Wrestlers ready for season of change
COVID-19 means fewer matches, less action, more rules; but females will have their first sanctioned season and Coach Howes excited about younger talent.
(Fifth in a series of previews for the new Season B.)
The toughness, resilience and adaptability of wrestling will be particularly relevant this season.
There will be no fans, no huge invitationals, fewer matches and no season-ending finale encompassing all classes and complete with the unmatched pageantry and excitement in the time of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Mullen head coach John Howes admits it will be “pretty funky,” but “I think we’ll be solid in the lower weights.”
Juniors Mark Troni (126 pounds, fifth place at the Colorado tournament) and Noah Linares (120, sixth) are the Mustangs’ top returnees. Troni may move to 145.
Sophomores Kaleb Valdez-Lemos (160) and Hayden Woodruff (Hwt.) were state qualifiers a year ago and Noah Gonzales was sixth at regionals.
Jacob Robbins and Ian Zhang as other returnees with know-how. New faces include freshman Dale O’Blia and Hildeberto Antillon.
For girls, who are entering their first sanctioned season, Alina Antillon, now a junior, is a two-time defending state champion. She will stay at 136. A second Mullen female competitor, Makenzie Krenz, will be at 127.
Alina Antillon and Krenz will join female wrestlers from Regis Jesuit to form a co-op in order to compete in dual meets.
Howes, in his fourth season, expects about 20 competitors. The number is down, he said, “but I still think we can be pretty solid.”
Complete season details have yet to be completed, but various particulars have been announced:
--- The regular season will begin Monday.
--- Wrestlers may have no more than 20 dual matches and will wear masks up to entering the mat.
--- Regionals will be March 5-6. There will be 112 competitors on each day. Day 1, weights 106-145 for boys, 100-127 for girls; Day 2, 162-Hwt. for boys, 136-215 for girls.
--- Regionals will have 16-competitor brackets. Top two boys in each regional will advance to state; top 4 in girls regionals will advance.
--- There will be four regionals for boys, two for girls. Mullen boys will be in Class 3A with Alameda, Arvada, Bennett, Denver West, Englewood, Elizabeth, Fort Morgan, Holy Family, John F. Kennedy, Abraham Lincoln, Platte Valley, Sheridan, Skyview and Strasburg.
--- The state tournament will be March 12-13 -- 2A and 3A on Day 1 and 4A and 5A on Day 2. Each bracket will have eight competitors and there will be consolations.
--- The site for the state tournament is TBA.
Mullen will open its season at home against Arapahoe on Tuesday, 6 p.m.
And with no fans permitted, the Mustangs will have their home matches in its indoor facility, the Green Room.
A season of change and differences awaits, but Howes remains confident.
“We have some holes to fill,” he said, “but we’re looking forward to it. We have a good core of kids and it should be fun.”
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