PRESCOTT VALLEY – With back-to-back state titles under his belt, it was clear that Juaquin Olivas had already mastered wrestling at the high school level.
Turns out he can celebrate pretty well, too.
The Sunnyside senior capped a stellar career with a 3-1 overtime win in the Division I 132-pound title bout on Saturday at Prescott Valley Event Center and quickly followed it with a back flip on the mat to celebrate winning his third straight state championship.
“Everything was just built up inside and it all came out,” said Olivas, who signed with Grand Canyon University. “I’m definitely going to miss wrestling for Sunnyside.”
Olivas reached the state finals in each of his four years and said he was saving the flip for a special occasion. He was one of six Southern Arizona wrestlers to win Saturday as the Blue Devils crowned three champions and took home the state runner-up trophy for the second year in a row. Mesa Mountain View topped Sunnyside by 35 points to repeat as team champs.
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“It means mission not accomplished,” coach Anthony Leon said. “We’ve got to train harder and work harder for next year.”
Amphitheater crowned three state champions and finished second in Division III on Friday night, click here to read more.
Olivas certainly had one of the more dramatic finishes of the day and the same could be said for Ironwood Ridge junior Danny Vega, who captured his second straight state title when he pinned Tucson’s Joseph Delorme late in the third period of the Division I 113-pound championship to finish off a 34-0 season. Vega held a 4-3 edge heading into the final two minutes.
“I came in here wanting to dominate as I always do but he kept it close at first and then once I saw an opportunity to pin him, I took it,” said Vega, who has won 77 straight matches.
Sunnyside freshman Roman Bravo-Young started the afternoon off by winning the Division I 106-pound championship to improve to 43-0 while Cholla senior Jesus Urquidez won the same weight class in Division II.
A little while later, Sunnyside junior Angel Laguna used a late near fall to seal an 11-1 victory in the 120-pound final.
Marana senior Travis Howard was the final local winner of the meet when he topped his opponent 4-1 in the Division I 220-pound title bout to finish off a 48-0 season.
Howard immediately proceeded to pick up coach Bruce Hiley and tear his pants in the process.
“I honestly cannot describe what’s going on right now,” said Howard, who is signed to play baseball at Santa Clara. “I wrestled for Bruce four years and he told me on the first day that he would make me a state champ.
“All I had to do was listen and work as hard as he told me to.”
Here's a look at the top six finishers in each weight class for both Divisions I and II:
DIVISION I
106 pounds
1st Place - Roman Bravo-Young of Sunnyside
2nd Place - Jason Holmes of Chandler
3rd Place - Ray Ramirez of Red Mounatin
4th Place - Jayce Cunha of Ironwood Ridge
5th Place - Nolverto Gutierrez of Skyline
6th Place - Jordan Martinez of Desert Vista
113 pounds
1st Place - Danny Vega of Ironwood Ridge
2nd Place - Joseph Delorme of Tucson
3rd Place - Steven Santos of Red Mounatin
4th Place - David Salazar of Sunnyside
5th Place - Rylan Evans of Mesa Mountain View
6th Place - Brady Schall of Hamilton
120 pounds
1st Place - Angel Laguna of Sunnyside
2nd Place - Alex Carrillo of Desert Vista
3rd Place - Paden Mason of Mountain View
4th Place - Jonathan Latin of Basha
5th Place - Tanner Waite of Highland
6th Place - Michael Reyes of Chandler
126 pounds
1st Place - Ryan Farina of Corona Del Sol
2nd Place - Branson Tibbs of Boulder Creek
3rd Place - Alfredo Calzadillas of Ironwood Ridge
4th Place - Matthew Panepinto of Chandler
5th Place - Brandon Vela of Willow Canyon
6th Place - Kade Williams of Mesa Mountain View
132 pounds
1st Place - Juaquin Olivas of Sunnyside
2nd Place - Cory Crooks of Boulder Creek
3rd Place - Jerod Booth of Mesa Mountain View
4th Place - Jayce Clary of Pinnacle
5th Place - Marco Dominguez of Ironwood Ridge
6th Place - Luis Navarro of North
138 pounds
1st Place - Taylor Rich of Sandra Day O`Connor
2nd Place - Cahan Saska of Buena
3rd Place - Joel Rico of Chandler
4th Place - Kyle Taylor of Ironwood Ridge
5th Place - Marc Farina of Corona Del Sol
6th Place - Jarod Breeser of Mountain Ridge
145 pounds
1st Place - Josh Jaramillo of Dobson
2nd Place - Jeremy Berson of Ironwood Ridge
3rd Place - Anthony Wokasch of Mesa Mountain View
4th Place - Julio Ortega of Red Mounatin
5th Place - Taber Spray of Boulder Creek
6th Place - Kyle Robbins of Cesar Chavez
152 pounds
1st Place - James Williams of Mesa
2nd Place - Blake Monty of Mesa Mountain View
3rd Place - Derek Tangap of Sunnyside
4th Place - Soloman Reyes of Westwood
5th Place - Jack Darveaux of Highland
6th Place - Franklin Makabe of Desert Vista
160 pounds
1st Place - Austin Moyer of Westwood
2nd Place - Weston Taylor of Mesa Mountain View
3rd Place - Harold Johnson of Cesar Chavez
4th Place - Marcos Frias of Sunnyside
5th Place - Nathan Suwyn of Mountain Ridge
6th Place - Ryan Spadafore of Corona Del Sol
170 pounds
1st Place - Keiffer Taylor of Mesa Mountain View
2nd Place - Sebastian Mordeca of Sunnyside
3rd Place - Taylor Rico of Corona Del Sol
4th Place - Sirach Bice of Tucson
5th Place - Chad Porter of Desert Vista
6th Place - Kile Pendergraft of Boulder Creek
182 pounds
1st Place - Jonathan Allen of Mesa
2nd Place - Isaac Morales of Highland
3rd Place - Chris Davis of Sandra Day O`Connor
4th Place - Santiago Fierros of Dobson
5th Place - Gabe Ortiz of Buena
6th Place - David Tilley of Marana
195 pounds
1st Place - Jeremiah Imonode of Desert Vista
2nd Place - Kiefer Sites of Valley Vista
3rd Place - Phoenix Hollen of Mesa Mountain View
4th Place - Jarom Christensen of Sandra Day O`Connor
5th Place - Jared Treichel of Skyline
6th Place - Phil Shambre of Red Mounatin
220 pounds
1st Place - Travis Howard of Marana
2nd Place - Austin Scoggin of Red Mounatin
3rd Place - Lewis Arendall of Centennial
4th Place - Chase Boiseau of Chaparral
5th Place - Nicolas Estrada of Mesa Mountain View
6th Place - Patrick Fitzgerald of Desert Ridge
285 pounds
1st Place - Roy Lopez of Mesquite
2nd Place - Esequiel Valles of Red Mounatin
3rd Place - Storm Downing of Marana
4th Place - Matthew Hutka of Mountain Ridge
5th Place - Grant Eager of Westwood
6th Place - Zach Budzik of Desert Vista
DIVISION III
106 pounds
1st Place - Jesus Urquidez of Cholla
2nd Place - Ben Ramos of Apollo
3rd Place - Jacob Davis of Catalina Foothills
4th Place - Javier Ortiz of Mountain View
5th Place - Atilano Escobar of Liberty
6th Place - Joshua Herrera of Desert Edge
113 pounds
1st Place - Brandon Courtney of Desert Edge
2nd Place - Travis Widmer of Queen Creek
3rd Place - Jason Ayala of Cienega
4th Place - Dayton Dunham of Campo Verde
5th Place - David Wuertemburg of Cibola
6th Place - Thomas Kaye Jr of Peoria
120 pounds
1st Place - Gator Groves of McClintock
2nd Place - Josh Olson of Cibola
3rd Place - Camden Garcia of Mountain View
4th Place - Jacob Rios of Dysart
5th Place - Alex Dunham of Campo Verde
6th Place - Colt Collier of Gila Ridge
126 pounds
1st Place - Joshua Kramer of Desert Edge
2nd Place - Alexander Juarez of Cibola
3rd Place - Ty Love of Sunrise Mountain
4th Place - Constatino Murillo of Sahuaro
5th Place - Tyler Francisco of Cienega
6th Place - David Fiore of Peoria
132 pounds
1st Place - Marco Groves of McClintock
2nd Place - Kyle Ford of Gila Ridge
3rd Place - Ronnie Reed of Barry Goldwater
4th Place - Samuel Johnson of Marcos De Niza
5th Place - Trey Waltz of Mountain View
6th Place - Frank Perez of Cibola
138 pounds
1st Place - James Deitz of Liberty
2nd Place - Ryan Sondrup of Marcos De Niza
3rd Place - Zachary Davis of Catalina Foothills
4th Place - Shavez Hawkins of Poston Butte
5th Place - Martin Martinez of Cibola
6th Place - Matt Saba of Queen Creek
145 pounds
1st Place - Andres Gandara of Cibola
2nd Place - Tyler Werch of Mountain View
3rd Place - Jason Zuckerman of Raymond Kellis
4th Place - Jake Dale of Liberty
5th Place - Austin Carroll of Higley
6th Place - Trenton Haile of Yuma
152 pounds
1st Place - Jacob Swift of Deer Valley
2nd Place - Parker Hawk of Campo Verde
3rd Place - Ronald Brown of Cienega
4th Place - Josh Vigh of Desert Edge
5th Place - Tristin Decker of Sunrise Mountain
6th Place - Jesus Cortes of San Luis
160 pounds
1st Place - Talon Vaughn of Prescott
2nd Place - Jordan Sheldahl of Gila Ridge
3rd Place - Miles Nuessle of Liberty
4th Place - Quintin Jones of Mountain View
5th Place - Javier Pro of Desert View
6th Place - Jatory Winters of Ironwood
170 pounds
1st Place - Cameron Wells of Higley
2nd Place - Eric Fimbres of Glendale
3rd Place - Xavier Cunningham of Cactus Shadows
4th Place - Chase Hulbert of Liberty
5th Place - Jaylen Nelson of Lake Havasu
6th Place - Kenny Gay of Maricopa
182 pounds
1st Place - Vicente Guerrero of Cibola
2nd Place - Blake Smith of Liberty
3rd Place - Ruben Lozano of Barry Goldwater
4th Place - James Dick of Catalina Foothills
5th Place - Austin Chatwood of Ironwood
6th Place - Skyler Cavanaugh of Cienega
195 pounds
1st Place - Daniel Hernandez of Prescott
2nd Place - Riley Hansen of Liberty
3rd Place - Samuel Reeves of Vista Grande
4th Place - Davin Woolridge of Sunnyslope
5th Place - Andrew Vera of Cienega
6th Place - Tazmen Roe of Apollo
220 pounds
1st Place - Danny Reyes of Barry Goldwater
2nd Place - Frankie Leal III of Peoria
3rd Place - Michael Spencer of Poston Butte
4th Place - Ruben Mendez of Tolleson
5th Place - Simon Jacuinde of Cibola
6th Place - Eric Riojas of Agua Fria
285 pounds
1st Place - Darrin Kauer of Campo Verde
2nd Place - John Trout of Bradshaw Mountian
3rd Place - Jerome Doss of Cholla
4th Place - Gao Sheng of Kingman
5th Place - Tyler Collins of Cactus Shadows
6th Place - Sebastian Yarnall of Barry Goldwater
Contact high school sports coordinator Daniel Gaona at 807-7761 or dgaona@tucson.com. On Twitter @DanielGaona13
