Saturday night marked the conclusion of the 2025 Colorado High School Activities Association State Wrestling Championships at Ball Arena in Denver, held Feb. 13-15. Several Cortez-area wrestlers reached the podium, showcasing the hard work they put in throughout the season.
In the first year of the girls team, freshman CeJae Snyder and senior Aubrey Rutherford made history by leading Montezuma-Cortez at the Class 4A tournament, finishing third and fourth, respectively, in their brackets.
Snyder led a strong start beginning on Day 1 one of her 115-pound bracket, defeating Trinidad’s Nicole Wheeler by pin fall at 1:30 in the first round before going to the quarterfinals to deal the same fate to Holy Family’s Jayci Pounders at 4:35. In the semifinals on Friday, she was defeated by Ivey McAlhany of Walsenburg, falling by pin.
In the consolation bracket, Snyder rallied in the semifinals, where she pinned Moffat County’s Ryleigh Hedman at 1:32, advancing to the third-place match against Arianna Alvarado of Skyview. Alvarado scored a near fall in the first period, but Snyder responded with a near fall of her own around the 1:30 mark. Snyder ultimately won the match in the second period with a pin fall to end an impressive freshman campaign with a top-three podium finish.
Rutherford had a mixed first day in the 145-pound bracket, winning her first round but being pinned by Abbie Reeves of Manitou Springs at 2:23 in the quarterfinals.
However, she bounced back on Friday with renewed determination, starting in the consolation semifinals against Meeker’s Abigail Amick, whom she defeated by pin fall. Rutherford continued to impress, securing two more pin fall victories over Riley Erickson of Wiggins School District and Basalt’s Roselynne Bernal-Rodriguez. These wins earned her a spot in the third-place qualifying match on Saturday against Olathe’s Tairyn Lowenberg.
Lowenberg scored a takedown in the first period then a reversal in the second, before winning the match at 3:46 via pin fall and Rutherford placed fourth to cap off a memorable high school career.
M-CHS girls head wrestling coach James Snyder, said he was excited about being part of the girls first-year wrestling program and
The wrestlers credited their camaraderie and the support of their teammates for helping them prepare for this moment, and they are excited to see their teammates continue to rise and succeed next year.
“It’s been exciting to have all of our teammates be so close and supporting us so well,” Snyder said at the state send-off. “And like Paislee said, having the younger girls coming up, it’s exciting.”
Mancos was led by strong performances in the Class 2A tournament from senior Brandon Vannest and junior Jacob Martin, who both placed fourth on the podium. They were joined this year by freshman Traycer White, who placed fifth.
Vannest persevered and made a memorable finish to his high school career, earning a spot on the podium for the third consecutive year in the 157-pound bracket.
Vannest started strong on the first day, winning by a pin at 3:49 against Trinidad’s Matthew Garduno then won by a sudden victory in an intense overtime period by a takedown over Weston Johnson of Fowler to continue to the semifinals on Friday, where he lost to Casey Midcap by pin at 5:27.
Vannest moved to the consolation semifinals, where he secured a 4-2 decision victory over Wylee Lorimor of Cedaredge. This win earned him a spot in the third-place match against Caden Ruggles of Center. The match started slowly for both athletes, and they ended the final period tied 1-1. In the tiebreaker period, Ruggles pulled ahead to win with a 13-1 lead, leading to Vannest's fourth-place finish.
“Brandon’s work ethic is what got him to where he is,” said Coach Travis White about Vannest’s performance at state. “Wrestling teaches us how to fight through, and Brandon did. He impressed the heck out of me.”
Junior Jacob Martin, who was ranked last year but did not place, overcame that setback to earn his first podium finish in the 190-pound bracket, marking a significant achievement in his impressive career.
Martin’s first day at the Ball Arena also saw mixed results, as he won his first-round match in the 190-pound division by pinning his opponent less than a minute into the match but lost to Carter Stromer of Buena Vista by pin fall just after the one-minute mark.
Martin returned Friday with determination in the consolation bracket, winning two matches by quick pin falls and one by a 12-0 major decision against Kai Wilcox of Colorado Springs. This earned him a spot in the third-place match, where he faced Stromer in a rematch.
Martin struggled to score, while Stromer took an early lead with a takedown in the first period, followed by a near fall, making it 7-0 before pinning Martin at 2:10. Despite the loss, Martin secured fourth place.
“Jacob was wrestling at an extremely tough weight. He was small for 190 pounds,” said coach White about Martin’s state journey. “Jacob’s one of the most naturally talented athletes I’ve ever coach, and I think he figured out how to believe in himself that he could be higher than he’s done in the past.”
Freshman Traycer White made his first appearance at the Ball Arena by placing fifth in the 106-pound bracket, overcoming a rough start after losing to Highland’s Braiden Sidwell by a pin at the 4:47 mark on the first day.
White came back strong, winning three matches in a row. He earned dominant victories with a pin over North Fork’s Coy Ellenberger, a 13-3 major decision over Trinidad’s Santiino Garcia Sanchez, and winning by a 6-3 decision over Lance Buoy of Wray.
He then lost to Fowler’s Stockton Sharon in the consolation semifinals, setting up a fifth-place match against Duncan. Traycer scored first with a takedown in the first period, followed by a reversal and a near fall, winning the match 7-2 to get fifth place.
“Traycer lost his first match, but he battled back the hard way which was unbelievable to see,” Coach White said. “I’m super proud of the way he wrestled.”
Dove Creek was also represented at the podium this year as sophomore Teagan Larimore placed fourth in the 132-pound bracket, a return from last year’s fifth place finish in the 126-pound bracket.
Larimore won his first match by pin at 3:40 against Holly’s Brandon Pecina, then secured a sudden victory 11-9 in the overtime period over Collins' Austin Collins to advance to the championship semifinals on Friday where he fell to Wray’s Austin Collins by a pin at 1:05.
Larimore fought back in the consolation semifinals, securing a 6-3 decision over Jadiss Rodriguez of Rocky Ford to advance to the third-place match against Cedaredge’s Ethan Hice. Hice controlled most of the match, scoring a takedown in the first period, followed by a takedown and near fall combination in the second. He then pinned Larimore at 2:38, giving Larimore his second state placing finish in his career.
As a team, the Montezuma-Cortez 4A girls finished 15th, with 42 points in their first appearance at the Ball Arena, while the 2A Mancos boys finished 14th with 44 points and the 2A Dove Creek boys finished 32nd with 18 points.
Pueblo Central won the 4A girls title with 194 points. Cedaredge won the 2A boys title with 141.5 points.
