Out on the mat, getting bruised, beat up and sometimes bloodied, wrestling is a solo battle that’s impossible to go through alone.
All wrestlers lose, even the elite ones. And all wrestlers need someone to pick them up after those tough defeats, or keep them hungry after the big wins.“If you don’t have support, it’s like you’re out there on an island,” said Castle View coach and former Olympian Ike Anderson. “The support after you’ve lost and when you go back into the stands between matches, and you have people who can tell you that you can come back, it’s big for kids. It’s what makes wrestling, wrestling.
See, Chappell isn’t actually a heavyweight. The junior weighs 193 pounds, so he’s wrestling two classes up. No matter: He mauled his way to the state title match, going 36-7 while not losing to an in-state heavyweight all season up until the championship. “Last year, I was super sick, pretty down, and I couldn’t breathe. He pulled me aside and gave me a hug and said, ‘It’ll be alright,'” Chappell said. “I lost like four matches that day in Nebraska. But he picked me up.
Poudre’s Billy Greenwood looks to the stands during his quarterfinal match against Boulder’s Abe Pomeroy in the Class 5A 144-pound bracket during the CHSAA state tournament at Ball Arena in Denver on Friday, February 16, 2024. Romie Uhrig, wrestles Myka Martinez, in the Girls 145-pound bracket during the Colorado high school wrestling state tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Friday, February 16, 2024.
“He’s very wise in my eyes. … I want to do something like him. Looking at what he’s done sets goals that I want to achieve. I want to be passionate like him, work hard like him, so it’ll pay off for me like it has for him.”Lance Strait cheers on his son Declan Strait of Chaparral as he goes on to win his wrestling match in the Class 5A 126-pound bracket during the CHSAA state tournament at Ball Arena in Denver on Feb. 15, 2024.
That’s also the case for Palisade sophomore Teagan Young, a Class 4A 106-pounder. His mom, Jodi, is always mat-side taking photos, while his dad, Jess, does the videography.D’Mitri Garza-Alarcon Ft. Lupton, left, and Gilbert Antillon, Mullen, wrestle in the class 3A 138-pound final during the Colorado high school state tournament at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024. Garza-Alacron won the match becoming a four-time champion.