CORTEZ – The Panthers may need a bigger mat.
When Montezuma-Cortez High School boys wrestling head coach Ryan Daves saw the numbers drift in for the opening practices of the season, it was a matter of seeing if there’d be enough space in the Panthers wrestling room to accommodate the largest wrestling team that the program has seen in several years.
“It’s been a bit tight,” said Daves. “Things tend to go smoothly until we begin the light wrestling parts of practice – so we end up splitting up into groups.”
The Panthers bring back several veteran wrestlers, including junior Rusty Snyder and state qualifier Bodie Stiegelmeyer to lead a tsunami of underclassmen this season.
M-CHS qualified three athletes to last year’s 3A state championships – a return for the program to the state meet in Denver after a two-year absence. Stiegelmeyer, a junior, is the lone returner of the trio as he looks to continue his success at 113-pound weight division.
Snyder, meanwhile, has started strong in the 138-pound class, posting a 4-2 record at the Western Slope Showdown in Montrose. Upperclassman Ashton Orr looks to make a splash at the 144-pound division, while sophomore Keaton Curleyhair narrowly missed on making state in his high school debut. The Panthers also feature a majority of their roster – more than a dozen athletes – from the graduating classes of 2027 and 2028.
“We’ll have a bunch of smaller guys filling in the lighter weight classes,” said Daves, as the underclassmen influx will put most of the Panthers at 144 pounds and under.
Developing their talents is a task that Daves is more than happy to undertake, given just how important developing depth will be to getting the Panthers to a level on par with some of the 3A powers within their own league – like Centauri and Alamosa.
“I’ve been pleased with how many are wanting to join the sport,” said Daves, “especially since it’s so demanding.”
After early season action in Bayfield and Montrose, M-CHS looks forward to the Warrior Classic in Grand Junction over the weekend of Dec. 20-21 to round out their 2024 slate before gearing up for a resumption to the schedule in January.
The Panthers will travel to Albuquerque for a large invitational at Cleveland High School in the Duke City (Jan. 3-4) before tournaments in Pagosa Springs (Jan. 11) and Aztec (Jan. 17-18). M-CHS will host duals on Jan. 21 and Jan. 30 before their regional tournament on the weekend of Feb. 7-8. Top four performers from regionals will make it to the Ball Arena floor in the capital over the weekend of Feb. 13-15 for the state championships.
“We’ve got a lot of learning to do, but we’re hoping to push several athletes to state,” said Daves, “and if we’re able to gain confidence throughout the season, that’ll really help us get there.”
