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Spartans Send Seven to State

February 23, 2008

Thomas Jefferson Wrestling takes 3rd place at Regional Tournament.
By Matthew Mankoff

awrestle.jpg    The Thomas Jefferson Spartan wrestling team traveled to Cherokee Trail High School to take 3rd place in the Regional Tournament this past weekend. Having already accomplished their goal of winning the Denver Prep League Championship, the Spartans focused their efforts on qualifying as many people as possible for the State Tournament. In order to qualify for the State Championships, wrestlers must finish in the top four in their weight class at the regional competition.

    After going undefeated in league matches for the first time in school history, expectations were high for the Spartans, and they did not disappoint. TJ took third place out of the seventeen teams that competed in the tournament, behind only Broomfield and Thompson Valley. The Spartans were also able to qualify seven wrestlers to compete in the State Tournament. The wrestlers who qualified were 2nd place finishers Evan Duran, Matt Francis, Boris Tubic, and Michael Hawkins, along with 3rd place finishers Alec Groditski, Matt Nordlander, and Chris Salazar. 

    This is the most wrestlers that Thomas Jefferson has ever qualified, with the next closest total coming when the Spartans qualified five wrestlers in 1986. “It was great to qualify that many people for state,” said Hawkins. “Everyone has worked hard to get to this point, and now lets hope that our hard work will pay off with state medallists.”


    There will be little time for the qualifiers to celebrate, as they take to the mats at the Pepsi Center starting Friday, February 22. " It was great to qualify, and now I am prepared for the opportunity to compete against the best of the best," said Nordlander.

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Written by Matthew Mankoff · Filed Under Headlines, Sports, Wrestling