A huge sense of urgency.

A year ago, Despain sat on the sidelines at regionals with a broken vertebrae. So Friday, moments after Despain pinned Boulder's Mike Stengel in 1 minute, 55 seconds, to advance to today's Class 5A Region 3 semifinals, Despain waxed philosophical. The senior 135-pounder already has enlisted in the Marines, a decision he sprung on his unsuspecting parents months ago. And even though various aches and pains leave him wondering even now if he's injured or not, he knows the opportunity that's before him, and it's one he wants to seize.

"Sitting and watching last year, that destroyed me inside," Despain said. "It's all or nothing this year, and that's what drives me."

Despain was one of six Poudre wrestlers who were driven at Friday's opening of regionals and won two matches to reach today's semifinals.

Anthony Doyle pinned his quarterfinal opponent at 112 pounds after receiving a first-round bye. His brother, 140-pounder Brandon Doyle, pinned his first-round opponent and won his quarterfinal by major decision, 17-7.

Austin Hodgson, 145 pounds, wore a large, white bandage wrapped around his head to protect a mat burn suffered earlier this week. And he pinned his quarterfinal opponent to advance.

At 171 pounds, Brennan Whitman won twice, pinning his quarterfinal opponent, Luke Vandenberg of Loveland, in 5:51.

And at 189 pounds, Derek Whitman, the top seed in the region, pinned Aurora Central's Matt Reyes in 33 seconds. Four seconds in, Whitman picked Reyes off the match, dropped him on the ground, plopped on top of him and quickly ended things.

"I like to wrestle," Whitman said. "I just want to get to get it done quick."

Poudre's Leighton Chapman, Kyle Hawkes, Bobby Lang, Alan Pace, Gabe Whitman and Chris Jones advanced through consolation matches and remain alive for spots at at the Class 5A state championships in today's finals. The top four wrestlers in each weight class advance to next weekend's state meet.

Grandview finished Day 1 leading with 102.5 points. Brighton was second with (92.5) and Poudre was third (90.5).

"We had some guys step up and get some pins," Poudre coach Barret Golyer said. "We lost some close matches, too. The guys have to be ready for every match."

Despain reached state as a sophomore, but his junior season was an ordeal. He snapped the vertebrae in September while practicing. Rehabilitation and weightlifting got him back on the mat in time for the start of the season. But about a year ago, on the same day officials drew regional seedings for the 2004 tournament, he snapped the vertebrae again in practice. It rendered him unable to make another run at state.

That sparked the destruction Despain mentioned. It was something his coaches and those around him could see, too.

Golyer said he and his staff used to watch Despain compete and think, "Well, if this is his final match, that's great."

Now, Golyer sees something a little different.

"He has nothing to lose," Golyer said. "He is wrestling with a new life."

"Last year, it brought us all to tears. I was in the hospital in the preseason when he broke his back. It looked like you could see an eighth-of-an-inch gap in pictures of his spine. It took a lot of prayers and stuff like that to get to where Mike is now."

Golyer said since Despain enlisted with the Marines, he has become a more mature wrestler, someone who competes with more purpose.

"He wrestles like a senior," Golyer said.

Despain's father, Ed, joked that he might try to talk his son out of honoring his deal with the Marines. He's scheduled to leave June 13.

In another pact of significant meaning, Despain and Derek Whitman have a deal this year that says if one makes state, the other will, too. Both face tall tasks today. Despain faces Brighton's Brent Schriner in his semifinal. Whitman, who took third in state last year, opens today with Highland Ranch's Robby Unger. They say they want to match the feats of Cole Gorton and Kyle LeValley, Poudre most-recent state champions. Gorton and LeValley each won state titles in 2002, and LeValley won another in 2003.

"We made it at the beginning of the season," Whitman said. "We want to be the next Cole and Kyle."