DENVER – The state wrestling championships inside Ball Arena are one of the most electric weekends in CHSAA’s calendar.Twelve wrestlers from Montezuma and Dolores County, including seven first-time qualifiers, soaked in the atmosphere under the bright Denver lights.
At the end of 72 hours of high drama, three of the 12 athletes reached the podium as top-six finishers in their divisions, closing out another season of strong representation from the Four Corners on Saturday in the capital city.
With one of its largest groups of qualifiers in years, Dolores saw junior Kenji Edwards lead the area’s all-staters with a third-place finish at 132 pounds in 2A. Edwards dropped his first match of the tournament, then won five straight through the consolation bracket, headlined by a 7-5 nail-biter in the consolation semifinals against Nucla’s Jackson McCabe to advance to the third-place match. Edwards then pinned Gabriel Martinez of Las Animas midway through the second period to take the bronze.
Edwards’ teammates also fared well, as senior and state-tournament veteran Nathan Hill (144 pounds) posted a 2-2 record in his final run with the black-and-red to finish one match shy of the podium. Sophomore Daniel Jacket (215 pounds) collected a win in his first state appearance to advance to the second round of the consolation bracket, while junior River Wickstrom battled well but fell in both his state-debut matches.
The Montezuma-Cortez girls enjoyed another all-state performance from sophomore CeJae Snyder, who added a fifth-place result in the 115-pound division of the 4A state championships to her third-place run from her freshman year.
Snyder reached the semifinals with two early pins before losing to eventual state champion Gionna Duran of Pueblo Central. After heading to the consolation bracket, Snyder claimed a pin of Natalia Quezada of Moffat County to finish on a high note with another state medal.
Snyder’s teammate, junior Annalisa Abeyta, got her feet wet at the state level with an appearance in the 110-pound division, where she also fell to eventual state champion Piper Montoya of Canon City in Friday’s opening action.
All three male Panthers earned wins, with junior Teagun Samora (120 pounds) reaching the 3A quarterfinals in his state debut before dropping his final two matches. Seniors Bodie Stiegelmeyer (113 pounds) and Rusty Snyder (144 pounds) also finished 1–2 in their final state appearances, with Snyder losing twice in sudden victory.
Dove Creek’s two first-year qualifiers, Keaton Banks and Conner Horn-Beanland, helped deliver another all-stater for head coach Colten Huskey. Banks advanced to the quarterfinals with an early win, then added two more victories, including a win over Lyons’ Rowan Gantzer to reach the podium rounds. Banks took sixth in the 106-pound class, while Horn-Beanland (126 pounds) collected his first-ever state win on the way to the second round of the consolation bracket.
Mancos sophomore and repeat state qualifier Traycer White opened the weekend with a victory to advance to the 2A 120-pound quarterfinals, but finished 1-2 after dropping his next two matches.
Ignacio’s Lincoln DeKay brought home a gold for the area’s wrestlers, closing out a phenomenal career with a state title in the 165-pound class of the 2A division. In the team rankings, Dolores tallied 23.5 points, good for 29th in the state’s 2A classification. Dove Creek checked in five places further down the standings, while M-CHS took 35th in the boys 3A field and the girls finished 45th in the 4A standings.
