DENVER - It wasn't known last winter whether Ignacio's Stocker Robbins would in fact be filling Tyler Beebe's role. Robbins, while recovering from a knee injury, last year congratulated the then-senior on his Grand Junction regional finish and resulting state berth. Then Robbins successfully rose three weights this season to meet the challenge.
And also qualified, like Beebe, for the CHSAA Class 2A State Championships at 132 pounds.
Sometimes, however, the bigger they are ... well, they tend to wrestle like it.
Facing Ault Highland's Skyler Score in quarterfinal action Friday, Feb. 17, Robbins' comeback bid for an elusive first state championship unfortunately met an early end on Day 2. The Huskies' senior won 7-3 and bumped the Bobcat into that evening's consolation - or more appropriately, survival - stages.
Unfortunately, Robbins did not see his senior season's final day and finished a non-placing 1-2 after a 6-4 loss to Limon sophomore Woody Aguilar (who eventually placed fifth and finished 40-7; Robbins ended up 21-8).
But the rest of his Pepsi Center posse did move on and IHS ended up a respectable 16th place overall.
Totaling 41 team points, the 'Cats trailed winners Rocky Ford (188.5), with Meeker (160), Walsenburg John Mall (134), Norwood-Nucla (106) and Paonia (99) rounding out the standings' top five.
Shockingly pinned 1:39 into the second period by Norwood-Nucla junior Aidan Dabal in the 160-pound division semifinals, Lorenzo "Woody" Peña (37-5) rallied to stick Ordway Crowley County senior P.J. Schurr in 1:50 and then routed Wray sophomore Carlos Tarin (25-9) later on Day 3 by 14-3 major decision to take third place.
That left only senior 145-pounder Ethan Appenzeller.
Able to pin Walsenburg's Emmanuel Huerta in only 1:35 on Day 1 last Thursday, then defeat JMHS junior Trystan Estrada 7-3 in the Day 2 quarters, Appenzeller clinched a return to the finals with a 5-1 win over Merino junior Remington Canfield in the semifinals.
Awaiting him, as most expected, was Peyton senior Britton Holmes, whose highly-anticipated 2016-17 season began back in November with him winning a gold medal at 152 pounds (69 kilograms) in the 'Cadet' division for the United States at the Greco-Roman style Malar Cup in Sweden.
Holmes struck first with a first-period takedown, but Appenzeller would escape, leaving the score 2-1 early in the rematch of last year's finalists at 138. Still, the well-traveled Panther wasn't worried.
"If I don't get in a bad position, I'm going to win. And I went out there and did that," he told a group of reporters afterwards. "Scored a shot, but right at the end he got out and we were 2-1. I was ready."
And as fate would have it, Appenzeller was unable to get closer than the 5-3 final score indicated.
"Well, it could have went another way," said Appenzeller (38-5). "Granted, I wanted to see Britton again, see if I could get it this time. I really wanted it, so I pushed myself real hard this year. It wasn't the outcome I wanted, but.... It's the journey, you know?"
"I don't believe in pressure. It's something you make up in your head," Holmes (41-2) said, noting an eagerness to prepare for a trip to the March 1-11 Austria Junior Open in Gotzis, Austria, as well as a collegiate career at Northern Michigan University. "And there was no 'pressure'; I just went out there, wrestled like I was supposed to ... to come out on top."
"I'm just real happy to be here," Appenzeller said. "Wrestling is everything I do, and everything I eat and breathe, everything I want. And it's still exciting to be here again, wrestling for my family, my friends ... they came here to cheer me on and I really appreciate that. Wish we all could have come a bit harder this year. But other than that, I think we did do good and I think that we did try our hardest."
DID YOU KNOW: Between Ignacio's State-qualifying trio and the five Bayfield Wolverines who qualified in Class 3A (see related story), the elite octet registered a combined 287-55 overall record for the 2016-17 season.
