The GHS wrestling teams wrapped up the regular season in exciting form last week. The girls secured podium finishes against 20 rival schools at the Lady Panther Invite in Walsenburg. The varsity boys took on Alamosa at an away duel, while the JV boys climbed to the leaderboard of the Western Slope JV Championships at home.
Now, the Cowboy grapplers are making final preparations for the regional tournament on Feb. 7 and 8. The boys will travel to Grand Valley, and the girls will host the 4A championships at the GHS gymnasium.
On Jan. 30, the boys team faced a daunting challenge against the Alamosa Mean Moose. The Cowboys competed without key seniors Brock Fry and Damyon Funk, and took on one of the strongest wrestling programs in the division. Zach Benson notched the only Cowboy victory of the night. The sophomore pinned his opponent in the 138-lbs bout, and added needed points to the Cowboys tally. Despite falling 61-12 on the night, Head Coach Mike Seijo remained optimistic about the upcoming regional tournament.
“Alamosa is always a top team, and it’s not the end of the world,” Seijo said. “We still have plenty of time to fix what we need to fix ahead of state. We’ll be keeping practices short and sweet, and build our confidence going into regionals this weekend.”
The GHS ladies tied a bow around their regular season in Walsenburg on Feb. 1. Roxie Uhrig maintained her blistering pace and snagged a first-place finish. The sophomore pinned all three of her opponents in path to the 140-lbs trophy, and moved her overall record to 30-2 on the season. Isabelle Crown weaved her way through the consolation bracket and pinned her opponent in the fifth-place match on Saturday. The senior now sits 15-13 on the season heading into regionals.
The JV boys shined on their home mats at the JV championship on Feb. 1. Lincoln Hemmert opened with back-to-back technical falls over opponents from Buena Vista and Grand Junction. The freshman added a pair of pins in the following two rounds, and secured the first-place finish with a technical fall over Kaisen Davis of Buena Vista in the 106-lbs bracket. Freshman Angel Zeferino also crested the podium, just falling short in the 175-lbs championship bout to finish second place. Gavin Smejikal took third in the 175-190-lbs division after an undefeated run in the consolation bracket, while Jerico Espinoza took fourth in the 126-lbs tournament.
“The JV results are super exciting for our future,” Seijo said. “It shows that these guys are learning, and it’s great for these guys to take that momentum with them into the offseason.”
Next up, the GHS varsity wrestlers will test their mettle against top opponents in the regional championships. Then, it’s full speed ahead to the state tournament at Ball Arena in Denver on Feb. 13-15.
(Alex McCrindle can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or alex@gunnisontimes.com.)
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here