What to know about the 2024 tournament

The CHSAA state wrestling tournament comes to Ball Arena this Thursday through Saturday for three days of mat madness in downtown Denver. Here’s a look at some of the top storylines going into the event:

Chasing history: There have been 30 four-time champions in state wrestling history, with all 30 of them boys. That could change this weekend with Pomona’s Persaeus Gomez and Calhan’s Ciara Monger chasing their fourth state titles in the fourth edition of the CHSAA-sanctioned girls championship. Both enter the week unbeaten and nationally ranked by FloWrestling.com. Translation: It will take a significant upset to keep Gomez (30-0, No. 4 at 130) or Monger (29-0, No. 10 at 235) from reaching the top of the podium.

Four for four: A year after nary a boys wrestler had a shot at joining the four-timers club, as many as four could be crowned Saturday: Buena Vista’s Caleb Camp (2A-132), Mullen’s Dale O’Blia (3A-120), Fort Lupton’s D’mitri Garza-Alarcon (3A-138) and Thompson Valley’s Jackzen Rairdon (4A-144). If the foursome survives the week unscathed, the Class of 2024 will match 2020 for the most four-time boys champions in one year. That’s far from a given, however, especially with Camp and O’Blia sharing brackets with returning state champions. For O’Blia, a potential semifinal showdown with Elizabeth junior Thomas Lee (32-9) looms Friday night, while Camp is on a collision course with unbeaten Trinidad senior Eddie Bowman (32-0) in Saturday’s championship round.

Three for one: The toughest bracket in the tournament? Look no further than the Class 4A 190-pound draw, which features three returning state champions vying for one crown: Windsor sophomore Evan Perez (37-2), Mead senior Dalton Berg (34-3) and Roosevelt senior Bronco Hartson (31-1). The top seed belongs to Hartson, a state title-winning quarterback for the Rough Riders football team, with Perez and Berg on the other side of the bracket. Perez handed Hartson his lone loss this winter with a 3-2 decision at the Westminster Invitational in January. Repeat that feat and Perez will be halfway to joining the four-timers’ club.

Pomona powerhouse: It’s the Panthers’ world and we’re just living in it. Pomona has won five straight Class 5A boys team titles and seven of the last eight — a run rivaled only by Ponderosa’s eight-peat between 2003 and 2010. Once again it’s the Mustangs who stand as the biggest threat to Pomona’s reign. Nebraska commit Tyler Eise and two-time champion Jacob Myers headline a loaded Ponderosa squad. But with 10 regional champions and three sophomore returning state champs (Zaidyn Quinonez, Derek Barrows and Kalob Ybarra) of its own, Pomona is as deep as they come.

More Pomona? Yes, more Pomona: As if the Panthers haven’t collected enough hardware over the past decade, they soon could be adding a girls title to the trophy case. Pomona is currently ranked No. 1 in the CHSAANow.com girls rankings and appears ready to dethrone Chatfield as the premier girls wrestling program in the state. The Chargers have won three straight girls team titles and bring six state qualifiers to Ball Arena this week, while last year’s runner-up Discovery Canyon boasts seven state qualifiers. But neither can match the quality at the top of Pomona’s roster led by senior unbeatens Persaeus Gomez (30-0) and Desza Munson (38-0) and sophomore returning state champion Timberly Martinez (35-1).