The seedings are set. The wrestlers are ready.
Bayfield High School's contingent at this week's State Wrestling Championships will start early, with the first of the preliminary matches at 3 p.m. today at the Pepsi Center in Denver.
The Wolverines' final preparation for state came Wednesday evening in Golden when the BHS state wrestlers worked out at the Colorado School of Mines.
Later Wednesday, the Wolverines watched one of their own - Jordan Larsen - wrestle for Mines in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference dual.
Larsen, just one year ago, won a state championship as a Bayfield Wolverine.
"We try to work on the mental aspect of it (state tournament) this week," Bayfield head coach Herb Stinson said.
"It's like other tournaments, but yet it's not because there's a lot more on the line. That's why we work on the mental preparation this week," he said.
"We'll have the veterans talk to the younger ones ... tell them about the mistakes they made and the feelings they had," he said.
"Mentally, they have to be on edge (at state)."
This year, Bayfield's Trevor Huntsman will open the state tournament in the 125-pound championships against Zack Love of Cedaredge. Huntsman, a senior and regional champion, enters with a 29-3 overall record. Love, a sophomore, is 22-17.
If Huntsman wins his opening match, he will go against the winner of Vicente Gallegos of Denver's Arupe Jesuit (28-3) vs. Jordan Ross of Strasburg (31-7). Gallegos is a junior. Ross is a freshman.
The top-seeded wrestler in 3A's 125-pound bracket is Nick Adams, a sophomore from Discovery Canyon High School in Colorado Springs (35-3).
At 140 pounds, Bayfield's Taylor Swanemyr (26-6) will open against Jordan Smith of Platte Valley (28-14). Both are juniors.
The winner of that match will wrestle the winner of Zach McEhloes of Discovery Canyon (6-23) vs. Jared Tonder of Grand Valley (36-6) in the second round.
The top seed at 140 is Phillip Sheridan of Centauri (44-1).
Austin Thorne will represent Bayfield at 145 pounds. Thorne (27-4) will tangle with Matt Smith of Eaton (33-7). Both are seniors.
The winner will move on to take on either Ryan Gallegos of Grand Valley (31-6) or Josh Sees of Denver Lutheran (20-13).
Cole Kembel of Brush (43-3) is another highly regarded wrestler in the 145-pound field.
At 152 pounds, Bayfield freshman Aaron Velasquez (29-7) will start his quest for a title against senior Enrique Delgado of Sheridan (18-13). If Velasquez wins, he'll wrestle either Shay Hansen of Brush (31-11) or Nate Birdseye of Middle Park (26-15).
The top wrestler in the 152-pound field is defending state champion Matt Addington of Florence (44-0).
Brenden Harrison, a junior, will wrestle for BHS at 160 pounds. Harrison (18-15) will open against La Junta senior Phillip Merwin (25-5).
The winner moves on to take on either Zach Diaz of Yuma (39-2) or Jason Anderson of Cedaredge (18-13).
Another top contender in the Class 3A 160-pound bracket is unbeaten Joe DuCharme of Pagosa Springs (28-0).
At 189 pounds, Bayfield three-time regional champion Markus Eckstein (28-5) is one of the top seeds in his bracket. The BHS senior will open against freshman Brian Macchione of Middle Park (15-13).
The winner will face either Jared Gambrell of Bennett
(26-13) or Aaron Olson of Platte Valley (23-15).
The Class 3A quarterfinals begin at 10 a.m. Friday.
Semifinals start at 7:15 p.m. Friday.
The championship matches start at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
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