State tickets for Sumner, Damian
Only 2 Mustangs advance.
EDGEWATER – Do not try to tell John Sumner about the adage: What a difference a year makes.
He’ll tell you.
In 2018 and almost to the day, Sumner had a hole in his heart and had to be hospitalized for a procedure.
On Saturday, the Mullen junior capped a clean run through his bracket with a bye and three first-period pins as he impressively won the 145-pound weight class of the Northwestern Mutual Class 3A Region 3 held at Jefferson High School.
Now 41-7, Sumner advances to Thursday’s beginning of the Colorado tournament to be held at the Pepsi Center.
And he’s confident.
“Yeah, I came here to do a good job and get a good seed at state,” Sumner said. “I wasn’t worried about just qualifying anymore, I was just focused on earning the No. 1 seed, winning my bracket and doing as much as I could as fast as possible.”
No problem here – Sumner’s three matches combined didn’t last as long as a regulation match. After his bye, he ripped off pins in 1 minute, 47 seconds, 0:55 and 1:14.
If it appears that Sumner is peaking, it’s not an illusion.
“I am,” he said. “I’m wrestling really well lately. I’ve been strong on my feet and doing well.”
Said Mullen head coach John Howes: “I was nice. When he’s on, he’s on. When he’s confident, he can win. He doesn’t question things.”
In the final, Howes said, “he got the takedown, then worked for the pin. He had been leaving a lot of points on the mat. But he’s really confident right now, as he should be.”
The Mustangs had hoped to send multiple teammates with Sumner to state, but a rough few rounds arose and it took the last match of the day to add one. The Mustangs’ Angelo Damian won a wrestleback at 285 to qualify.
Damian, a senior and now 36-11, began his road to the Pepsi Center with a 6-0 decision. He was dispatched to the consolations after a 2-1 defeat, but responded with a pin in 2:29 and won his wrestleback in 2:33.
Howes had hoped for a couple of more qualifiers, but the younger part of his team, mostly freshmen in the lower weights, ran into some problems and learning experiences. Plus, Noah Linares (113), perhaps the most promising of the group, was ill for most of the week.
However, Howes said freshmen Max Gonzales (106) and Mark Troni (120) were among those who performed well and junior Nick Machock (132) made it to wrestlebacks.
“Worst-case scenario would be one (qualifying for state),:” Howes said. “We figured Johnny would be in … but some of them did well. And it’s always fun.”
Teamwise in the 14-team group, the Mustangs were seventh with 89 points. Eaton won with 212.5 to Eagle Valley’s 203.5. Next were: Elizabeth (180); Jefferson (169.5); Weld Central (147); and Skyview (138).
The brackets are to be released on Sunday.
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