As athletes across Routt County are enjoying a well-deserved holiday break, they are also keeping in mind what will be on the horizon come January as their coaches double down on training and expectations to get them ready for a new stage of the season.

Fortunately for area wrestlers, they went into the winter hiatus with a very big tournament testing their capabilities.

Steamboat Springs, Hayden and Soroco each gave their all during the Warrior Classic Dec. 20 and 21 in Grand Junction, a Western Slope mainstay hosted by Central High School since 1976.

The long-running tourney is typically the final event in December for wrestlers and always a display of endurance as grapplers from multiple states converge for two days of intense competition.

While neither Hayden nor Steamboat teams saw any athletes make it to the podium, they made it a good ways through their brackets.

For the Sailors, both senior George Redfern (157 pounds) and sophomore Eli Bever (175) went 2-2, with junior Colton Melland (138) and sophomore Lucas Johnson (144) each 1-2 over the weekend.

For Hayden, nearly all the Tigers took at least one win during the double-elimination Warrior, with standout performances by seniors Ethan Silva (3-2, 150) Joe Harris (3-2, 175) and JD Case (4-2, 215) just missing placement.

With three junior varsity athletes down the road at the Fruita Monument JV Invite, Hayden saw all of them make the podium — both freshman Jarrett Davis (5-1) and sophomore Ryder Weber (157) went 5-1 to earn third place in their weights, while sophomore Elier Mendoza (132) was 4-2 for fourth.

This year marked a new era for the Warrior Classic with the addition of a one-day girls tournament utilizing Central’s auxiliary gym. While female wrestlers were not barred from competing in recent years, this is the first year Central has offered an event specifically for girls.

While it was the Moffat County girls group that shone brightest of Yampa Valley teams with five placers and a champion in Kayla Deaton for the inaugural girls tourney, the Soroco squad also had a chance to show their stuff at the high-profile event.

Freshman Lexi Iacovetto (110) and sophomore Delilah Babcock (170) each went 1-2 for the Rams, while freshman Addi Whaley finished sixth in the 100-pound division.

Her 2-3 run for the day began with two wins by major decision (15-2, 12-0) before the latter stages started getting tougher as she got pinned twice but was assured a spot in the championship bouts determining first, third and fifth.

Though it ended with a sudden victory outcome in the rematch with her Eaglecrest opponent, Addi avoided getting another loss by fall — due in no small part to her coaches.

Her dad Jay and older sister Larhae were more than vocal from her corner.

Larhae, who placed third at state in her senior season back in February and hit the podium all four years, was on her feet most of the match screaming advice.

“I think she was just getting tired. She wrestled that girl earlier and beat her 12-0,” Larhae said. “She’s had a great season so far, but this is probably the toughest tournament she’s been to.”

From the coaching angle, Larhae said it was amazing to see an event like the Warrior, especially as girls wrestling continues to grow in the state.

“It’s cool to see the next generation come up like this,” she said. “More girls keep coming out, and that’s awesome to see.”