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Spartans Send Seven to State

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

    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.  Read more

SPARTANS TAKE CITY

Dramatic performance leads TJ past East.
by Matthew Mankoff

    The Thomas Jefferson wrestling team went into their match against the East Angels on Thursday with high hopes.

     The Spartans had not won a city title in wrestling since the 1995 season, and had never gone undefeated in league play. In fact, just three years ago the Spartans had finished last place in league following the unexpected death of Coach Luke Graham. Now the Spartans were looking to cement their place as a power in the Denver Prep League.

    Going into the dual against the Angels the Spartans were undefeated in the Denver Prep League this year and on the verge of a perfect league season. “Our coach told us before the dual that we had a great chance to beat this team, and to go out there with confidence and wrestle to our abilities,” said Senior Michael Hawkins. Read more

Spartans Cruise Past Warriors

Spartans enjoy an easy win as they prepare for a showdown with East.
by Devon Fitzgerald

    The TJ Spartan wrestling team took on the Montbello Warriors on Thursday night, and came away with an easy and decisive victory.
    The reason the match was so easy is because there were only three wrestlers who competed: Matt Norlander, Peter Taylor, and Freshman Robert McMacken . The Warriors were only able to put three wrestlers on the mat. If a team does not have a wrestler for a certain weight class then it qualifies as a forfeit and the opposing team receives a pin-fall, or 6 points.  The Spartans took eleven forfeits for 66 total points. Justin Tara said, “Even though Montebello only were able to put three kids on the floor, it was good to get another league win before we go against East, which will decide the city title.”
    In the three matches that the Spartans competed in they went 1-2. Peter Taylor was the only one to be victorious for the Spartans. However, this was Norlander’s first match in almost a month.
    “There is not much you can do when the other team does not have enough guys, but a win's a win and we'll take it,” said Senior leader Michael Hawkins.
    Clearly, the Spartans are on a roll as they take their momentum from the win towards their pursuit of a City Championship.

 

Spartan Wrestlers Outstanding at Invitational

Behind Hawkins Performance TJ Takes Second
by Matthew Mankoff 
     The Thomas Jefferson Wrestling team traveled to John F Kennedy High School to take part in the JFK Invitational last Saturday.
     The Invitational featured some of the state's premier wrestling teams, such as Montrose, Douglas County, and Montezuma-Cortez. As a team the Spartans finished in second place with 167 points, just behind the Indians of Montrose who ended with 192 ½ points.
    TJ was lead by superb performances by Senior Michael Hawkins and Junior Boris Tubic, who both took first place at their respective weight classes. Hawkins was also named the tournament MVP, and continues his terrific season with a 25-0 record.
    Also placing for the Spartans were Matt Nordlander and Chris Salazar, who both finished in second. Justin Tara and Alec Groditski placed third, while Peter Taylor finished fourth. Both Evan Duran and Matt Francis placed fifth for the Spartans.
    TJ will look to carry their tournament success into league duals against the Montbello Warriors and the East Angels. If TJ takes care of business against Montbello, their match against East on January 31st will determine the league champion. “We are starting to peak at the right time,” said Head Coach Mike Laurita.

Hawkins and Spartans Prove They Belong

Outstanding Hawkins defeats Wyoming State Champ to take first place in 285lb class.

by Devon Fitzgerald

    This past weekend the TJ wrestling team traveled to Vernal, Utah for the Tournament of Champions where they wrestled their hearts out. The boys finished 21st place out of 34 teams, which is right where Coach Laurita expected his team to be.

    Wrestlers report that the tournament was mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. The team started their venture with a six-hour van ride and not a lot of space to oneself. The athletes were on a strict diet, so the road trip was not filled with snacks and fast food. This was just the start of a long and rigorous weekend full of wrestling.

    On Saturday, beginning at 9:00 am, the team had to weigh in to see if they made weight. If a wrestler was three pounds under he could go enjoy a nice hearty breakfast, but if not he could only have a bagel or two. Read more

Spartans Pin the Patriots

TJ wrestlers dominate George Washington
by Devon Fitzgerald

    The wrestling team took care of business last night defeating the George Washington Patriots 75-3 in a dominating performance.

    The Spartans were not pressed very hard throughout the night as they scored a victory in every match but one. The one match lost was by freshman standout Brandon Tara who was battling the flu, yet he managed to show a courageous effort in the loss.

    The usual dominating performance came from the undefeated Michael Hawkins out-dueling his opponent by pin-fall in the first round. “It was a good win for the team. I just tried to do my best and use my ability to overpower my opponent,” said Hawkins. Clearly, he overpowered his opponent along with a few other teammates including Evan Duran, Chris Salazar, Boris Tubic, and Matt Norlander all showed dominating performances on the mat, scoring pin-falls in the first round. Justin Tara also kept his record of 11 wins and 3 losses by forfeit because the Patriots didn’t have a contestant in his weight class. Read more

Double Takedown

Wrestlers pin Kennedy and Lincoln to the mat.

by Matthew Mankoff & Devon Fitzgerald

    The Thomas Jefferson Wrestling team had a doubleheader  on Thursday night, beating league rivals Lincoln and Kennedy. With those victories, the Spartans' season goal to be city champions has begun.
    The Spartans are starting to build their reputation as a dominant wrestling team in the city as well as the state. Their first victim was the Lincoln Lancers, who in past years have given the wrestlers some tough matches. However, this night the Spartans showed a dominant performance winning 66-16 despite a slow start. The Spartans lost two early matches, but were able to turn it around with strong performances across the board. Read more

Wrestling Takes Down League Opponents

The TJ wrestlers dominate Lincoln and Kennedy.

By Matthew Mankoff

The Thomas Jefferson Wrestling team had a doubleheader Thursday night, beating league rivals Lincoln and Kennedy.

    Their first match was against the Lincoln Lancers, and even after a slow start the Spartans beat the Lancers handily 66-16.  Strong performances were turned in by Evan Duran, Alec Groditski, Michael Hawkins, Matt Nordlander, Dana Rusk, Chris Salazar, Adam Simpson, Justin Tara, MK Taylor, Patrick Taylor, and Boris Tubic.

    The second match was another dominating performance by the Spartans, as they destroyed the Kennedy Commanders 82-0.  The wrestlers won every match they competed in against Kennedy, but the Commanders' lack of athletes led to only four wrestlers competing for the Spartans in the match up.

    On the night, outstanding performances were turned in by Justin Tara and Chris Salazar, who added a 20 second-pin each to their 2-0 records.  Tara, Salazar, and the rest of the Spartan wrestlers will look to continue their success against Cherokee Trail at TJ on December 13th.

Driving to the Top

 TJ Wrestling prepares for a big year on the mats.

by Matthew Mankoff and Devon Fitzgerald

    Values such as character, pride, and determination took the Thomas Jefferson Wrestling Team to new heights last year, and this season they will try to continue that pattern of success.  
    Last year under the tutelage of second-year coach Mike Laurita the Spartan wrestlers had three boys make it to the state tournament, two of whom (Michael Hawkins and Alfonzo Moore) became State Finalists.  The bar is now set high for this year’s squad, because prior to last season the most recent wrestler to place in the State Tournament was in 1999.  The Spartans believe the success from last season will motivate them in the upcoming year.  Coach Laurita stated, “Last year’s success has made many of the kids become more serious about wrestling; as far as focusing on fundamentals and technique.  It has allowed the kids to start believing in the program.”
    Each year Laurita establishes a tagline for the season in order to keep his wrestlers focused on their goal.  This year’s goal is clear: “The Drive to the Top.”  The slogan could not be more appropriate, as Laurita said the goals for this season are to win the league title and to qualify several wrestlers for the State Tournament. Read more

Wrestling Schedule

Varsity Schedule

 

12/1	Cherry Creek Classic		-	5th Place
12/4	Thomas Jefferson at Ridgeview		-	W 60-24
12/6	Thomas Jefferson at Kennedy		-	W 82-0
12/13	Cherokee Trail at Thomas Jefferson		-	L 31-44
12/20	Thomas Jefferson at Westminster		-	W 72-9
1/9	Thomas Jefferson at George Washington		-	W 75-3
1/13	Thomas Jefferson at Arrupe Jesuit			W 72-9
1/17	Denver South at Thomas Jefferson		-	W 68-12
1/24	Montbello at Thomas Jefferson		-	W 71-9
1/31	Denver East at Thomas Jefferson		-	W 42-35
2/2	Thomas Jefferson Tournament *		-	2nd Place
2/7	Thomas Jefferson at Denver West		-	W 54-27

State Qualifiers: Evan Duran, Matt Francis, Alex Groditski, Matt Nordlander, Boris Tubic, Michael Hawkins

State Tournament: 21st Place

State Medalist: Matt Francis - 6th Place

 

Coaches

Head Coach- Mike Laurita

Assitant Coach- Matt Laurita

Assistant Coach- Lannon Quintana

 

 

Roster

Last Name	First Name	Grade
Allen	Demetrius	10
Briley	Mike	9
Choy	Anthony	11
Cole	Daniel	9
Cooley	Chris	11
Currington	Thomas	10
Dolan	Robert	10
Duran	Evan	10
Estrada	Guillermo	10
Francis	Jake	9
Francis	Matt	11
Gomez	Victor	9
Groditski	Alec	10
Hampton	Lonnie	9
Hawkins	Michael	12
Hoffman	Justin	10
Hoffman	Marcus	9
Johnson	Alex	9
Ladd	Spenser	9
Martin	Scott	9
Mays	Isiah	11
McMackin	Robert	9
Nordlander	Matt	12
Ortega	Eugene	11
Pittam	William	11
Rudebusch	Rylan	9
Rusk	Dana	10
Salazar	Chris	11
Scarlett	Joey	11
Simpson	Adam	10
Sinopoli-Martinez	Kelly	9
Tara	Brandon	9
Tara	Justin	12
Taylor	Mary K	11
Taylor	Patrick	12
Taylor	Peter	10
Tubic	Boris	11
Velez	Dante	10
Volk	Aly	10
Walker	Carl	10
Walker	Randy	9
Webster	Steven	11

More on TJ Wrestling

 

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