Woodland Park Grapplers Bringing Home the Championship Bacon

Girl Wrestlers Now Rank in the Top 10; Many Team Members Eying State Tournament

Trevor Phipps

Photos By Paul Magnuson

With the ending of the recent Christmas break, the winter sports season in Woodland Park has moved full speed ahead as most teams now face the bulk of their league and regional competition.

And with few surprises, both the boys and girls wrestling teams are prevailing as the definite winter standouts.

The boys and girls’ grappling teams  are producing state championship athletes, part of a growing tradition in Woodland Park.  After winning a few dual competitions and doing well in tournaments, the prospects look good for both teams to be sending a number of wrestlers to the state championship next month.

One major change with the program this year involves the two teams  basically competing as one unit. After the loss of the girls wrestling head coach Dustin Rodriguez last year, boys’ wrestling head skipper Matthew Hood decided to incorporate the two teams together. The girls and boys still wrestle members of the same sex, but they now travel as one team to many of the same schools for dual matches and tournaments, and they wear the same uniforms.

This is a unique approach in the high school wrestling arena and one that is  producing amazing success.

However, the coach conceded that out of the two teams, the girl grapplers have actually achieved the most success. Currently, the girls’ team is sitting in 10th-place statewide after winning a handful of duals and tournaments. “It’s just a little bit tougher on the boys’ side, they have to fight a little bit,” Coach Hood said

According to the coach, both the boys’ and girls’ teams brought home a first-place trophy for winning a tournament, marking a first in the Woodland Park wrestling program. Just before the holidays, both wrestling teams battled in the Northern Colorado Christmas tournament during which 50 teams across the country came to compete. At the tournament on the girls’ side, Lily Hood snagged eighth place and Cheyenne Becker also placed for the second time.

Now that the wrestling season is slowly coming to an end, the wrestlers have their eyes on the championship tournaments at the end of the season. “Woodland Park has the potential to send probably five to seven to the state tournament this year,” Hood said. “With our girls’ team being ranked number 10 that’s a force. And then we have two boys highly ranked and another one on the cusp of ranking.”

Male and Female Wrestlers Eye a Spot on the Podium at the State Championship Tournament

After a handful of duals and tournaments, the boys’ and girls’ teams have already produced some stars. At the 105 pounds class, freshman Jasmine Brewer has had an awesome inaugural season and is currently in fourth place.

Senior Kaylee Bowers, who is in her second year wrestling, is currently ranked number nine. Sophomore Lily Hood is ranked in sixth place at 130 pounds.

At the 135 lbs. class, wrestler Laura Ptak is also ranked in ninth place. Star wrestler Cheyenne Becker, who also ranked in the top 10 last year, is currently in 10th place in the 235 lbs. weight class.

The boys’ team, meanwhile, sports two boys that are ranked in the top 10 statewide at press time. Senior Aidan Hood is 15-2 currently and is ranked number 8th at the 165 lbs. class. And senior Bryson Leonhardt, who was a state qualifier last year in the 175 lbs. weight class, is currently 13-4 and ranked ninth.

Overall, Coach Hood is proud of the teams’ accomplishments so far this season. This year, the boys’ team is young, but they were able to fill almost every weight class this season with younger grapplers that are improving each day. Hood said that while the boys’ team may not have as many ranked wrestlers as the girls, the boys have several wrestlers that are close to being in the top 10 in their weight classes, and still have a chance at qualifying for the state tournament.

Hood said that restructuring the program proved to be a bit of a challenge. But he noted that after hiring new coaches, the change has been for the better. The new wrestling room put in last year has also helped the team. The coach though cited the hard work invested into the program by WP girl and boy grapplers is the  main reason for their success.

“Now the girls train just like the boys,” Hood said. “They train intense and they have a consistent schedule. I think having that competition in the room where they can really be challenged is contributing a lot to them. I think that with that environment and that kind of growth, we will consistently put out top-grade women wrestlers and boy wrestlers. I think it just comes down to the hard work we are putting into the room. Those kids don’t stop wrestling until around July and some of them wrestle longer with other clubs.”

Even though the 2024/2025 season is nearing a conclusion, there is still a chance to catch some great wrestling action at the Woodland Park High School this week. On Jan. 21 at 5 p.m. the girls’ team will be wrestling at home against Trinidad. On Jan. 23, the boys have a home meet against Fowler.

Then, the wrestlers have their league tournament on the weekend of Feb.1. Their regional tournament is slated for the next weekend on Feb. 8. Those who qualify will then battle in the state championship tournament in Denver Feb.13-15.