Pine Creek coach Billy Gabel held a pair of plaques in his hands after the 2025 COS Metro Wrestling Championships at Trojan Arena.

One for the boys’ tournament win, another for the Eagles’ girls victory Monday at Fountain-Fort Carson.

As Gabel looked up, his athletic director, Tim Colgate, gave a thumbs up. Gabel clutched the keepsakes between his left arm and gave the double thumbs up to Colgate accompanied by a smile.

Elijah Banks earned the 138-pound title and the Eagles boys earned their 10th COS Metro Wrestling Championship win on Monday.

“It feels good,” Gabel said about Pine Creek’s tournament success.

Originally slated for Jan. 17-18, the final day of the tournament was moved due to inclement weather. Gabel said the Eagles succeeded in the tournament despite multiple injured competitors and the postponement.

“When we have an issue with one of our studs being out, we have someone to fill in because they’ve been competing varsity all year,” Gabel said. “We have a lot of buy in with the whole team. It’s nice to be able to fill those spots with competitors who can do well.”

Gabel said 67 kids joined the Eagles’ wrestling program this season, a number he contributed to Eagles football coach David Hedges, who encouraged football players to join the team.

While Gabel coaches the team’s main line up, junior varsity athletes compete elsewhere in varsity tournaments.

“I don’t give them a choice,” Gabel joked. “I set the schedule so our JV 1s know they’re going to varsity tournaments. I send my varsity with me, but my JV coaches take another team to varsity tournaments. Sometimes it’s a 3A or 4A tournament and sometimes it’s 5A. They get beat up on pretty good, but it’s trial by fire. You figure it out. You learn to wrestle or you don’t.”

Gabel’s methods proved fruitful at the tournament as the Eagles competed without defending Metros champion Griffin Rial at 132 pounds, who Gabel said missed the tournament due to an ankle injury.

But teammate Carson Diana subbed at 132 and advanced to the semifinals. Diana went 5-1, placed third and earned 24 points that helped stave off Falcon, which finished as runners-up with 204 points.

“When I have an issue with a stud wrestler out of competition, It’s easy to fill in,” Gabel said. “It’s no problem to put them in the competition because they’ve been wrestling varsity all year. That gives us depth in the room. There’s a lot of buy in with this program.”

Part of program expectations for the Eagles is that kids have an ironclad mentality, and Banks displayed that in his finals match against Falcon’s Joey Meza.

Banks, the Eagles lone champion, went to triple overtime in his matchup against Meza, a 4A defending state champion and returning Metro champ.

In their final overtime period, Meza took a one-point lead on an escape and Banks had seconds left to score and win.

“He chose bottom in the second OT and reversed me real quick,” Banks said. “Once he reversed me, I knew I had to do the re-shot. We’ve been practicing that in the room a lot and that training is what allowed me to finish on top.”

Banks, who earned the Metro boys Most Outstanding Wrestler award, dropped Meza to earn take down points with six seconds left in the period to earn the 138-pound title and the 7-4 win.

“It feels pretty good. I’m trying to strive for my own state title, so it feels good to beat a state champ and to know I’m at that caliber,” Banks said. “I’ve been putting in a lot of effort this year and it feels good to get this. After last year, I didn’t get the outcome I wanted. But I pushed myself in the offseason and this year to achieve what I could.”

Championship matches

106

1st – Jaden Armenta (Air Academy) tech. fall Eden Cobos Ortega (Lewis – Palmer), 16-1

113

1st – Angel Fernandez (Widefield) pin Xavier Jacquez (Sand Creek), 3:32

120

1st – Dayton Albrecht (Fountain – Fort Carson) maj. dec. Isaac Christman (Sierra), 15-3

126

1st – Johnnie Roane (Mesa Ridge) maj. dec. Ronin VanWynen (The Classical Academy), 19-5

132

1st – Max Pogline (Falcon) tech. fall Trent Lainez (Air Academy), 18-3

138

1st – Elijah Banks (Pine Creek) won in tie breaker Robert Joseph Meza III (Falcon), TB-1 7-4

144

1st – Daniel Evans (Sand Creek) dec. Gavin Weichelt (Pine Creek), 8-3

150

1st – Silas Arnds (Vista Ridge) maj.dec. Ian Stewart (Elizabeth), 9-1

157

1st – Brandon Dean (Sand Creek) tech. fall Wyatt Boley (Cheyenne Mountain), 15-0

165

1st – David Burchett (Falcon) pin Jackson Schipfer (The Classical Academy), 1:23

175

1st – Wesley Coddington (Vista Ridge) dec. Ridge Blackwood (The Classical Academy), 10-4

190

1st – Connor Heron (Falcon) dec. Achilles Evans (Sand Creek), 5-3

215

1st – Noah Austin (Palmer) pin Lucas Driver (Fountain-Fort Carson), 2:36

285

1st – Elias Timms (Mesa Ridge) dec. Jude Suhajda (Discovery Canyon), 7-5

Boys results

1 Pine Creek, 225.5

2 Falcon, 204

3 The Classical Academy, 188.5

4 Air Academy, 186.5

5 Fountain – Fort Carson, 161.5

6 Sand Creek, 150

7 Widefield, 145

8 Discovery Canyon, 142.5

9 Lewis – Palmer, 140.5

10 Vista Ridge, 104

11 Mesa Ridge, 97

12 Palmer Ridge, 95

13 Cheyenne Mountain, 73

14 Elizabeth, 54

15 Colorado Springs Christian School, 46

16 Palmer, 41.5

17 James Irwin, 40.5

18 Coronado, 38

19 Sierra, 37.5

20 Liberty, 35.5

21 Simla, 27

22 Doherty, 23

23 Rampart, 21

24 Ellicott, 14

25 Calhan, 9

26 Mitchell, 9

27 Peyton, 6

28 Harrison, 0.0