Gaining experience vital to their futures in the sport, four Ignacio middle-schoolers recently competed at the 2018 Colorado Middle School State Wrestling Championships, held March 30-31 in Denver.

Leading the way for the team inside the National Western Complex was 160-pounder Jeremy Roderick. Going 2-2 overall at the weight – competitors in all classes were divided by weight and not by age, meaning a sixth-grader could wrestle a more experienced eighth-grader – he managed to reach the quarterfinals where he lost by pin to Jose Rosales of the Denver-based Lincoln Jr. Lancers club.

Brush’s Dominick Ontiveros then held on to win 4-2 in the consolation rounds, eliminating Roderick.

70-pounder Devante Montoya also went out – via 15-4 major decision against Milliken Middle’s Vincente Pantoja – in the fourth round of consolation-bracket work, but not before defeating Walden-based North Park Junior High’s Quinten Fletcher 10-9 to give him a 1-2 tournament record.

Rylan Maez unfortunately went 0-2 at 85 pounds, losing to two Front Range foes, and 105-pounder Keaton McCoy also finished 0-2 after a 7-4 loss in the winners’ bracket to Firestone Coal Ridge Middle’s Alex Carrillo, and a loss by pin (in an elapsed 2:28) to Grand Junction-based Purebred Wrestling’s Caleb Williams.