Wrestling: Boys and girls season preview capsules

Dec. 2—BOYS TEAMS

Class 5A

Boulder Panthers

Coach: Will LeBoeuf

Last season's result: One state placer — senior Joey Airola, sixth — and three state qualifiers

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Will Everson. LeBoeuf believes Everson can put together an impressive senior year in the 165-lb. weight class after putting in the work on the mats during the offseason.

Notable: LeBoeuf looks forward to watching his group of "tough" freshmen improve by season's end and hopes to have three or more wrestlers qualify for state. He'll lean on Dakota Hess, Abe Pomeroy, Ryan Jones and Alex Smith for leadership.

Centaurus Warriors

Coach: Arturo Mata

Last season's result: Qualified one wrestler for state tournament in Xavier Valentin-Bradford

Spotlight wrestler: Sophomore Mason Shore. Shore has taken on a leadership role after putting in a lot of work at 190 lbs. during the offseason.

Notable: The boys come to the mat ready to grind every day, and Mata is excited to see what they can accomplish this season behind the leadership of Valentin-Bradford, Javier Pena, Kade Martinez, Zander Wold and J.R. Spence.

Fairview Knights

Coach: Jim Opperman

Last season's result: Three state qualifiers

Spotlight wrestler: Junior Sam Benton. Benton returns after qualifying for and winning a match at state in the 195-lb. weight class. He finished his year with a 30-10 record.

Notable: The Knights' strength lies in the upper weights of their lineup as the team welcomes some youth among the lower weights. Kaden Werkmeister and Harrison Gardner-Stephens should serve as team leaders as Brock Kolstad, who won two state tournament matches his freshman year, evaluates whether an injury will sideline him this season.

Legacy Lightning

Coach: Mike Thompson

Last season's result: Six regional placers and five state qualifiers, including state runner-up Gavin Funk at 195 lbs.

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Ryan Bynarowicz, 170 lbs. Thompson attested to Bynarowicz's commitment to the sport throughout the offseason and the improvement he's seen as a result.

Notable: The Lightning aim to finish in the top five at the state tournament and will lean on Bynarowicz, Brennon Joiner, Quinn Funk and Konnor Large to get them there. All but Large had older brothers wrestle on the team before them.

Monarch Coyotes

Coach: Ezra Paddock

Last season's result: 5A Region 4 champions, fourth in the 5A state tournament

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Emilio Trujillo-Deen, 144 lbs. Trujillo-Deen placed runner-up at last year's state tournament after finishing third in 2021 and seventh at preseason nationals last month.

Notable: The Coyotes return with a strong tradition in their wrestling room, as three former wrestlers all went on to compete in college. Trujillo-Deen should join those ranks next year. Paddock believes that seniors Matthew Fasbender, Dominik Gendreau, Jimmy Grace, sophomores Antonio Beall and Liam Zyvoloski will also make deep runs in the state tournament.

Class 4A

Broomfield Eagles

Coach: Jimmy Zechmann

Last season's result: Front Range League champions, seventh at state tournament

Spotlight wrestler: Junior Cody Tanner. Tanner returns as a state qualifier, regional champion, Top of the Rockies placer and Cheyenne Mountain All-Classification finalist in the 106-lb. weight class.

Notable: The Eagles will use this season to reload after losing senior talent with two-time state champion Ryan Vigil, among others. Zechmann believes a lot of wrestlers will need to "grow up and mature fast" and will look to returning state qualifiers and regional placers Conner Tanner, Landen Davidson, Manny Lopez, Keegan Pottorff, and Mason Smiley to lead the way as freshman Nick Penfold looks to contribute big early.

Erie Tigers

Coach: Joe Ferrera

Last season's result: Fourth in 4A, one state champion in Ramon Salazar at 126 lbs. and one state runner-up in graduated senior Gavin Malek at 195 lbs.

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Ramon Salazar. Salazar rose to the top of the 4A 126-lb. weight class after finishing his season with a 37-3 record.

Notable: Following a strong showing last year, the Tigers will look to improve even more behind Salazar. They'll also welcome back strong grapplers with senior Brendan Young, sophomores Carson Hageman, Austin Muir and freshman Noah Bridgewater.

Frederick Golden Eagles

Coach: Anthony Medina

Last season's result: Regional finalist and state qualifier with then-senior Alex Carrillo

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Adrian Casillas. Casillas, a 157-pounder, has dedicated himself to the year-round commitment to the sport and, having become a leader for the Golden Eagles, is hoping to have a breakout year.

Notable: Second-year head coach Medina is hoping to revive the old days of Frederick as a regional and state team contender by building the foundation "brick by brick." He believes guys like Casillas, Niko Carrillo, Rico Moreno, Kayler Reed and Diego Rangel can get them there.

Longmont Trojans

Coach: Matt Engelking

Last season's result: Then-senior Sam Adams qualified at 195 lbs. and current junior Hunter Knight qualified in the 182-lb. weight class.

Spotlight wrestler: Junior Hunter Knight. The top returner for the Trojans finished his season with a 21-18 record and qualified for the 4A state tournament, where he lost in a major decision in the first round.

Notable: Engelking welcomes a young team to the mat as the Trojans will take this season to improve. They'll look to Knight and seniors Basil Elkins, Seth Hagerdorn and Silas Nowlin to lead the way.

Mead Mavericks

Coach: Ty Tatham

Last season's result: 16th at state, three state placers

Spotlight wrestler: Junior Dalton Berg. Berg enjoyed a fourth-place finish at the state tournament last year and ended with a 38-8 record in the 170-lb. weight class.

Notable: Three state placers return to the mats for the Mavericks and excitement is teeming through the program that currently houses more than 45 grapplers. Tatham will look to Leister Bowling (fifth at state, 152 lbs.), Jake Glade (sixth at state, 195 lbs.), Gage Duetsch, Vinko Villavicencio and Grant Gordon to help guide the newcomers.

Niwot Cougars

Coach: Bobby Matthews

Last season's result: Zero state qualifiers, 5-10 in duals

Spotlight wrestler: Sophomore Ryder Evans. Evans, though just a sophomore, brings years of wrestling experience to the mat as he leads his teammates by example through hard work and dedication in his 132-lb. weight class.

Notable: The Cougars will need to rely on their youth with only three juniors and three seniors returning to guide 23 underclassmen. Matthews is hoping they can show up well at regionals by season's end with the help of Gavin Burrage, Charlie Kidd, Jacobi Alton and Arlo Richards.

Silver Creek Raptors

Coach: Chris Blair

Last season's result: 20-5 dual record, four state qualifiers

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Kieran Carter. Carter, a two-sport athlete, looks to build upon his state qualification at 160 lbs. last year and earn a few wins at the state tournament during his final season.

Notable: The Raptors are looking to maintain the culture of success they have cultivated since Blair first took over four seasons ago as he looks to Vaughn Lee, Xander Pheneger and Kyan Reuter to help him lead the way.

Skyline Falcons

Coach: Mike Silva

Last season's result: 13-1 dual record, seven state qualifiers

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Calvin Mendez. Mendez returns as the only state placer (fifth) for the Falcons after ending his season 36-5 in the 113-lb. weight class.

Notable: Silva hopes his boys have the potential to rise toward the top of the classification if they can spread their talent out in the right weight classes, including their seven state qualifiers and two other regional placers from the 2021-22 season.

Class 3A

Holy Family Tigers

Coach: Ernie Derrera

Last season's result: Four state qualifiers and two state placers — Brayden Bach, third at 106, Abram Moore, fourth at 220

Spotlight wrestler: Junior Brayden Bach. Bach has impressed through his first two years with the Tigers, placing at both of his trips to the state tournament as he looks to become just the third state champion in school history.

Notable: Excitement is teeming through the program with the addition of Derrera to the coaching staff, and it's showing through the 40 wrestlers on the roster, the most in school history. Derrera hopes to add to the foundation that Jason Pedigo built as the Tigers work toward their goal of a top-three league finish. They'll look to Moore, Lorenzo Avila, Camden Austin and Ashton Erickson to help out.

Class 2A

Lyons Lions

Coach: Gary Gantzer

Last season's result: One state qualifier and state placer

Spotlight wrestler: Junior Jaden Gardner. Following a third-place showing at the 2A state tournament last year, Gantzer believes Gardner has what it takes to become Lyons' next champion in his 157-lb. weight class.

Notable: The Lions are hosting a small team this year with just six boys, but what they lack in size they more than make up for in talent with Gardner, Lochlan Osborne and Canyon Andrist, who should all put up a strong showing in the classification this year.

GIRLS TEAMS

Broomfield Eagles

Coach: Adam Beeson

Last season's result: 27th at state tournament

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Sydney Wu. Wu entered the first year of the girls team's existence as the grappler with the most experience and returns to action a year after winning a couple of matches at the state tournament at 127 lbs.

Notable: Beeson looks to build upon the culture of the ladies program at Broomfield and strengthen the sport within the Boulder Valley School District. He believes returning state qualifiers Samantha White and Meagan "Max" Ziegler, as well as Torlis Friedman TeBockhorst, can provide a boon for the team early on.

Legacy Lightning

Coach: Russell Lamb

Last season's result: Fourth place at regionals, six state qualifiers

Spotlight wrestler: Sophomore Kayla Bishop. Bishop qualified for the state tournament as a freshman, during her first year in the sport. Lamb expects her to have another big year now that she has one season already under her belt.

Notable: The Lightning welcome a "green" team this season with just two returning varsity grapplers and five moving up from the JV level. Lamb looks forward to seeing what his freshman and sophomore classes can accomplish as they learn to navigate the sport at the high school level. Cassandra Mehia is making the move from manager to competitor at 235 lbs.

Mead Mavericks

Coach: Rachel Salazar

Last season's result: Five state qualifiers and two state placers — fifth place (Ashley Booth, 127 lbs.) and a state champion (Jenna Joseph, 161 lbs.)

Spotlight wrestler: Senior Kirsten Davis. Davis ended her season two days before regionals due to injury, but would have entered the tournament ranked second in her weight class.

Notable: The Mavericks return after a successful 2021-22, and will look to build upon that with a fun, learning-centric environment. They'll look to Davis, Booth, Erin Young and Yalin Tan to take the reins early.