The Rye High School wrestling team is sending three wrestlers to the state tournament in Denver this weekend after the three finished in the top four spots in the regional tournament held at Otero Junior College in La Junta last Friday and Saturday.
Remington Peterson won the gold medal at regionals and ran his season record to 29-0. Peterson, a defending state champion in his senior year, wrestles in the 195 lb. weight class.
In the first round of regionals, he defeated Brat of Ellicott by a technical fall (15 points of more ahead) 25-10. He followed that with a second technical fall over Nordyke of Holly 19-2, and in the finals pinned Sittner of Highland with 17 seconds left in the first period.
Gage Schaap, also a senior, placed second in the 138 lb. class. Schaap had a bye in the first round, and then needed only 50 seconds to pin Keaton of Kiowa. Jack of Calhan only lasted a few seconds more as Schaap pinned him with 33 seconds left in the first period. In the finals Schaap lost a hard fought 7-2 decision to Baca of Rocky Ford. Schaap has a 20-11 record entering the state tournament.
The only underclassman to qualify for the state tournament is junior Devin Samuelson who placed 4th in the 220 lb. weight class. Samuelson had a first and third round bye and lost his second round by a fall.
Facing elimination, he pinned Linton of Wiggins 21 seconds into the final period. He then pinned Williams of LaVeta in the second period. In the match for third he lost a fall to Unrein of Fowler and in a wrestle back for 4th place he won a no contest over Williams of LaVeta who he defeated earlier in the day. Samuelson is 21-14 going into the state tournament.
Cody Dodge did not qualify for state but scored some team points in the 132 lb. weight class. Dodge lost a fall, had a bye, then won a fall over Sverak of Highland with 36 seconds left in the first period. He then lost a fall in his final match of the day. Dodge ended his season with a 2-22 record.
At 106 lbs. Andy Prichard lost his first match by a fall, had a bye, and lost a 7-0 decision to Brisendine of Baca County. Prichard was 5-21 this season.
At 160 lbs. Jose Martinez had a bye, lost a major decision 11-0, a second bye, and then lost a close 8-7 decision to Schmidt of Wiggins. Martinez ended the season with a 14-21 record.
“I feel like we showed well for Rye,” shared Head Coach Billy Forell. “All the kids wrestled well. Our younger guys just came up a bit short on key matches but we have a lot to look forward to for our three freshmen (Prichard, Dodge, and Martinez) in the coming years.
Rocky Ford claimed the regional crown with 205.5 points. Rye placed 9th with 65 points in the 17-team tournament.
The state tournament begins at noon on Thursday and runs through Saturday night. It is held at Ball Arena (formerly the Pepsi Center) in Denver. See Ball Arena for ticket information.