Kyra Ensafian conquers her opponent. photo by Rawa Yousef Zardy
Each year, high school wrestlers from all around Colorado gather at the Ball Arena to compete for the coveted state champion title. Hundreds of athletes compete to become the state champion in their weight class and school classification. This year, there were a total of 84 athletes who took home a state title, as well as six Colorado wrestling teams.
To become a state champion takes a lot of work. First of all, athletes have to place in the top four wrestlers in their weight class and region. This tournament is called the regional tournament, and this year it was held in Canyon City for the boys’ division and in Poudre for the girls’ division. After the regional tournament, wrestlers move on the next week to compete at the Colorado State Wrestling Championships. This competition is held at Ball Arena in mid February, where every state qualifier from every high school team in the state gathers to compete. There, athletes compete in a bracket over the course of two days. On the third day, the final matches are presented to the public in a way reminiscent of the Olympics, where the final two qualifiers for each title wrestle in front of the crowd in attendance. The winners are crowned and awarded medals. Whole school wrestling teams can also win state with team points. When an athlete competes alone, they also compete for points that can advance their team. In that way, wrestling is very much a team sport. There is only one winning team per school division (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A), so it is quite competitive.
But the competition really doesn’t stop at being a state champion. Many exceptional athletes aim to claim the state title multiple times in their high school career, many hoping to become four-time State Champions, a highly prestigious title in the wrestling community. In fact, a montage featuring every four-time Colorado High School Wrestling State Champions is played at the beginning of the third day of the event. This year, senior Traven Sharon from Fowler High became the 33rd boy in the state to reach this accomplishment this February.
This year, Thomas Jefferson High School sent four students to state. TJ junior Jake DiProfio competed at state this year for the first time in his wrestling career. Three wrestlers, junior Kyra Ensafian, junior Anna Adkins, and freshman Kina Estrada, went on to compete in the weight classes 115, 145, and 155. This was quite exciting for TJ’s girls’ wrestling team, as it was the first time they had competed at state since forming the team only two years ago. Ensafian won her first match and went on to compete in two more. Adkins was unfortunately injured in her first match, but she put up a good fight. Estrada competed at two matches in the championships, but did not advance in the competition.
Win or lose, going to state is an incredibly huge deal. TJ is so proud of its wrestlers and can’t wait to see what they do next year on the mat.
