Pine Creek boys take fourth straight, 11th all-time COS Metro Wrestling Championship team title
The expectation for Pine Creek wrestling is to put in hard work and expect to win.
That winning mindset has led them to a fourth straight boys team title at the 2026 COS Metro Wrestling Championships at Trojan Arena, which is also its 11th all-time title in the tournament’s 25-year history. The girls’ Eagles team also won the team title for the second year in a row Saturday.
This year’s boys team only has two seniors, but the whole team, including the underclassmen, has embraced Pine Creek’s culture of winning and working together to continue its tradition of excellence on the mat.
“Expecting to win doesn’t mean you always win, but the expectation is to try and win every time you wrestle,” Eagles head boys wrestling coach Billy Gabel said. “When new kids come in they have to understand the expectation. Our upperclassmen have done a great job at teaching that and underclassmen are buying in.”
Pine Creek won with 222.5 points, followed by Widefield with 191.5 points, and Air Academy in third with 180 points. The Gladiators had four wrestlers in the finals, with freshman Manuel Mota winning the 106-pound title over Canon City’s Asher Montoya by fall.
Pine Creek had two wrestlers in the finals–senior Gavin Weichelt and junior Brogan Trollope– with the rest of the team helping score in other rounds. Weichelt took the 150-pound title by major decision (16-4) over Vista Ridge’s Silas Arnds. Trollope was runner-up to Canon City’s Eli Koonce in the 175-pound final match by decision (4-1).
This was the first year the Canon City boys team has competed in the tournament.
“I’m very proud of how the guys wrestled,” Gabel said. “Tournaments are won by bonus points and in the back door. We didn’t have a good semifinal round but most who lost in the semis pinned their way back into third and fifth. You can score a lot of points that way. They didn’t give up and found ways to win in the back.”
This was Weichelt’s first tournament win after placing second last year. The Doane commit has not lost in Colorado this season, with his only loss coming to Missouri wrestler Chance Ruble in the semifinal round of the KC Stampede in December.
“He gets a takedown with nine seconds left and cuts him to get one more,” Gabel said of Weichelt’s Saturday finals match. “His mentality is to go until the end. We don’t stop. Proud of his efforts. He has done a great job leading the team with his work ethic and his performance. Very consistent.”
Weichelt said he had a grudge over Arnds going into the final match from losing to him two years ago in the metro championships.
“I had a slight fire of revenge in me that helped me win today,” Weichelt said. “I had a really good offseason which has helped me have the best start by far, and this has been my best tournament all year. I am really proud of my performance.”
As the oldest on the team, Weichelt has helped mentor the younger wrestlers, who Gabel says looks up to him.
“We have a good core group of juniors and seniors with great leadership,” Gabel said. “Leadership isn’t always saying the right thing, it’s doing the right thing and having people watch you who do the same thing.”
The boys and girls wrestling teams work out together, and spend time together outside of practice such as a recent Christmas gift exchange. Both coaching staffs collaborate to make sure both teams get better and better.
“Our girls have embraced it, the coaching staff have embraced it, and guys push the girls and vice versa,” Gabel said. “It’s fun to watch.”
It’s the family aspect of the team that has elevated both Pine Creek teams year after year.
“Gabel is big about working together as a whole,” Weichelt said. “Everyone coming together to help everyone become better has really helped us this year. It feels good to get a team win but now we just need to get back to grinding on the mat.”
Boys team scores:
- Pine Creek, 222.5
- Widefield 191.5
- Air Academy, 180
- Sand Creek, 157.5
- Canon City, 156
- The Classical Academy, 150
- Palmer Ridge, 143
- Fountain-Fort Carson, 141
- Cheyenne Mountain, 111.5
- Falcon, 96
- Discovery Canyon, 80.5
- Elizabeth, 75.5
- Lewis-Palmer, 74
- Coronado, 65
- Vista Ridge, 63
- Liberty, 59
- Colorado Springs Christian, 48.5
- Mesa Ridge, 46.5
- Woodland Park, 44
- Doherty, 42.5
- Peyton, 39.5
- James Irwin, 34
- Sierra, 30
- Rampart, 21
- Palmer/Mitchell19
- Manitou Springs, 13
- Harrison, 4
- Kiowa, 4
- Calhan, 3