2-11 Winter Roundup
Wrestling qualifies 10 through regionals; both hoops stumble in league tourney; ice hockey loses at The Edge.
Color Mullen wrestling coach John Howes as quite pleased after Saturday’s regional rounds.
The Mustangs will send eight boys qualifiers to the three-day Colorado Tournament that begins on Thursday, Feb. 16, as well as two girls.
“It was good,” the veteran coach said on Saturday night. “All of the kids wrestled great this weekend.”
At Abraham Lincoln High School in Class 3A Region 3, two-time defending champion Dale O’Blia led the way. The junior had a bye and victories by fall, major decision and technical fall in winning the 113-pound weight class. He has won the past two titles at 3A 106.
Tony Herrera (106), Isaak Chavez, (138) and Kaleb Valdez-Lemos (175 and a runnerup at state a year ago) joined O’Blia as champions. Gilbert Antillon was runnerup at 126 as was Oliver Scelza at 190. Caleb Van Meter (Hwt.) was third and Amani Fuqua (215) fourth.
For girls, in Region 1 at Douglas County in Castle Rock, Karin Simons was fourth at 155 to qualify and Jzunie Jones was runnerup at 170.
Teamwise for regionals, Mullen (207.5 points) was second to Severance (276) in biys and Mustangs girls were 16th (51) to champion Douglas County’s 144.
Howes said the seeding for the bracketing, due in the next couple of days, has been modified to a true, 1-through-16 list and is eager to see where his Mustangs will begin.
“Even though they all wrestled great,” he said, “this is just the next step to next weekend, that’s all.
“We’re not done.”
And while Mullen is rated No. 2 as a team in 3A and multiple Mustangs are ranked highly at their respective weight classes, the realistic quest to put as many as five boys in the finals is on “and if we worry about ourselves, we’ll be fine,” Howes said.
BOYS
CLASS 3A REGION 3
At Abraham Lincoln H.S.
Top team scores – Severance 276, Mullen 207.5, Holy Family 169.
INDIVIDUALS (with season record)
106 pounds – Tony Herrera (39-3), champion.
113 – Dale O’Blia (36-3), champion.
126 – Gilbert Antillon (36-7), runnerup.
132 – Cayden Robbins (14-7), fifth.
138 – Isaak Chavez (34-5), champion.
144 – Cooper Loth (20-19), was 2-2.
150 -- Richard O’Brien (28-14), was 1-2.
157 – Colin Hart (14-19), was 2-2.
165 – Estevan Loya (18-14), fifth.
175 – Kaleb Valdez-Lemos (37-3), champion.
190 – Oliver Scelza (28-14), runnerup.
215 – Amani Fuqua (11-8), fourth.
Hwt. – Caleb Van Meter (19-13), third.
GIRLS
REGION 1`
At Douglas County H.S.
Mullen team score – 41 pts., 16th.
100 – Cassandra Linhardt (4-16), was 0-2.
155 – Karin Simons (7-13), fourth.
170 – Jzunie Jones (21-7), runnerup.
190 – Maggie Martinez (8-11), fifth.
Boys Basketball
In Centennial, the host Raptors rolled to an early lead and fought off the Mustangs in an 86-76 victory in the first round of the Centennial League Tournament.
The Mustangs, the No. 7 seed in the eight-team field, are 8-13.
Mullen, which turned it into a contest and certainly had its chances, trailed 18-11 after a quarter, then climbed to within 37-35 by halftime and kept it at 55-53 through three quarters.
However, Eaglecrest sealed it with a 31-point fourth quarter and made 14 3-pointers for the game.
Ish Aceves topped the Mustangs with 23 points. Jordan Leslie added 16 and Cisco Jerez contributed 15.
The Mustangs will be in the second round of the league tournament on Thursday, Feb., 16, at Overland in Aurora.
EAGLECREST 86, MULLEN 76
Mullen 11 24 18 23 -- 76
Eaglecrest 18 19 18 31 -- 86
Mullen – Leslie 6 2-2 16, Jerez 6 0-0 15, Brendle 2 2-2 6, Stewart 0 0-2 0, Jones 2 3-5 9, Aceves 9 4-5 23, Castillo 1 2-2 5, Roth 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 13-18 76.
Eaglecrest – King 9 5-5 30, Taylor 4 0-2 8, Brown 6 2-2 18, Chapa 3 2-2 10, Heflin 2 7-8 11, Ray 3 0-0 6, Noone 1 0-0 3, Kalimba 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 16-19 86.
3-pt. goals – Jerez 3, Jones 2, Leslie 2, Aceves, Castillo; King 7, Brown 4, Chapa 2, Noone.
Girls Basketball
In Aurora, the host and defending big-school champion Wolves held the Mustangs without a field goal as the decisive stretch in taking a 47-33 decision in the first round of the Centennial Tournament.
Mullen, the four-time-defending 4A champion, is 9-12.
The Mustangs, who misfired on their first 11 field-goal attempts, were scoreless in the first quarter and did not make a basket until 10 minutes, 48 seconds into the game.
Still, Mullen stayed within range and trailed only 34-27 with 6:27 to play; however, cold shooting and turnover issues continued as Grandview pulled away for a second victory over Mullen (the Wolves won 53-34 on Jan. 26) this season.
Emma Kerschen led Mullen with nine points and McKenzie Wood had eight.
The Mustangs, the No. 5 seed in the field, will host No. 8 Smoky Hill on Thursday, Feb. 16. Mullen won the earlier meeting 89-13 on Jan. 28.
GRANDVIEW 47, MULLEN 33
Mullen 0 8 15 10 -- 33
Grandview 15 9 10 13 -- 47
Mullen – Arangua-Egbert 1 0-0 3, Zienkewicz 0 0-0 0, Schwertner 3 0-0 7, Wood 2 4-5 8, Jones 1 1-4 3, Pelster 0 0-2 0, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Johnson 1 0-0 3, Kerschen 3 0-0 9, Archibald 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 5-11 33.
Grandview – Yi 1 1-2 4, Betts 11 7-13 29, Kalala 1 0-0 2, McClain 0 1-2 1, Dillehay 1 1 3-6 5, Tebben 0 0-0 0, Roberson 2 0-0 4, Dehaven 0 0-0 0, Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 12-23 47.
3-pt. goals – Kerschen 3, Arangua-Egbert, Schwertner; Yi.
Ice Hockey
In Littleton, the Mustangs outshot Liberty, but came up short against the Lancers 6-2 in the 4A North.
Mullen is 3-15 overall, 1-7 in the loop.
Jeff Witwer and Michael Gifford scored for Mullen. Miles Fusting and Archer Shea had assists.
The Mustangs also outshot the Lancers 40-34.
The regular-season finale for Mullen will be Tuesday, Feb. 14, against Summit at The Edge, first puck to drop at 2:30 p.m.
LIBERTY 6, MULLEN 2
Liberty 1 3 2 -- 6
Mullen 1 0 1 -- 2
Mullen goals – Jeff Witwer, Michael Gifford.
Mullen assists – Miles Fusting, Archer Shea.
Mullen shots – 11-12-17 -- 40.
Mullen saves – Will Dobson, 38.
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