Sumner, Troni, Linares place at state tourney

 

The reloading of Mullen wrestling is starting to show results.

By entering a half-dozen competitors into the Colorado tournament held at the Pepsi Center, the Mustangs placed three on the podium and actually showed some measureable team results.

With John Sumner leading the way with a third-place finish at Class 3A 152 pounds, the senior teamed with sophomores Noah Linares (120, sixth) and Mark Troni (126, fifth) to place the Mustangs 14^th of 50 3A teams entering the championship round.

It was the first time Mullen has had placers in coach John Howes’ three seasons and his younger talent is evolving. Freshman Kaleb Valdez-Lemos (145), senior Cole Nading (160) and freshman Hayden Woodruff (Hwt.) also qualified before being eliminated from placing.

Sumner, the Mustangs’ top wrestler for two seasons, had longed for a championship – he missed qualifying as a sophomore on the eve of regionals when it was discovered he had a hole in his heart – but came to grips with one of the next-best things.

In Friday’s semifinals, he went down to Pagosa Springs’ Cameron Lucero, who has signed to compete at national powerhouse Iowa.

However, Sumner, a winner in 45 of his 50 matches in 2019-20, responded in consolations with a decision, then earning a pin in his final match as a Mustang.

“It was a good match, a good season and I didn’t lose to anyone who wasn’t in the finals,” he said.

A trip to Western State will come soon (he’s also considering Messiah in Mechanicsburg, Pa.) as he decides on college and Sumner competed at the Pepsi Center with a problem in his right knee.

He may have a tear, but said he hopes it’s just a sprain. He will have an MRI.

Plus, he said he was proud to lead talented underclassmen in the tournament.

“I was nowhere near where they are as sophomores,” he said.

Troni, who moved down from 132, probably evolved as much as any Mustangs competitor under Howes. Throughout the season, the coach made it clear Troni “listened” and he got better against better competition.

By earning consolation victories, Troni (34-13) capped his season with an 8-0 major decision.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “It’s my first year at state and I beat a lot of seniors to be here.”

The team’s postseason performance, he added, “definitely gives us something to look forward to next year. I learned how to go in there in a hard environment. And all of the hard work we put in was worth it. It’s what got us here.”

Linares, a threat in every tournament he entered this season, admitted he was disappointed in not making the championship round, but will take his sixth.

“Yeah,” he said while shaking his head. “I just worked really hard for it. They were close matches, just little mistakes I made …”

By winning his first two matches, Linares (26-10) made the quarterfinals, where he lost to a sophomore who was a champion as a freshman. And he dropped his final two matches by 2-0 and 3-1, including to a foe he had defeated in an earlier round, so he felt he wasn’t far from placing higher.

But the hunger for Mullen wrestling has been re-established and was a focal point all season.

Said Sumner: “Coach told us he wasn’t leaving before Saturday night awards (when the event’s largest crowd gets to acknowledge the top six in each of the four classifications’ 14 weight classes) this year, so we had something to work for every day.”