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Looking to repeat, Fuentes in good position

Published February 12, 2006 at midnight

GREELEY — There will be 15 wrestlers trying to knock off Quinten Fuentes next weekend at the Class 3A state tournament.

The Roosevelt senior doesn't seem fazed.

On Saturday night, Fuentes remained undefeated in dominating fashion to claim the 135-pound championship at the Class 3A Region 2 tournament at the University of Northern Colorado.

Fuentes (31-0) rolled through Highland's Gary Kinnison, 11-3, in the finals. Most impressive about the win was that Kinnison is ranked No. 2 in the state.

"I'd never even heard of him," Fuentes said.

With a week to go in his high school career, Fuentes seems centered on one thing: repeating as a state champion.

"He's a tough kid and really strong," Fuentes said of Kinnison. "It'll be interesting to watch this match (on tape) and see what I did and didn't do."

What he did do was win his fourth consecutive regional championship.

"I think it's awesome," he said. "It'll feel good until about 12 o'clock (Saturday night)."

Fuentes also helped lead the RoughRiders to a dominating effort in the team race. All 14 RoughRiders placed in the top six, and 11 are headed to state.

"We came out trying to get as many as we could to state," Fuentes said. "We wanted to get everybody to place, and we accomplished that goal. We all wrestled awesome. I love it."

Roosevelt sent six to the finals and claimed four championships. In addition to Fuentes, Dan Frank (119 pounds), P.J. Gallegos (125), and Tim Frank (152) all won titles. Tim Frank needed overtime, but outlasted Brush's Brandon Dulaney, 9-7.

Looking back a few months, Roosevelt coach Mike Pallotto never envisioned this type of effort from his team.

"If you would have asked me back then, I would have said, 'No,'" he said. "We had six freshmen. Recently, we really talked about placing 14. I think we came back and the kids stepped up and got it done. The whole deal was a team effort. I'm really proud of the team, and they wrestled with a lot of heart."

Brush had a good tournament, as well, but the Beetdiggers didn't finish like they had hoped. After getting six into the finals, they came away with only one champion — 112-pounder Cody Cole.

It was a good tournament for Eaton, as well. The Reds qualified seven for state and came away with three champions. Luke Hanna, ranked No. 1 at 140 pounds, rolled to the title. He had two pins to reach the finals, and then beat Roosevelt's Brandon Montoya, 10-3, for the title. Brandon Kammerzell (160) and Brian Cook (171) also claimed championships for the Reds.

It was a good night for Platte Valley's Luke Hopkin, as well. He won the 215-pound championship by pinning University's Ryan Amaya in 1:11.

Hopkin won the 215-pound state championship in 2004, but a year ago he lost in overtime in the regional finals. He was so upset after the loss that his actions drew a disqualification and he wasn't able to compete at state.

"I'm glad to be able to get back to the Pepsi Center and defending my title from two years ago," he said.

Class 3A Region 2

At Butler-Hancock Hall, Greeley

Team scores — Roosevelt 251, Brush 188, Eaton 174, Yuma 153, Platte Valley 151.5, Frederick 116, University 98, Highland 92, Erie 48, Strasburg 33, Estes Park 22.5.

Championship matches

103 pounds — Jake Eitzen (EP) dec. Cole Kembel (Brush), 8-3.

112 — Cody Cole (Brush) tech. fall Tyler Mines (Erie), 16-0.

119 — Dan Frank (Roos) dec. San Miguel Castillo (Fred), 8-4.

125 — P.J. Gallegos (Roos) tech. fall Roy Grauberger (Brush), 18-2.

130 — John Zahn (Erie) pinned Justin Heuer (Roos), 10-2.

135 — Quinten Fuentes (Roos) major dec. Gary Kinnison (High), 11-3.

140 — Luke Hanna (Eaton) dec. Brandon Montoya (Roos), 10-3.

145 — Adam Symonds (PV) pinned Zack Newbury (Yuma), 4:46.

152 — Tim Frank (Roos) dec. Brandon Dulaney (Brush), 9-7, OT.

160 — Brandon Kammerzell (Eaton) major dec. Aaron Quinlin (Brush), 15-2.

171 — Brian Cook (Eaton) dec. Anthony Hurt (Brush), 7-6.

189 — Daniel Palleson (Yuma) dec. David Clark (PV), 6-3.

215 — Luke Hopkin (PV) pinned Ryan Amaya (Univ), 1:11.

275 — Austin Kinnison (High) pinned Tommy Lester (Eaton), 4:33.

Third-place matches

103 pounds — Dylan McKie (Yuma) dec. Devon Valdez (Fred), 5-2.

112 — Jarron Cito (Roos) dec. Gersain Diaz (Yuma), 9-7.

119 — Tyler Herbst (Yuma) major dec. Josh Romero (Univ), 14-5.

125 — Robert Harmon (High) dec. Craig Wisehart (PV), 8-7.

130 — Jared Cass (PV) pinned Seth Flack (Univ), 4:31.

135 — Matt Smith (Eaton) dec. Shane Mendoza (Univ), 6-4.

140 — Ryan Fountain (Fred) dec. Andrew Algien (Yuma), 5-1.

145 — Chad Tomes (Roos) dec. Devon Brown (Eaton), 2-0.

152 — Kyle Symonds (PV) major dec. Josh Miller (High), 14-3.

160 — Zach Diaz (Yuma) dec. Nathan Heuer (Roos), 1-0.

171 — Chis Turnbull (Roos) pinned Dominic Martinez (Fred), 4:16.

189 — Ian Gore (Eaton) major dec. Chad DeLaBarre (Fred), 11-2.

215 — Dustin Frank (Roos) dec. Alfonso Serna (Fred), 7-3.

275 — Anthony Fresquez (Fred) major dec. Adam Waters Brush, 10-1.

Wrestlebacks

103 — Devon Valdez (Fred) pinned Kyle Walter (Roos), 4:33.

119 — Geoff Keeling (Stras) dec. Josh Romero (Univ), 5-3.

140 — Andrew Algien (Yuma) dec. Will Dillon (Univ), 6-3.

171 — Dominic Martinez (Fred) dec. Cliff Leonhardt (Yuma), 7-3.

189 — Gaire Rudnik (Brush) dec. Chad DeLaBarre (Fred), 8-7.

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