Gunnison High School’s Romie Uhrig was recognized by the Positive Athlete organization as one of Colorado’s most positive athletes for the 2025-26 season.
Uhrig, a member of the Gunnison High School softball and girls wrestling team, was identified as the most representative of “How Positive Athletes O.P.E.R.A.T.E” at Gunnison High School. O.P.E.R.A.T.E stands for Optimistic, Puts team first, Encouraging, Respectful, Admits Imperfections, True heart for others and Embraces service.
There were over 1,000 nominations in the state of Colorado and Uhrig became one of just 28 student athletes named by Positive Athlete this year.
“I’m just super proud of her and her family,” said Uhrig’s wrestling coach Mike Dawson. “[She’s] just a super positive athlete and somebody that you can really rely on as a coach.”
Dawson was the coach that nominated Uhrig. He emphasized that he nominated her because of her perseverance and her ability to fight through adversity throughout High School.
Uhrig started wrestling her freshman year, but her season was cut short after she broke her collarbone just before Christmas. Her sophomore year she came back and placed fourth at the state meet, but a knee injury during her junior softball season wiped out her whole junior season.
A year later, Romie was named team captain of the wrestling team for her senior season. She finished the season with a 36-7 record and was the state runner-up. She lost in the state championship match to last year’s state champion.
Dawson emphasized that Uhrig’s leadership was instrumental to the team’s success. The team, albeit small, had Uhrig’s fingerprints all over it.
“She included all of our girls,” said Dawson. “[She] made sure they understood what we were doing when we're teaching something or demonstrating something and made sure that they did it right. She wasn't just there for herself, she was there for the whole team.”
Uhrig’s wrestling journey isn’t over yet. She was one of the first girls to sign on to wrestle for Western Colorado University’s Women’s wrestling team in their inaugural season next year.
Dawson noted that Uhrig will leave a legacy of resilience. She showed her teammates that even when something bad happens, you can still achieve your best, emphasized Dawson.
“I think the best is still yet to come from her,” said Dawson.
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