State high school wrestling – unified and semi-final matches

One of the reasons the Eagles sat atop 4A was this young man, Aaden Valdez, missing an eye and nearly half of his fingers, he marches onto the finals at 132 pounds with a 3-1 victory, “Kept moving forward and my accident made me stronger, I feel great. Me knowing that and letting everybody know that this has made me stronger and it’s not going to hold me back,” says Valdez.

Valdez will face Jason Hanenberg of Air Academy. In Class 2A Fowler’s Seth McFall wins his semifinal and will compete for a state title at 106 pounds. As will Jacob Gonzalez of Pueblo Centennial. Gonzalez won by major decision, moving one round farther than he did last year, “Feels amazing I’ve been working really hard these last four months just to get here, it feels great,” says Gonzalez.

Patrick Allis of Discovery Canyon continued his tear through the tournament, he is onto the finals at 120 pounds. At 145 pounds, Cheyenne Mountain senior Mike McFadden returns to championship Saturday with a 8-3 victory, “Every grueling practice, every time my insides hurt and I felt like I couldn’t do any more I just knew it would be worth it at the end of the season, gotta push through the pain and ride the wave. I frickin rode the wave and it got me there. You know I felt like I had more heart, I wanted it way way more I feel and it paid off big time,” says McFadden.