The Eaton Reds prepare for the upcoming 2018- 2019 school year in hopes of brining home a championship title. The reds lost a lot of senior winners that contributed to their successful year last year, but the boys come back strong with three tournaments wins in a row.

    72 teams came together at the Budweiser Event Center for the Jimmy Johns Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament on Dec. 14 and 15. Eaton walked out placing eighth. Senior Dylan Yancey, “I thought we wrestled pretty well as a team. We could have won a couple closer matches. But overall it was a good weekend and we wrestled well at a very tough tournament. It is a good stepping stone to our season.” Eaton left the Event Center with three top ten placer. Yancey placed fourth, Senior Ty Garnhart placed sixth, and senior Jermey Murano placed seventh.

    Last year the Reds sent 12 boys to state and finished second as a team. Eight of Eaton’s own contributed to the team points by placing in the top ten. The boys capped their regular season as Patriot League champions with a win over Valley to finish perfect 14-0 season.

   The under classman begin to mentally and physically prepare to fill the shoes of the eight seniors they lost from last year. The official practice for the season started on Nov. 12. Senior Toby Gavette said, “All of our seniors are all really willing to step up this year and help this team become a title chasing team.”

   The Reds started the season with a team win at the Akron Invitational placing them one step closer to a state championship. The team capped the first place spot with a 188 points. Brush fell behind Eaton in second place with 158 team points. Along with a team championship, the Reds managed to seal the night with four individual championships. Seniors Toby Gavette, Dylan Yancey, Jackson Contreras, and Ty Garnhart.

   Following up with a big win at the Akron Invitational, the boys sailed through the Cheyenne East tournament with yet another team win and nine boys in the top ten. Four of the nine placers walked away with first-place titles. Eaton has never won the Charlie Lake invite until Dec 7 and 8. Senior Judson Church said, “We’ve had many great teams go through that tournament before and to walk out with a win for the first was a huge confidence booster in what we are capable this year.”

   Colorado preps have placed Eaton fourth in 3A behind Alamosa, Jefferson, and Pagosa Springs, but the boys have said otherwise. Contreras said, “The rankings help show we have a lot to prove as a team. The pre-season rankings don’t determine who we are as a team or how capable we are. We have a lot of great wrestlers and great coaches on our team so we are just going to have to go out and prove that we deserve the number- one spot.”