Ryan Nava is human, after all.
And that could spell trouble for the rest of Class 3A's 145-pounders this weekend; Bayfield's senior, already zoned in on re-appearing in the State Championship match for quite some time will now be in the Mile High City with something of a chip on his shoulder:
A first loss on his 2016-17 record was dealt to him at a time when most wrestlers want to be at their best. The 10-6 upset came courtesy of Intermountain League rival Brandon Buhr of La Jara-based Centauri.
"Nava just got taken down, really, by Brandon, and just kind of got out of his game a little bit," BHS Head Coach Cole Baughman said, after returning from last weekend's 3A-Region I Championships held in Buena Vista. "Kind of had a bad match, but he's got a little bit of a fire under him."
Now a refocused 35-1 (Buhr, a junior, improved to 39-9), Nava returns to Pepsi Center for a fourth time-along with four other Wolverines-hunting the top prize at the Feb. 16-18 CHSAA State Championships.
He was to initially face Woodland Park freshman Cole Gray (29-15) Thursday afternoon on Day 1, but results were unavailable at press time.
"You know, honestly, I was a little disappointed; I wanted to take seven," Baughman said, still proud of his #9-ranked crew's sixth-place, 126.5-point showing at BVHS. "I thought we had a good shot to, but you know, we had a really tough region; there was some good wrestling all weekend long! It was an emotional weekend, that's for sure."
Particularly for senior Cody Speece. Wrestling down a weight, he went 3-3 and finished fifth at 113 pounds after falling to Craig-based Moffat County freshman Daniel Caddy (a 3-2 decision) and Delta senior Logan Mayberry (a 5-1 verdict), and finished his prep career with a 30-19 season mark.
Freshman Colby Joosten (10-16), bumped down into Speece's regular spot at 120, went 2-3 and scored sixth-place points at the meet for BHS but was also denied the chance to compete in Denver.
"It was just a couple tough losses," Baughman said. "I wish we would have had a little more time."
Sophomore Daniel Westbrook (16-17) went 1-2 at 195, classmate Colby Baker (16-24) 0-2 at 106, freshman Shane Moore (4-21) 1-2 at 160, and fellow freshman John Foutz (7-15) 0-2 at 182.
"We wrestled pretty well," Baughman said, "and with everything I think we did as good as we could - set a benchmark for what we want to be improving in the future, you know?"
But first, back to the present.
After winning his first two Region I matches, following a first-round bye, 126-pounder Garrett Beebe finally met his match in Olathe senior Andrew Godfrey, as the Pirate senior (now 36-3) prevailed 7-4 in the first-place showdown. But the Wolverine junior, 29-9, qualified for Denver as most expected and began his title quest Thursday against Conifer freshman standout Zander Condit (37-9).
Senior Macoy Michaeli went 3-1 in Buena Vista and saved third at 170 pounds by pinning DHS sophomore Aiden Barrios in 1:37. Having improved to an outstanding 39-7, Michaeli's first-round Pepsi Center match was to be against Condit teammate Jack Prentner, a 26-7 senior.
Three up, two down at the regional, 132-pound junior Jake Sandrey (40-9) opened in Denver against Gilcrest Valley junior Brandon Damian (36-4), having qualified with a by-rule elimination of Moffat County junior Ethan Powers (who he'd defeated earlier)-after being pinned by Rifle junior Colt Rohrig in only 44 seconds.
His State sights long trained upon possible Day 3 foe Sam Deseriere of Denver-based Mullen, Bayfield's #3-ranked heavyweight Sam Westbrook handled business in Buenie, and improved to 38-0 this winter with a 2-0 Region I run capped by a 5-3 statement win over #2 Logan Church (38-2) of DHS.
And as if having the same first name as the Wolverine wasn't enough, Deseriere-the defending state champion-hit Pepsi Center also 38-0 after edging Denver Sheridan senior Ricky Ayala 7-6 in the Region III finale.
"Everybody has got some decent first matches, for sure," Baughman stated, definitely thinking about Nava's meeting Gray and Westbrook beginning against Lamar junior Austin Hall (20-19).
"We just have to go into State confident, keep ourselves rolling. We're wrestling real tough right now anyway, so I think it's just the mental preparation. Everybody's got to show up."
DID YOU KNOW: Westbrook is one of only nine undefeated grapplers, ranging from 2A all the way to 5A, entering the Championships. As fate would have it, Deseriere was Class 3A's only other such individual.
