La Veta places at State

by Dreama Ortivez
DENVER- The La Veta wrestlers started their trip to Denver last Wednesday with a special escort by the Huerfano County Sheriffs. The county sheriffs escorted the Redskins not only through La Veta but all the way down Hwy 160 through Walsenburg on to I-25. The boys were pumped up and ready to bring home the hardware…

Action began last Thursday at 3 pm. WD Arnold went 1-2 for the weekend. In his first match he wrestled Kyler Churchwell from Wray. Arnold lost by a decision 6-4. Next he wrestled Jesse Leyva from Cheyenne Wells; Arnold won by a pin in 1:22. For Arnold’s final match he lost to Cody Clawson from Paonia 9-3.
Eric Griego went 0-2 for the weekend. In his first match Griego lost to Cole Barlow from Rangely 12-1 and then he lost to Chris Robinson from Rocky Ford 12-6.
Adam Ortivez went 4-1 for the weekend and claimed 3rd place. Ortivez started the tournament with a bang as he dominated his first two opponents. In his first match he pinned Brandon Robinson from Denver Lutheran in 1:23; he then beat Shane Whitmore from Burlinton 7-2. After winning these two matches, Ortivez found himself wrestling in the semifinals against the number-one-ranked wrestler in the state for the second time this season, Robert Darnell from Holly. Unfortunately, Ortivez fell short of his chance to be in the finals on Saturday night as he lost to Darnell 14-4.
Although Ortivez lost this match, he did not give up. Instead he came back to the mat with a lot of heart and determination. Ortivez had to win two times to claim the title of 3rd place and that is what he did. In his next match. Ortivez wrestled Ty Coats from Paonia. From the beginning of the match. Ortivez dominated Coats and won the match 10-0. In his final match of the weekend, Ortivez wrestled Shane Whitmore from Burlington. Ortivez came to the mat fired up and ready to make a statement. Ortivez took control and continued to control Whitmore and got a 2-minute pin. The energy and excitement that Ortivez had when he won the match was incredible. After the referee raised Ortivez’s hand, he shared that excitement with his coach and father, Ron Ortivez.
Ortivez had an amazing wrestling season. Going into the state tournament, he had a record of 29-2 and was ranked 3rd in the state. He finished the season with a record of 33-3 and was crowned with a 3rd place title in the state of Colorado. Ortivez wrestled not only 2A wrestlers but 3A, 4A, 5A and out-of-state wrestlers. His three losses were to the number-one and -two state placers in Colorado. When it was asked of Adam how he felt about his accomplishments, he stated, “I feel it was like an accomplishment-making season, [going] further than I ever have and knowing that I was able to wrestle with the best of the best in the state. I would like to thank my family, coaches, and teammates for supporting me throughout the whole season and my ‘wolf pack’ who has also supported me all the way through.”
When Coach Ortivez was asked what his thoughts were about the state tournament he replied, “I was happy with the way the boys wrestled at the State Tournament. I feel that the success that the kids had will definitely be a motivator for them to work even harder in the off season. I’m also excited to have all of these guys returning next year; that will change the complexion of our wrestling room having more wrestlers with state experience. I would like to thank everyone who showed up to state to support these kids and Coach Kent for all the work that he put in to help us get to the right tournaments to help us prepare. I would like to thank the wrestlers’ parents, and I would especially like to thank the wrestlers. I also would like to thank the Huerfano World Journal for their live reporting at the tournament. It sure is nice to have live updates provided for those who can’t attend for whatever reason and to the Huerfano County Sheriffs Department; the escort was “Pretty Awesome,” thank you.”
Congratulations to all of the La Veta Redskin wrestlers on a great season and a special congratulation to Adam Ortivez on his accomplishments this season.