Who made their case on the mat for state wrestling

Young earned her first girls regional championship last weekend

The various regional wrestling tournaments across the state brought no shortage of excitement, as local grapplers flexed their collective muscles on the mats over the weekend.

Teams from the Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley school districts, as well as kids in Broomfield, saw a total of 71 wrestlers — 58 boys and 13 girls — qualify for the state tournament. Nineteen were crowned regional champions.

Mead enjoyed the most success of any team in the area, having crowned seven regional champs, all while sending 16 boys and girls to Denver’s state tournament. Class 4A alone will see 37 kids from the area.

The final competition will begin for all classifications at Ball Arena on Thursday morning, with state champions ascending to the top of the podium by Saturday night.

Two of the area’s best female wrestlers faced off in the 120-pound championship at the North Metro Region 1 tournament to further showcase the talent that lies here. Following a thrilling, 4-3 decision over Broomfield’s Breezy Johnston, Mead junior Erin Young came out on top to secure her title.

Her victory helped elevate the Mavericks to a team runner-up finish as five ladies in all earned bids to the state tournament.

“Just missing out on qualifying for state last year was the motivation I needed to be successful this season,” Young said. “My main goals have been to keep improving on my feet and continuing to learn new moves.

“Breezy is an amazing wrestler and a tough opponent. My strategy going into the match was to be aggressive, light on my feet, and keep moving. When wrestling a really good wrestler like Breezy, I had to be smart and take advantage of the

opportunities that came up throughout the match.”

Young will enter the finale with a 25-9 record. Johnston, a freshman with the Eagles, has made quick work of her debut with a 34-7 record, and certainly gave a seasoned

high school grappler a run for her money under the regional spotlight.

Johnson relied on seven years of mat experience, and a new attack strategy, to make her case for state.

“I try to get as much practice with the boys team at Broomfield to get as much work in as possible,” Johnston said. “The boys can be stronger and faster and so if I get beat

up on (by) them, it can help me to be prepared for that against girls. I think it has helped me wrestle faster and look for things that I wouldn’t normally look for.”

Johnston is excited to experience the state tournament from mats after having spent previous competitions up in the stands. She hopes to finish in the top three.