Adams State College Wrestling: Wrestling’s Green & Black dual set for Wednesday

ALAMOSA, Colo.- San Luis Valley wrestling fans will have their only opportunity for nearly two months to see the Adams State College Grizzlies, picked to win their first Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title since 1996, in action at home this Wednesday as Coach Jason Ramstetter and his squad hold their annual Green & Black dual in Plachy Hall starting at 7 p.m.

A total of eight matches are expected to be contested during the evening as Ramstetter has split his squad, ranked fifth in the NCAA Division II National Wrestling Coaches Association Preseason Poll, into two teams that will be guided by assistant coaches Jared Deaguero and Evan Copeland.

Deaguero will coach the Green squad, led by 125-pound senior Arsenia Barksdale (Norfolk, Va.), the reigning NCAA Division II National Champion in the weight class. Barksdale, gunning to become a 4-time All-American later this season, is slated to face freshman Corey Johnson (Newcastle, Calif.), one of the Grizzlies’ top recruits, in the opening match of the night.

Johnson, who will be wrestling for Copeland’s Black squad, was a 3-time California High School State Championship qualifier while wrestling at Del Oro High School and placed eighth in that tournament last year.

The 133-pound match-up will pit returning starter Dominic Valencia (Albuquerque) wrestling for the Black squad, and redshirt freshman Bradley Spence (Moriarty), going for the Green team in a battle of two New Mexicans. Valencia went 10-6 a year ago finishing fifth at the RMAC Championships while Spence, a state champion while a senior high school, posted a 4-5 record at open tournaments as an unattached wrestler a year ago.

The 141-pound match-up should also be intriguing and could go a long ways in determining the final outcome of the dual. Sophomore Josh Hensley (Alamosa, Colo.), who qualified for the 2008 NCAA Division II National Tournament as a freshman, will wrestle for Copeland’s squad and will face 2-time state champion Daniel Kelly (Parker, Colo.), formerly of Ponderosa High School.

On paper, Kelly’s Green team appears to have the advantage in the first of two 149-pound bouts on the lineup card as Jared Deaguero will coach his cousin Joey Deaguero (Commerce City, Colo.), a 3-time national tournament qualifier and 2-time All-American, who comes into the year ranked sixth in the nation.

Deaguero has also been tabbed to the Preseason All-RMAC team along with Barksdale and RMAC Preseason Wrestler of the Year Kyle Sand (Arvada, Colo.), not expected to wrestle on Wednesday.

He will be going against redshirt freshman Nick Jones (Arvada, Colo.), a 2-time high school state champion while at Pomona High School, who will be wrestling for the Black team.

The second 149-pound bout will pit sophomore Jesse Long (Albuquerque, N.M.), going for the Green team, against junior Nick Dionisio (Greenwood Village, Colo.), who will be wrestling for the Black team. Long redshirted last season after transferring from Lassen (Calif.) Community College while Dionisio is returning to the lineup after serving as a part-time starter in place of Joey Deaguero, who was injured for much of last season.

The next match on the card should also be interesting as the Black team’s Noomis Jones (Arvada, Colo.), a 2008 All-American who is ranked sixth in the nation coming into his senior season, will square off with sophomore Torben Walters (Olney Springs, Colo.), who will wrestle for the Green squad in the 157/174-pound match-up.

Jones, the Grizzlies’ returning starter at 157 pounds had a fine 26-7 junior campaign and won the RMAC/NCAA Division II West Regional last year. Walters, who is dropping down to 174 pounds this year, was the Grizzlies starter at 197 pounds a year ago. He went 7-8 last year after returning from a 2-year church mission.

Wednesday’s 197-pound match could go a long way in determining who will be Ramstetter’s starter this year as newcomers Dominic DeMarco (Shingle Springs, Calif.), going for the Green team, and Rico Garcia (Canon City, Colo.), going for the White team will do battle. DeMarco placed sixth at the 2008 California State High School Championships before attending Marion (Ala.) Military Institute last year, where he earned National Collegiate Wrestling Association All-America honors with a seventh place finish in that organization’s national tournament. Garcia, who is coming off his redshirt season on the Grizzly football team, was a state champion and 2-time regional champion while in high school.

Fans should also expect to be entertained by the final match of the night as redshirt freshman heavyweight Taylor Stam (Parker, Colo.) will wrestle for the Green squad against the “Three Amigos”, who will be representing the Black squad. The Three Amigos are made up of freshmen Chris Ellis (Fountain, Colo.), Tyler Haney (Beloit, Wisc.) and Tyler Yates (Pueblo West, Colo.), all of whom are true freshmen heavyweight wrestlers. Each member of that group will wrestle one period against Stam with each period starting in the neutral position.

Wednesday’s event is free and open to the public and will give fans an opportunity at picking up the Grizzlies’ winter/spring sport schedule cards and posters.

The Grizzlies then begin their regular season on Saturday at the Wyoming Cowboy Open in Laramie, Wyo.

Visit ascgrizzlies.com for the latest news and info on Adams State College Athletics.

Courtesy of Adams State Sports Information.

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