Feb. 7—Wipe down the wrestling mats, then away the tears of joy and pain. This weekend, high school grapplers have a chance to qualify for next week’s state wrestling tournament at Ball Arena.

They’ll need to finish inside the top four in their regional weight class.

Scattered around the state are 20 regional tournaments (16 for boys’ wrestlers and four for girls’), 11 of which include teams from the Boulder, Broomfield and Longmont areas.

Regional champs will be seeded No. 1-4 in their respective state bracket, based on the strength of their regional field. This year, region winners’ state placement is determined by a points system that calculates the rest of the field’s past finishes at previous state tournaments.

Below is a quick look at where local teams will be. The state tournament is Feb.15-17.

5A Region 2

When/where: Friday and Saturday at Ponderosa High School

Area teams: Centaurus and Monarch

Notable: Centaurus’ Xavier Valentin-Bradford is the top-ranked 285-pound wrestler in 5A, while teammate Mason Shore is third in 190s. Levi Carlucci (seventh in 5A 120s), the brother of former state champ Cole Carlucci, could make a run at a regional title for Monarch.

For the love of God: A wrestling story of exuberance, not exasperation

5A Region 3

When/where: Friday and Saturday at Legacy High School

Area teams: Fairview and Legacy

Notable: Nothing is a sure thing, especially inside the twists and tweaks of a wrestling match. But Legacy’s defending champ Quinn funk (215s) has been pretty close to it this winter, as he’s still undefeated. Fairview’s Sam Benton could give him the most trouble this weekend. Funk has beaten Benton by a 3-0 and 1-0 decision this season.

Stick a pin in it: Legacy’s Funk breaks family curse, wins title

5A Region 4

When/where: Friday and Saturday at Legend High School

Area teams: Boulder

Notable: Boulder’s Abe Pomeroy (144s) is in a tough bracket. He’s ranked eighth in On The Mat’s latest 5A 144 rankings — but three wrestlers ahead of him are also in his region, led by Columbine’s Silas Thompson (fifth).

4A Region 1

When/where: Friday and Saturday at Windsor High School

Area teams: Frederick, Longmont, Niwot and Silver Creek

Notable: If we’re going by OTM projections, Longmont’s Hunter Knight could be battling Windsor’s Cale Meuchel for the 215-region title. They are ranked third and second in the class. Meanwhile, Frederick’s Diego Rangel (seventh in 4A 165s) and Niwot’s Gavin Burrage (seventh, 4A 175s) are among the favorites to qualify out of their bracket. Silver Creek has no ranked wrestlers, per OTM.

4A Region 2

When/where: Friday and Saturday at Greeley West High School

Area teams: Erie and Skyline

Notable: Erie’s Carson Hageman (165s) and Wyatt Walston (175s) are favorites to win, per OTM’s rankings. Skyline’s Tobias Pinson (132s) and Rene Perez (285s) are projected to compete in the finals.

Football: Erie’s Hageman is the Longmont Times-Call defensive player of the year

4A Region 3

When/where: Friday and Saturday at Lewis-Palmer High School

Area teams: Mead

Notable: No team in the area is as stacked as Mead going into regionals. The Mavericks have six wrestlers ranked inside the top five of their weight class, including defending champs Jake Glade (157s) and Dalton Berg (190s), and 4A OTM No. 1s in Otto Black (138s) and Leister Bowling IV (175s). Per OTM, Mead is ranked second as a team behind Windsor in 4A.

Stacked: Mead’s wrestling room filled with decorated, driven grapplers

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