DENVER – With more than 100 teams flooding the state capital for the RMN Elementary and Middle School State Wrestling Tournament this weekend, it could have been easy for the Montezuma-Cortez Wrestling Club to get lost in the shuffle.
M-CWC didn’t shy away from the bright lights, and after the dust settled, the Southwest Hammers and M-CWC middle school teams stood out in the pack.
Both the elementary and middle school teams finished in the top 20% of the massive team fields, with M-CWC earning four podium finishers to highlight the weekend.
For Casey Spitzer, head coach of the elementary team, and former M-CHS standout Kael Buffington, head coach of the middle school squad, the weekend validated the hard work from the athletes over the course of their entire season.
“We were always focused on getting better and watching them compete at that higher level,” said Buffington. “We drilled into these kids’ heads that we can accept failure but we can’t accept no effort.”
While the state experience was new for a number of the M-CWC athletes, the opportunity to compete against the best in the state will fuel the fire for continued improvement, according to Buffington.
“They know what they want now, and understand what it takes to get to these top spots,” he said.
M-CWC qualified 27 athletes for the showcase event, 14 elementary school athletes and 13 from the middle school team. Among the many headlining results from the weekend, Treagen White from Mancos took home a state championship in the fourth/fifth grade 61-pound division.
White aced his first couple of rounds before narrowly winning in both the semifinals and championship match, where he won 3-0 over Ayden Calderon of Bear Cave.
In the 4th/5th Grade 57-lb. bracket, Mancos’ Tayzen Hill advanced all the way to the final and finished as runner-up.
Coltyn Schaefer took fourth place in his division, while in the middle school tournament, Lexi Rubin claimed third-place in the girls 94-pound class to post the best finish for the team.
With the elementary team named the Southwest Hammers to honor the widespread representation from across the region, other competitors for the club in the championships included Braxton Daves, Cael Spitzer, Dawsyn McCabe, Jace Kop, Kacen Murphy, Kai Molina, Kanon Smith, Leslee Martinez, Mathew Frazier, Preston Souza, and Tryrann Gallegos.
For the middle school team, the contingent included Mirikal Frazier, Austin Brenneman, Beren Howell, Bryant Smith, CeeJay Manakaja, Connor Buffington, Dominic Gustamantes, Eli Kop, Jakobe Begay, Kingston Gallegos, Parker Spitzer and Zaine Brito.
The elementary squad finished 14th among 103 clubs represented, while the middle school group took 23rd out of 138 clubs.
From their regional competition, M-CWC enjoyed plenty of success as well, with five athletes earning regional champion honors. Braxton Daves, Matthew Frazier, Dominic Gustamantes, Zaine Brito, and Lexi Rubin earned top spots in their Region 3 tournament in Alamosa a week earlier to pace the parade of M-CWC athletes advancing to Denver.
“We’re very proud of all of the kids,” said Spitzer after another successful season, “we’re seeing small, incremental gains every year.”
M-CWC joined a strong wrestling convoy from other southwest Colorado clubs with podium showings in Denver. Dove Creek elementary athletes Bryer Davis (first place), Bryson Davis (second place), Reed Horn-Beanland (sixth place) and Titan Larimore (sixth place) joined Keaton Banks (fourth place) and Conner Beanland (sixth place) from the Dive Creek middle school team.
In addition, Mancos middle schooler Adlee White took third in her division while Dolores middle school athlete Marshal Wickstrom took runner-up.
