5A Girls Wrestling: Grand Junction Central Wins First Wrestling Championship

DENVER – The landscape of Colorado girls wrestling changed this season with the split into two classifications, which was a benefit to some teams and perhaps a hindrance to others.

One squad that took advantage of the striation of talent was Grand Junction Central, which won the Class 5A state championship Saturday night at Ball Arena without benefit of a single individual state champion.

Coach Chad Dare’s team — which represents District 51 — finished a close second last season, but racked up 159.5 points to easily outdistance runner-up Loveland and third-place Widefield. Grand Junction Central had eight top-six placers, highlighted by runners-up at 155 and 170 pounds in Shylee Tuzon and Claris McCoy, respectively, to claim the top prize.

“It feels really good; we’ve had a lot of girls working hard over the years to get this program to where it’s at, and these girls took it and ran with it,” Dare said. “They’ve embraced what it takes to be a champion. Every single girl here, whether they wrestle or they are at home, they contributed to this win. …I don’t know if we win it if it had been one classification like last year, but we would have been in the conversation.”

Indeed, Grand Junction Central finished just 6.5 points behind Pomona in 2024 when only one classification existed, but used depth to win the championship this season.

Tuzon lost to Brighton sophomore Matilda Hruby in the 155 pound final and McCoy fell to Loveland freshman Anabelle Gerard in the 170 pound championship match, but those results combined with a third place from 130-pounder Violet Gray and fourth-places from Shyann Page (120) and Harleigh Prater (125) led the way.

The classification split definitely made for a wide open field in the first season in 5A, when a whopping 21 different programs had at least one state finalist and only five (Loveland with four, Chatfield with three and Grand Junction Central, Pomona and Widefield with two) had multiples.

Pomona finished fourth in the team race with a pair of state champions, which included junior Timberly Martinez, who won her third career crown when she earned a 15-0 technical fall over Discovery Canyon’s Sophia Flores. Martinez — who won at 135 pounds last season and at 130 in 2023 — needs one more state title to become Colorado’s third girls wrestler to be a four-time state champion.

Sophomore Justice Gutierrez is on a similar pace for the Panthers, as she won her second championship at 100 pounds in as many seasons.

Three wrestlers completed undefeated seasons with state championships, as Prairie View sophomore Jaydin Cuevas (115 pounds), Westminster senior Dakota Hull (145) and Poudre junior Mariah Gonzalez (235) all achieved the feat.

Hull faced off with Chatfield’s Ryen Hickey, who was also undefeated coming into the match. The Wolves’ senior finished 20-0 with a pin early in the second period of Hickey, who had a final record of 41-1.

Cuevas struck a blow for a small Prairie View program when she dominated her final match with a familiar opponent — Adams City’s Phoebe Gutierrez — as she picked up a 16-0 technical fall win to finish 43-0.

“Last year I took third, so I wanted to come back and get what I wanted,” said Cuevas, who showed off her gymnastics skills after the match with a series of backflips on the mat. “We had maybe eight girls this year, but I hoping this will get more girls to come out and join the team.”

Gonzalez capped the meet with a first period pin of Standley Lake senior Soledad Luchman to put the finishing touches on a 30-0 season. She had a bye in the opening round and pinned all three of her opponents on her way to the title.

Two other wrestlers were repeat champions in Vista Ridge senior Hayden Newberg, who pinned four opponents — all in the first period — on her way to the 135-pound crown as well as Brighton’s Matilda Hruby, who also had four pins to collect the 155-pound title after she won at 170 the previous season.

“This one was a little more crazy since I went to third period, whereas last year I had a pin in 23 seconds,” said Hruby, who finished 41-1 with her pin of Tuzon. “Obviously this is not as cool as a 23-second pin in the state finals, but I loved the match for the experience it gave me.”

Doherty senior Katey Valdez won a second title, as she pinned her way to the 105-pound crown after she won at 100 pounds back in 2023.

First-time winners included two Loveland wrestlers (freshman Saydee Lussenhop at 110 and Gerard at 170), Regis Jesuit sophomore Remington Zimmerer at 120 pounds, Vista PEAK Prep junior Amelia Bacon at 125 and Broomfield sophomore Shayla Martinez at 190.

Columbine also had a state champion in junior Makena Heston, who claimed the 130-pound title with a pin of Pine Creek’s Teagan Miller.