The Gunnison High School girls wrestling team finished fifth at the 2026 CHSAA 4A Girls Wrestling State Championships to close out the season behind state champion Roxie Uhrig.
“It was incredible with the limited number of girls we had, the successes we had,” said head coach Mike Dawson. “Granted, we had some really good athletes in Romie and Roxie, but the freshmen stepped up when they needed to, and they overcame the adversity that they were given, and really showed what this program can be.”
Roxie Uhrig, a sophomore, became the first girls state champion in Gunnison High School history at the tournament while wrestling at 145 pounds. Romie Uhirg, Roxie’s sister, finished as the state runner-up at 155 pounds.
The two freshmen, McKayla Singer and Tea Waggoner both had great tournaments as well. At 135 pounds, Singer placed sixth in her first time at states and Waggoner, at 130 pounds, did not place but gained valuable experience as a freshman.
Roxie’s run at the state tournament was dominant. She pinned all four of her opponents all in the first period. She pinned her first opponent after 43 seconds, her second opponent after 1:11, her third opponent after 1:14 and her fourth opponent after 1:21. Roxie Uhrig finished with a 38-2 record on the season.
Romie Uhrig finished as the state runner-up while wrestling at 155 pounds. She won her first three matches, pinning all three of her opponents. She pinned her opponent in the first round after 1:49, her opponent in the quarterfinal after 1:12 and her opponent in the semifinal after 3:40. In the championship match she lost by a 3-0 decision.
She had a chance to win it, said Dawson. She had her opponent turned in the third period but she was able to flip through and Romie wasn’t able to score any points. Romie Uhrig finished the season with a 37-6 record.
“For Romie, it was such a journey,” said Dawson. “This time last year, she had just gotten cleared up off of crutches, [and] couldn’t even run. So to make it to the championship and to be that competitive is just a great journey for her.”
Romie Uhrig is the lone graduating senior on the team, but she isn’t done wrestling yet. She is committed to wrestle next year at Western Colorado University in Gunnison.
Singer, who was hurt for almost half the year, placed sixth and now has criteria for next year. She won her first match, pinning her opponent after 1:03, but lost her second match by a 13-7 decision. She won her next two matches, the first by fall after 3:54 in the second round of the consolation bracket and the second by a 10-4 decision in the third round of the consolation bracket. She lost in the consolation semifinals by a 11-3 major decision and lost again in the fifth place match by a 6-1 decision. Singer finished the year with a 19-11 record.
“She wrestled great in her consolation round match to become a placer,” said Dawson. “Most of the girls in her bracket were upperclassmen, so she’s gonna be somebody to watch out for next year, for sure.”
Waggoner was the final Cowboys to wrestle in the tournament. She was pinned after 1:08 in her first match of the tournament, came back and won her next match by fall after 1:48, but her tournament ended when she lost her next match by a 7-0 decision. Waggoner finished the season with a 29-11 record.
“She wrestled a tough tournament, but again, she had a lot of upperclassmen in her bracket,” said Dawson about Waggoner. “We just put the work into the off season. The fact that they made it to the state tournament and they were competitive is what we want to see for those freshmen.”
With Romie being the only graduating senior on the squad, there is a lot of potential for the team to continue to grow from this season. The middle school talent pool is big and they have real potential to help build the program.
Regardless, the girls had an incredible season, especially with the limited number of girls, said Dawson.
Next year the girls will look to continue the success from this year. Dawson emphasized that girls will wrestle a similar strength of schedule, hopefully build up their dual schedule and host their own home tournament next year.
“We’re just excited to keep building, making these younger kids better and stronger and more skilled, give them more tools in their arsenal and continue to build on the success we have,” said Dawson. “Our goal every year is to get a little better, even if it’s by one or two qualifiers or one or two placers.”
Jack Sellner can be reached at jsellner@orourkemediagroup.com.
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