The first day of his Mile High stay, 6,479 fans filed through the Pepsi Center entrances.

13,824 entered the iconic Denver arena on Day 2, when he again stepped onto a mat.

And though Ignacio sophomore Josh Gallegos wasn’t in contention anymore when the last of 15,359 patrons found a seat on Day 3, experiencing such an atmosphere as a competitor couldn’t help but bode well for the heavyweight when the 2013-14 season’s start comes around.

And despite a well-wrapped right shoulder, his wrestling skills should as well for IHS.

For the lone Bobcat in the 2013 CHSAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships [Feb. 21-23] didn’t depart like a wide-eyed rookie, losing 2-1 on Day 1 to Walsenburg John Mall’s Lorenzo Trujillo—a regional champion coming in—and then 7-6 to Swink’s Jarred Zumwalt in the first round of consolation-bracket action to finish the season 11-21 overall.

Ignacio Football head coach Lupe Huerta, nursing a wounded right arm himself, joined IHS Wrestling boss Bob Overturf in instructing from the chairs for Gallegos’ final match, and both looked eager to see the young man’s future two-sport development.

STANDINGS:  1.Paonia 205.5, 2.Highland 148, 3.Baca County 130, 4.Del Norte 87, 5.Dove Creek 83.5, 6.Rocky Ford 70, 7.Sedgwick County-Fleming 60.5, 8.Meeker 58.5, 9.Swink 56, 10.Wray 55.5, 11.Holyoke 55, 12.Fowler 54, T-13.Merino/Stratton 52, 15.Akron 50, 16.Wiggins 46.5, 17.Eads 44, 18.Center 35, 19.Yuma 34, 20.Custer County 33, 21.Nucla 29, 22.Burlington 27, 23.Cheyenne Wells 26, 24.Holly 24.5, T-25.North Park/Norwood 22, 27.Peyton 21, T-28.Dolores/Hayden/La Veta 20, 31.Lyons 19, 32.Sargent 15, 33.John Mall 13, 34.Rangely 12, 35.Kiowa 11, 36.Las Animas 8, T-37.Antonito/West Grand 7, 39.Crowley County 6, 40.Soroco 4, T-41.Calhan/Limon 3, 43.Centennial 2, T-44.Byers/IGNACIO/Lutheran/Manzanola/Mountain Valley/Rye 0.