The ink could make ya think.
Even if it was difficult to read as Joe Probst competed during the Ignacio-hosted Class 2A Boys’ Region II Championships. During one of the Feb. 7-8 event’s 157-pound semifinals, IHS junior Zane Pontine may not have even got a clear look at the Kremmling West Grand senior’s left forearm, tattooed with a motto both wrestlers could follow – from a packed IHS Gymnasium all the way up to Ball Arena in Denver: I will become what I know I am.
Pontine, however, became the regional’s champion at the weight – via an 11-4 win over Probst, followed by a 12-9 sudden-victory triumph over Mancos senior Brandon Vannest – and thus advanced to the 2025 CHSAA State Championships hoping to become what every high-school wrestler dreams of being.
And on Day 1 of the Feb. 13-15 spectacle, Pontine took the first step towards the top of the podium by pinning Swink senior Dalton Casper one minute, 26 seconds into the first period of their first-round bout. Unfortunately, Pontine’s title run was cut short in the quarterfinals as Hotchkiss North Fork senior Charlie Miller pulled out an 8-5 win after six hard minutes.
And as fate – or at least irony – would have it, Pontine found himself squaring off against Probst to begin his attempted run through the consolation rounds, with third place now his objective. Upset 13-11 in the opening Round-of-16 by Del Norte junior Paul Neal, but able to stay alive via a medical-forfeit win over Stratton senior Stockton Fye, Probst then got the better of Pontine and dealt the Bobcat a season-ending 14-9 defeat.
But the Mustang also would not finish amongst the weight’s top six as Cedaredge senior Wylee Lorimor then eliminated him 5-3 in the consolation quarters. Lorimor (40-15 overall) would end up placing sixth while, much later on Day 3, Miller (47-5 overall) outlasted Wray senior Casey Midcap (38-3) in the first-place bout, 16 to 14.
Finishing his third varsity season stuck on 99 career victories, Pontine concluded his ’24-25 campaign standing 37-7.
Ready to make amends for a 2-1 loss to Vannest in last season’s third-place bout at 150 pounds (coincidentally, Vannest had ousted Probst earlier in the second round of consolation action), Ignacio junior Lincoln deKay – now one of the classification’s best at 165 – started his new title quest with a 14-3 major-decision win over Limon sophomore Carlos Nunez, then dominated NFHS senior Peyton Armstrong by 16-1 technical fall in the quarterfinals.
Pit against Sedgwick County/Fleming senior Grant Statz in one semi, deKay logged a 15-12 sudden-victory win to earn himself a spot in the weight’s grand finale against Holly’s Tripp DuVall. King amongst the 150s in 2024, DuVall – who’d also placed second in ’22 to Fowler’s Traven Sharon as a freshman 106-pounder – was as tough a customer as expected and finalized his senior-year record at 41-3 via an 11-2 major.
deKay, meanwhile, finished the winter standing an outstanding 44-6 overall. As a ‘team,’ IHS’ dynamite duo earned 24.5 points and tied Colorado Springs Christian for 27th place out of 49 scoring squads. Atop the standings, Cedaredge racked up 141.5 points but needed every one of them to edge runner-up North Fork (138) and third-place Wray (126). Rocky Ford (110.5) and Ault-based Highland (102.5) filled out the top five.
Helping Fowler finish 11th overall with 48.5 accumulated points, Sharon became the 33rd gent in CHSAA annals to win four individual crowns when he pinned Meeker sophomore Koy Weber 1:52 into the second period at 126 pounds.