Beginning the Colorado High School Activities Association State Wrestling Championships with 11 competitors, just three Routt County wrestlers advanced to Saturday’s set of matches on Saturday, Feb. 18. 

Alongside Soroco junior Larhae Whaley was Hayden’s Chase Preston and Cody Hawn who both saw early exits Saturday morning.

Wrestling in the 113-pound weight class, Preston, a junior, was one of the first to hit the mat Saturday morning, falling in 4 minutes, 11 seconds to Payson Pene of North Fork. 

Hawn, a senior, lost to Meeker’s Brendan Clatterbaugh, a familiar foe who had beaten Hawn in the championship match of the regional tournament at 190 pounds just a week earlier. 

Hayden head coach Matt Linsacum was happy to see so many of his athletes make it far into the state tournament, but is excited to take the next step and get more of his wrestlers further in the state tournament next year.

His message to the Tigers was to reflect on the year and be proud of all they accomplished, but to stay hungry for the future. 

“I’m proud of our kids, the way that they wrestled and it is what it is,” Linsacum said. “I’m going to do the reflecting for myself as a coach and try to figure out what I can do to get those guys to the next level. Hopefully they have that same mentality too and take it upon themselves to find a way to get better.”

Soroco’s lone competitor on Saturday was Whaley, who fell short of her goal of becoming a state champion, taking sixth overall in the 105-pound bracket. This junior will no doubt have another shot to win it all next year. 

Soroco head coach Jay Whaley, Larhae’s father, was impressed with his two female wrestlers this season and is hopeful to grow his boys team now that they have more experience from this year. 

“Like every year, it had its ups and downs,” Jay said. “I was a little disappointed we couldn’t get some boys here, we have a bunch of boys who are pretty green and new to the sport. I’m proud of the girls, we brought both girls which is the whole team if you want to think about it that way.”

Similar to Soroco, Steamboat Springs also qualified just two wrestlers for state. Juniors Henry Dismuke and Finn Rodgers made the trip to Denver but two early losses from Dismuke and a fall in the second wrestleback for Rodgers left the Sailors without a wrestler for a Saturday bout. 

Throughout the tournament, all Routt County wrestlers agreed the emotion and intensity is different at state. It’s difficult to eliminate the noise and not crack under the pressure. 

“At state, you have a lot more people watching you so it brings out all the nerves,” Hayden senior Aaron Fuentes said. “You don’t really have the patience to keep going with the match and you want to get it over with. You get in the mindset where you want it to be over but you want to win.”

Colorado High School Activities Association State Wrestling Championships
Feb. 16 through Feb. 18

Steamboat Springs
165
Round 1: Ritchie Bruno, Brush, fall Finn Rodgers, Steamboat Springs, 2:49.
Cons.: Finn Rodgers, Steamboat Springs, SV Colin Duckworth, Fort Morgan, 10-8.
Cons.: Christopher Galicia, Fort Lupton, maj. dec. Finn Rodgers, Steamboat Springs, 13-3.
175
Round 1: Cole Curtis, Brush, fall Henry Dismuke, Steamboat Springs, 5:31.
Cons.: Kaleb Cooper, Berthoud, fall Henry Dismuke, Steamboat Springs, 3:30. 

Hayden
113
Round 1: Merek Charney, Akron, dec. Chase Preston, Hayden, 5-1.
Cons.: Chase Preston, Hayden, fall Aiden Trujillo, John Mall, 1:26.
Cons.: Chase Preston, Hayden, med. for. Aydan Christian, Rangely.
Cons.:  Payson Pene, North Fork, fall Chase Preston, Hayden, 4:11.
120
Round 1: Luke Wilfong, Peyton, fall Ethan Silva, Hayden 4:39.
Cons.: Ethan Silva, Hayden, fall Dominik Ortiz, Olathe, 2:48.
Cons.: Breaden Flores, North Fork, fall Ethan Silva, Hayden, 1:44.
132
Round 1: Owen Miller, Hayden, fall Brenden Reifschneider, County Line, 2:15.
Quarterfinals: Eddie Bowman, Trinidad, fall Owen Miller, Hayden, 1:31.
Cons.: Daunte Maldonado, Holly, fall Owen Miller, Hayden, 4:58.
138
Round 1: Tyler Frank, Merino, fall Triston Day, Hayden, 5:11.
Cons.: Triston Day, Hayden, fall Wyatt Meyer, Highland, 1:55.
Cons.: Giovonni Aldretti, John Mall, fall Triston Day, Hayden, 2:48.
150
Round 1: Jacob Pacheco, Monte Vista, SV Sabyn Hager, Hayden, fall.
Cons.: Tyson Beanland, Dove Creek, fall Sabyn Hager, Hayden, 1:44.
190
Round 1: Cody Hawn, Hayden, fall Colten Vannest, Mancos, 1:20.
Quarterfinals: Haden Camp, Buena Vista, dec. Cody Hawn, Hayden, 3-2.
Cons.: Cody Hawn, Hayden, dec. Cayson VanDyk, Rocky Ford, 2-1.
Cons.: Brendan Clatterbaugh, Meeker, fall Cody Hawn, Hayden, 2:41.
285
Round 1: Elliot Sam, Mancos, fall Aaron Fuentes, Hayden, 4:51.
Cons.: Aaron Fuentes, Hayden, fall Omar Ocana, Rocky Ford, 4:14.
Cons.: Sam Ware, North Fork, dec. Aaron Fuentes, Hayden, 5-2.

Soroco Girls
100
Round 1: Piper Montoya, Canon City, fall Makala Iacovetto, Soroco, 0:48.
Consolation: Magdaelena Marjerrison, Mesa Ridge, fall Makala Iacovetto, Soroco, 3:17.
105
Round 1: Larhae Whaley, Soroco, maj. dec. Adrianna Price, Moffat County, 10-2.
Quarterfinals: Larhae Whaley, Soroco, dec. Velma Bailey, North Fork, 4-1.
Semifinals: Alexsys Jacquez, Fort Carson, fall Larhae Whaley, Soroco, 3:13.
Consolation semifinal: Alora Martinez, Pomona, dec. Larhae Whaley, Soroco, 1-0.
5th: Katelyn Faczak, Bennett, dec. Larhae Whaley, Soroco, 6-5.

To reach Tom Skulski, call 970-871-4240, email tskulski@SteamboatPilot.com.