DENVER – Thomas Martell pushed the pace and never relented.

The Air Academy 165-pound wrestler trailed 1-0 most of the match Friday and nearly scored on a takedown in the second period of the semifinals against Pueblo East’s Logan Trujillo.

But Martell settled for an escape point late in the third period and secured three on a takedown with 35 seconds left in overtime to secure a 4-1 victory at Ball Arena. Martell said he was so focused that he didn’t realize he won in overtime.

“That was my gameplan going in. We gotta burn him down,” Martell said. “The third period is where you win matches. I didn’t even know it was OT, I was just wrestling the whole time. That’s the culture we have: Everyone goes to work, tries their best and gets it done.”

Martell was one of three Kadet wrestlers to secure a berth in Saturday’s finals as Dylan Saba (120) and David Burchett (157) each earned wins in the semis to advance and helped Air Academy tally 113.5 points to sit in third after day two of the CHSAA State Championships.

The overtime victory for Martell marked the Kadets’ second semifinals overtime win and those occurred in consecutive matches. Burchett faced Cheyenne Mountain’s Wyatt Boley in his match and led 1-0 after the second and Boley tied it at 1-1 in the third to send it to overtime.

Burchett secured three takedown points in the final seconds and four for a near fall to defeat Boley and earn a shot at his second-ever state title. Burchett will face Pueblo East’s Justus Freeman in the finals.

Pueblo East, which is first with 145.5 points, was one of the many teams in Air Academy’s path during last week’s regionals, where Freeman earned a victory against Burchett. The Eagles 157-pounder also earned a 4-3 win against Burchett at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament in December.

But Burchett defeated Freeman with a sudden victory win in January at the Rocky Welton tournament. Air Academy coach Brandon Lucero said he’s ready to see Burchett even this year’s series between the two wrestlers.

“There are no more cards to play,” Lucero said. “The best wrestler is going to win that one.”

Kadets freshman Dylan Saba continued his strong performance in the 120-pound bracket and earned an 8-2 decision against Sand Creek’s Tristan Pino, who won the 4A 106-pound crown last season.

Saba will face Severance’s Drake VomBaur in the finals. VomBaur is going for his third consecutive state title. The Kadet freshman has an opportunity to play spoiler and Lucero said he’s excited for the matchup.

“The reason we went to 120 is for this match,” Lucero said. “Now we’re in the state finals and they haven’t wrestled each other yet and I think (Saba) has something coming for (VomBaur.) Drake is tough, but I know my guys and what my guys bring to the table. I want them to let it fly and I want our guys to go out there and compete the way that they know how to compete.”