship match last year as a freshman.

He has worked all season to return for a chance at redemption at 113 pounds as a defending regional champion.

“He’s sitting well in the bracket. I stressed to all my boys that they don’t have anything really to lose even coming back as a placer,” Haga said. “The past is the past – gotta push forward for this year.”

Senior heavyweight Josh Gallegos returns for his third consecutive year as the Bobcats’ elder statesman and a regional champion.

Peña also won the regional title for his first trip to Denver as a competitor at 152 pounds after missing out last season because of a freak elbow injury at regionals.

Blaine Mickey took sixth place last season at 170 pounds and is qualified this year at 182 pounds, and Ethan Appenzeller is back after missing out on the podium in 2014.

“We’re all fitting pretty well in the brackets to do well,” Haga said. “Hopefully everything goes well.”

kgrabowski@durangoherald.com