The Reds have been ranked in the top three of 3A wrestling since the beginning of the season according to chssanow.com, and have been a team to look out for. As they handily took the Region Two wrestling tournament with 253.5 points, twelve of the Reds are looking forward to representing their school, town, community, and region for three days in Denver at the State Wrestling tournament.

With Eaton’s 253.5 score, they were untouchable. Second place for Region Two was Brush with 198.5 points who Eaton beat by 55 points. The Reds team score is a regional record for Eaton, and the Reds are looking to do some more groundbreaking work at State this weekend.

The State Wrestling tournament is a three-day tournament running from Thursday, Feb. 17 to Saturday, Feb. 19. At regionals, the top four wrestlers in each weight division punch their ticket to the State tournament.

“My mindset changed during my match when I was down a couple points on bottom, knowing I had to get up and take him down so I could go to state,” Tripp Kayser (24) said. Kayser will represent Eaton at the State tournament. His last match went into overtime and Kayser was able to win a sudden victory by a takedown.

For the Reds, third place went to Kayser at 106lbs, Preston Smith (24) at 113lbs, Carlos Munoz (25) at 120lbs, Jake Hergenreter (23) at 138lbs, and Lucas Cass (22) in the heavyweight division. Taking second place at regionals was Jackson Tribbett (24) at 145lbs, Gunnar Clary (25) at 160lbs, and Ryder True (23) at 220lbs.

Winning their weight class was Patrick Preston (24) at 126lbs, Alex Castaneda (22) at 132lbs, Ryan Dirksen (22) at 170lbs, and Cal Sidwell (25) at 180lbs. All twelve of these wrestlers will represent Eaton at the State tournament.

State will be set up in a 16-man bracket with consolation. The Reds tied for the Wrestling 3A championship with Valley back in 2020 along with an individual win by Dirksen. Last year, the Reds placed second at the tournament. Three of the wrestlers going to state are ranked in their weight classes. Currently, Eaton is ranked number two in 3A wrestling behind Mullen. The two teams have been neck-and-neck since the beginning of the season. As of Feb. 7, Castaneda and Dirksen are ranked first in their weight division and Sidwell is ranked fourth in his.

Head Coach Tony Mustari said, “Us as coaches have just pushed the guys to their limits to show them their potential and what they could get out of it. If they go hard, they know what their potential is, and they just have to go out and get it.”

According to team ranking, the Reds will have close battles with number one ranked Mullen and number three ranked Jefferson. A 2022 banner is looking promising for the Reds with their quality of wrestlers, great stats, and quantity of wrestlers representing the Reds at State. Only time will tell if the blood, sweat, and tears will be enough for them to walk in the parade of champions.