Only one team to top the Tigers Dec. 3 at the Warrior Invitational Wrestling Tournament held at Arapahoe High School.
Points earned by the eight Lakewood wrestlers who finished in the top four of their respective weight classes gave the Tigers second place in the team rankings.
The sharp blast of referee whistles filled the air and blended with the cheers of supporters and shouted advice to the wrestlers by coaches during the almost non-stop action on the four mats that covered the Arapahoe High School gymnasium floor.
"We have a pretty good team this season," Tigers Coach Daren Stennes said during a lull in the action for his team. "We have returning veterans including state champion Gabriel Dinette who is our 152-pounder plus two returning state qualifiers in Jake Debruyn at 195 and Hayden Stills at 295 plus four to six guys who should be contenders to go to state for us."
Stennes said about 30 kids came out for wrestling which is more than last year but it was not as many as some of the year's he has coached since taking the position in 1996.
"This is a good wrestling team that includes a lot of talented individuals," Stennes said. "We don't have the depth we have had some seasons but our starting lineup is very good."
Jeff Arguello was the first Tiger to finish on the podium, as he took third-place honors at 113 pounds. Dinette was Lakewood's first weight division champion as he earned the 152-pound first-place medal by pinning or scoring technical falls in all four of his bracket matches. He won the weight division title by scoring a 15-4 technical fall over Zack Arbuckle of Heritage.
Two other Tigers, Michael Irouye at 220-pounds and Hayden Still at 295 pounds also won their weight division titles.
Other Lakewood wrestlers who placed in the top four in their weight divisions included Calvin Robertson, fourth at 160, Jake Debruyn second at 195, Parker Beastrom finished third at 220 pounds.
Wrestling is an individual and a team competition. Every wrestler seeks to win the weight division title. However, each wrestler also earns team points by winning matches. A weight division champion earns 14 points.
Coronado won the Warrior Invitational team title with 191 points and the Tigers took runner-up honors with 142 points.Legend finished third with 115 points. Chatfield finished 12th and Columbine finished 13th.
Coach Stennes said the Warrior Invitational is good for his wrestlers.
"There are good teams here today so we know our guys will be challenged," he said. "This also is the first long day of wrestling with each guy wrestling at least four times.
It helps emphasize the stress we put on conditioning and it also reminds some of our guys being in shape for football is very different than being in shape for wrestling."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Tigers-capture-second-place,240010
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