Eagle Valley wrestler finishes on podium at 4A Colorado state wrestling tournament
The Devils had four athletes competing at the 4A state wrestling championships and the Huskies sent three
Bob Good/Courtesy photo
Eagle Valley junior Cole Good finished his season with a 33-5 record and fourth-place finish at the 4A state wrestling tournament last weekend, leading a contingent of seven Eagle County wrestlers who qualified for the end-of-season championship.
“Not what I came for, but all part of God’s plan,” Good stated on social media after his last match. “Thanks to everyone that helped me achieve this throughout the season, I’ll be back next year.”
After falling to eventual champion Deven Lopez of Peublo East in the second round, Good won three-straight matches in the consolation bracket to set up a third-place match with David Estrada of Bear Creek on the final day of action. He wound up losing to Estrada in a 3-2 decision.
“Wrestling is a sport where the losses weigh heavier than the victory and this will surely hold true for Cole,” assistant coach Bob Good stated.
Good entered the state tournament having won all five Colorado-based events he contested this season. He stood atop the 126-pound podium at the Pueblo Centennial Invitational last month, a bracket which included Lopez (who finished third) and 120-pound state champion Robert Joseph Meza III. The junior hopes to wrestle in college and might be following Noah Hermosillo’s development blueprint. The Eagle Valley alumnus took fourth at state as a junior and went on to win an NCAA DII title at Adams State University.
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Eagle Valley’s 215-pound regional champion Cooper Hern and regional third-placer Alex Good both went 2-2 at state, just missing the top-six podium places. Senior Logan Aoki fulfilled his quest to qualify for state but came up short in his first two matches.
“All the coaches instructed all the kids to leave it on the line,” said head coach Travis Ward. Don’t wrestle to ‘not lose.’ Be aggressive and trust your training. Unfortunately, the pressure of the final tournament can easily convince a young wrestler otherwise and that is definitely part of what happened.”
Battle Mountain sent three athletes to Ball Arena. Senior Grady Devins lost to Gabe Hall in a 9-4 decision in the first round of the 126-pound tournament and then was pinned by David Lundy in the first consolation match. On the girls side, the Huskies’ Ayla Hampton lost her first two matches in the girls 135-pound bracket. In the 170-pound tournament, Hailey Russer lost her first match, won her second and lost her third to finish outside of the top six as well.
Bob Good said the Eagle County wrestling community is a tightly-knit group that “shares resources and enthusiasm with one another.” Eagle Valley principal Tom LaFramboise — often a fixture at the state tournament — was in the tunnel and offered the coaches support after a pair of Devils dropped early matches.
“All the coaches were getting a group text from Tom when we won as well,” Good said. “His final quote to the coaches was ‘the program is heading in the right direction.’ It really means a lot to us because he truly understands the work we have put in over the summer and throughout the season.”
The next wave of wrestlers will take center stage this weekend as the Bald Eagle wrestling club sends its best to the Peak 2 Peak state wrestling championships in Denver and Gypsum Creek holds its annual invitational tournament at Eagle Valley High School. Good said many of the high school athletes will referee and work tables at the latter event while they keep an eye on the Front Range action.
“Rest assured, the high schoolers and middle school wrestlers will be checking their phones to watch the young wrestlers take a run at a state title,” he said.
