DELTA — Winning the 138-pound title Saturday at the Panther Invitational was no easy feat for Palisade’s Keyton Young.

On the opposite side of the bracket loomed Meeker’s Class 2A’s second-ranked Trae Kennedy and Cedaredge’s Elias Hanson, ranked fourth in 2A.

Hanson took care of Kennedy, setting up Young’s championship match.

Young won the match handily, pinning Hanson in 3 minutes, 50 seconds, and is off to a perfect start at 10-0 his senior year.

Young reflected on his past three years and how he looks at wrestling.

“I really never set expectations for myself for where I was gonna be. I set expectations for how hard I was gonna work,” he said. “Instead of setting goals, I tell myself, ‘Don’t let them get to your legs, don’t get taken down.’ I’m just been trying to travel around, to get as much competition as I can.”

Keyton’s younger brother, Teagen, also performed well. The freshman placed third at 106 pounds.

Meeker, ranked No. 2 by On the Mat, won the team title with 202.5 points. Moffat County was second with 164. Montrose (162.5), Cedaredge (151.5) and Alamosa (136) rounded out the top five.

Delta’s No. 1-ranked Dawsen Drozdik claimed the 106-pound title. He pinned Montrose freshman Aadin Gonzales in 2:38. Drozdik’s teammate, Ripp Lockhart lost in the 215-pound championship.

Montrose’s Dmarian Lopez and Kamron Alegria also won titles. Lopez is the defending state champion at 285, and Alegria won a weight class (126) that featured eight ranked wrestlers, including two-time Buena Vista state champion Caleb Camp. Alegria defeated Camp 3-1.

Alegria, a senior, has had an up and down career. As a freshman, he had to defeat a senior to make the varsity, but that also meant cutting weight. Trying to stay at 106 pounds that first year was a chore, to the point that when qualified for state, he didn’t make weight, by less than a pound.

The next year COVID was in full force and he just missed out qualifying for the state tournament. In any other year, fourth at regionals would have secured a state berth. Last season he fashioned a 32-11 record and was one match win away from a state medal.

“This year I just want my actions to speak louder than my words,” Alegria said. “I can’t thank enough my Dad and coaches for all their support. Wrestling is fun and I can’t worry about the losses. I just need to show what I can do.”

Grand Junction’s Colton Romero (144) and Dominic Jones (165) placed fourth and fifth, respectively.

Cedaredge’s Ethan Hice was the 120-pound champion by defeating Alamosa’s Dempsey Gibbs, the second-ranked wrestler in 2A. In addition to Hanson’s loss, the Bruins’ Ethan Toothaker (150) and Landon Martin (132) came up just short in pursuit of titles. Toothaker was pinned by Alamosa’s Kyler Liddell and Martin lost by forfeit.
