Sunnyside gets a surprise at 5A state wrestling championships

A couple of points was all it took to let Ironwood Ridge HS slip into the No. 1 seed for Saturday’s 5A-II high school State Wrestling Team Tournament.

Sunnyside HS has won 262 consecutive dual meets, although not including tournaments in that record run.  The Tucson school has  earned the title, “wrestling powerhouse,” that is so often applied to it.

So Ironwood Ridge knew it had its work cut out to earn a top seed for the state team tournament Saturday.  They did it at yesterday’s individual wrestling championships at Wells Fargo Arena by edging Sunnyside, 201.5 to 199.

Ridge had four state champions when the dust finally settled and won eight out of the nine placement matches.

There were four repeat champions: Scott Filbert (Ironwood Ridge HS) at 119; Shane McGough (Desert Mountain HS) at 125; Luke McClure (Ironwood) at 135; and Kory DeBerry (Sunnyside) at 145.  It was the third title for both McGough and DeBerry.

Ironwood Ridge’s top seeding earns it a match-up Saturday with No. 8 Mountain View (Marana) and Sunnyside will get a No. 2 seed and a match with No. 7 Cibola HS.

In 5A-I, Corona del Sol HS finished atop the team standings with a 180.5 score to earn a No. 1 seed and a match-up with No. 8 Red Mountain at the team tournament.  Mesa HS finished second at 126 for the No. 2 seed and a date with No. 7 Skyline HS on Saturday.

Reyes Cortez from Maryvale HS drew the spotlight match as he went for his third championship in the 135 competition.  The match held all the drama expected, going into overtime.  But Cortez pulled out the win over Paul Looper from Brophy Prep, 8-6.

Those who successfully defended their titles: Daniel Mendoza (Westwood HS) at 119; Mike Hamel (Mesquite HS) at 140; Ryan Miller (Corona del Sol HS) at 160; and Derek Felton (Corona del Sol) at 171.  It was Miller’s third title.