Notes and observations heading into the season:

TCA keeps moving forward

Nearly two-third of TCA’s roster was made up of freshmen and sophomores last year, providing valuable experience for a program on the rise. Senior Zach Dillon went 2-2 at state. He is joined by three fellow state qualifiers: senior Dan Register, sophomore Andrew Register and junior Mason Haycock.

Taking the next sep

A host of local 4A wrestlers made an impression at state a year ago.

Sand Creek junior heavyweight Tuli Laulu seemed to improve each week with a fifth-place finish at the Metro Championships and third-place finish at regionals. His rise culminated in a second-place finish at state. Palmer Ridge senior Antero Guy and Cheyenne Mountain junior Bobby Amond each took fourth and return looking to lead their teams to bigger and better things.

Budding rivalry

Palmer Ridge and Lewis-Palmer have the makings of what could be a fun rivalry for years to come.

The Bears return four for their six qualifiers with junior Tyler Thalhammer and seniors Billy Farmer and Jeremy Rajkowski joining Guy. Three other seniors, Aaron Nguyen, Tommy Edwards and Andrew Gilles, are looking to make an impact.

The Rangers quietly sent three wrestlers to state with, all three returning this season – seniors Mike Hartling and Jack Wyman and junior Nate Rykerd.

Quality on the south side

Widefield doesn’t have the depth it once had, but coach Gary Foltz continues to turn out quality wrestlers who represent the school well at state. Returning state-qualifier Brandon Mansfield, a senior, carries the torch for the Gladiators.

At Mesa Ridge, in addition to Devante Johnson, coach Mark Walker has high hopes for state qualifiers Keith Cays and Marcus Williams, both seniors, as well as sophomores Ruben Valdes and Tremell Stanley. Cays stands out in the classroom as well – he’s a semifinalist for a Boettcher Scholarship – awarded to 40 Colorado seniors heading to Colorado universities or colleges.

5A thin outside of the Big Three

The 5A ranks didn’t see a single state placer outside of Pine Creek, Coronado and Fountain-Fort Carson. In fact, only four other state qualifiers return from other schools.

Rampart senior Keith Karnes wrestled well at national events this summer and leads a Rams program that is up to 45 wrestlers, led by seniors Jason Hill, Robert Keenan and Justin Ferreira and juniors Jeff Burbach and Joe Kaska. Doherty sent four kids to state year ago and senior Brandon Farrell and junior Ricky Mahan return.  Palmer senior Sam McCoy is back for the Terrors, as is Ryan Pellow, who placed fourth in regionals, but lost a spot in the state bracket in wrestlebacks.

Air Academy solid again

Air Academy should field a competitive duals team in the 4A Metro League. Sixth-place state finisher Rip Price, a senior, will lead the way along with junior state qualifier Nate Butler. An experienced group of Caleb Cuneio, Hunter Millner, Ricky Ray, Justin Petrash and Leo Strand round out the heart of the lineup.

Freshmen need to lead the way for Calhan

Fourteen of the 18 wrestlers in Calhan’s program are freshmen. Colton Smith, Jacob Freeland, Garrett Richardson and Jourdan Ellis are expected to lead the way for the Bulldogs, who hope a summer of training with Olympic Training Center athletes and attending camps will help them compete in a tough region. 

St Mary’s back on the map?

Coach Nic Olney took over a program that was nearly dead a couple of years ago and increased participation from six wrestlers a season ago to 13, led by junior Cannon Willie, who placed at regionals a season ago.

The team is still young — no seniors are on the roster — and continues to practice at the Olympic Training Center due to a lack of practice space at the school, but Olney is excited about their prospects for continued development.

Palmer’s Ryan Pellow (left) narrowly missed a spot at the 5A state tournament last year, he’ll be out to improve upon that finish this time around. Photo by THE GAZETTE FILE

KIRK SPEER