DENVER | The bet David Hoage lost that brought him to wrestling continues to pay off — for him.
The Smoky Hill junior — a football player who only took up the sport when he lost a bet to a coach who challenged him to a match — continued a fast ascent by winning his first round match at the Class 5A state wrestling tournament Thursday night at the Pepsi Center.
Hoage was joined by Grandview’s Alex Santillan (113 pounds), Brice Hartzheim (170) & Joe Renner (195), Eaglecrest’s Caeleb Knoll (106), Regis Jesuit’s Antonio Segura (132), Overland’s Brandon Gustafson (160) and Hinkley’s Emery Bemis (170) as first-time state qualifiers who had their hands raised on the opening night of the grueling three-day tournament.
“It’s amazing, I don’t know why I didn’t wrestle sooner,” Hoage said shortly after his match. “I’m a first-year wrestler, so this is amazing. I’ve shocked even myself.”
As he mentioned, the difference between Hoage and the other first-time winners that moved into Friday’s 12:45 p.m. championship quarterfinal round is that this is his first season wrestling at all.
His progress has been striking from the beginning of the season to now and he had a perfect measuring stick with his first round state matchup against Northglenn’s Trenton Suazo, who pinned Hoage (23-5) in the first period of a match at the Arapahoe Invitational, the first tournament of the season back in early December.
This time, the first-period pin went to Hoage, who gathered in the red-mohawked Suazo and held him down for a seeming eternity as Buffaloes’ coach T.J. Loyd gave him advice on how to finish it. The referee finally awarded him the pin with 23 seconds left in the period.
The win over Suazo was the second straight in Hoage’s mini-“revenge tour,” as he pinned Grandview’s Will Wikowsky — another state qualifier — in the third-place match at last week’s Region 4 tournament. Wikowksy won by fall when the two met in a Centennial League match in December.
“After every match, he’s getting more and more confident,” Loyd said. “He’s starting to get the hang of it and retaining all the information we’re giving him and he’s enjoying it…he’s come into wrestling like he’s been doing it his whole life.”
Hoage’s challenge becomes significantly larger in the quarterfinals, where he will face Grand Junction’s Hunter Tobiasson (36-3).
Joining Hoage in wins by fall in the opening round among first-timers were Santillan (28-10), who downed Mountain Range’s Hunter Carr in the third period and Hartzheim (35-12), who finished his match with Pomona’s Brock Bernall early in the final period.
Santillan and Hartzheim face Monarch’s Ryan Kuykendall (25-12) and Grand Junction’s Jay Skalecki (34-5), respectively, in the quarterfinal round.
The most dramatic match of the first night for an Aurora first-time state qualifier involved Bemis, Hinkley’s only state participant.
The sophomore went into overtime with Heritage’s Dakota Barela in a 1-1 tie before he shot in and got behind Barela seconds into the extra period and secured the takedown for a 3-1 victory. Bemis (29-12) next draws Legacy’s Aiden Funk (37-8), a third-place finisher at last season’s state tournament.
Segura — the only freshman from an Aurora program in the state tournament — also won a close match as he bested Brighton’s Bryson Krohn 3-2. Next up for Segura (34-5) is a quarterfinal against Broomfield’s Darren Green (42-4), last season’s 5A runner-up at 120 pounds.
Knoll — aka “Chalupa” — gained some revenge for a loss in the first match of the season in his rematch with Cherokee Trail’s Andrew Chilton in the only all-Aurora matchup of the opening round. Knoll (44-5) took command early on his way to a 14-1 major decision win that earned him a quarterfinal match against Brighton’s Kenny Sailas (42-4).
Gustafson helped his Overland team finish 3-for-4 in first round when he went ahead of Pomona’s Gage Bernall late in the second period on his way to an 11-6 victory. Gustafson (27-12) takes on Chatfield’s Eric Manzanares (40-6) in the quarterfinals.
Full team scores and first round Aurora results, here
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel