AGAINST ALL ODDS

For some they had never been here. For others it was a matter of overcoming years of being so close yet so far away. Six wrestlers — three from Chatfield and three from Columbine — competed at this year’s 5A state wrestling tournament. They each left their mark in their own unique way. What follows is a look at how they fared over the course of three days — Feb. 16-18 — at Denver’s Pepsi Center.

Gabriel Christus

Chatfield senior Justin Hambleton, wrestling against Fort Collins’ Riley McConnell, in the quarterfinals of the 5A state championships on Feb. 17 at the Pepsi Center, came back to beat McConnell one day later to place fifth in the 170-pound division.

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Gabriel Christus

Columbine junior Brian Mayberry wrestles Greeley West‘s Austin Waterman in the preliminary round at 220 pounds on Feb. 16 at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Mayberry bounced back from a loss in this match to place fifth.

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Gabriel Christus

Chatfield’s Erik Gaytan, top, locks up with Fossil Ridge’s Taylor Killion.

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JUSTIN HAMBLETON, CHATFIELD, 170
EXORCISING EIGHT YEARS OF DOUBT
For eight years, Jacob Kelly of Bear Creek has been a thorn in Justin Hambleton’s side.
For eight years, Kelly has owned Hambleton on the mat. That included a first-round win at the 5A state wrestling tournament in 2011.
Hambleton had never beaten Kelly. Then came Feb. 18 in the third round of consolations at 170 pounds at Denver’s Pepsi Center.
With a medal riding on the line, it was now or never. And even then when the referee slapped the mat just 39 seconds in and Hambleton securely locking Kelly in a cradle it wasn’t so obvious that he had finally exorcise the demon.
“I didn’t hear it. I looked around and I looked at him,” said Hambleton, who finally realized the fact. “I won, I won.”
It was the third of four wins for the Chatfield senior at this year tournament on his way to a fifth-place finish.
Not even a nagging shoulder injury that has hampered him for much of the season could stop Hambleton, who finished off his three-day escapade with a pinfall of Fort Collins’ Riley McConnell.
“I told my coaches before I went out there that I was going balls out,” Hambleton said. “It’s the last match of my high school career. I figured why not go crazy. It worked out in the end for me.”

BRIAN MAYBERRY, COLUMBINE, 220
TAKING THE LONG ROUTE AROUND
Brian Mayberry certainly did take the easiest of routes to the medal stand, but he got there nonetheless.
First off, the Columbine 220-pounder was fifth at regionals despite reaching the semifinals. Luckily, though, he earned a wrestleback match with Abraham Lincoln’s Donovan Roybal and scored the victory to sneak into this year’s state tournament.
Then at the Pepsi Center on Feb. 16, he lost in the first round to Austin Waterman of Greeley West in just 1 minute, 11 seconds. It would take three consecutive consolation-round victories to secure a medal. Somehow, he did it.
“It feels great after losing my first match. Having to fight all the way back it’s a great feeling to walk away from the tournament with a medal,” said Mayberry, after a 5-1 decision of Arapahoe’s Andrew Jurim on Feb. 18.
He settled for fifth place after a 5-2 win over Central-Grand Junction’s Thomas Holman. It was a far cry from last year when he went 0-2. He was, admittedly, star-struck.
“I was a little shocked, a little disappointed,” Mayberry said. “But it motivated me all week during practice to get better.”

ERIK GAYTAN, CHATFIELD, 132
FINALLY GETTING OVER THE HURDLE
Erik Gaytan has been so close to qualifying for the 5A state wrestling championships the past two years that he could taste it.
Twice, he’d taken fifth at regionals. One has to place in the top four, however, to qualify for state. But this year, the Chatfield senior took third and made it. He wasn’t about to let the opportunity go wasted.
“I finally got here and I’m planning on doing something with it,” Gaytan said.
With the load lifted off his back, Gaytan only went out and placed sixth, earning one of two medals for the Chatfield Chargers.
“It’s unbelievabale. Now I’m here ... in the placing round, the elite of 132 (pounders) in the state of Colorado,” Gaytan said after a consolation third-round victory over Mountain Range’s Braden Timmons by a 4-2 decision. “It’s exciting. It’s an honor.”
He dropped two straight matches after that, but it didn’t matter. Gaytan turned his one and only trip to state into a medal-winning performance.

RYAN BERG, CHATFIELD, 195
CHERISHING HIS TRIP TO STATE
Ryan Berg wasn’t supposed to be here. At least not from his point of view.
After all the Chatfield senior 195-pounder was wrestling on the Chargers’ junior varsity squad a year ago.
Yes, he had three years of experience, but going from not even being on the varsity team one year to qualifying for state the next is quite the jump. Yet, somehow he made it.
“I exceeded expectations and I’m happy with that,” Berg said.
And he did it despite battling bronchitis all week.
The fourth-place regional finisher went 0-2, but he made it to the third period in each of his matches.
Yet, more than the wins and losses, just the pure atmosphere that filled the Pepsi Center and the fact that he was one of the lucky few to be wrestling will be the memory he’ll cherish the most.
“It’s unbelievable. Looking up and seeing all those people it’s a trip,” Berg said. “... I was so nervous. I started sweating. But when you get out there though you don’t see any of them. It’s just you, the (other) guy and the ref.”

NICK HOFFSCHNEIDER, COLUMBINE, 182
STALLING OUT OF CONTENTION
Eaglecrest’s Trevon Beauford wasn’t any better than Nick Hoffschneider, at least not to the point that he outwrestled him during their opening-round bout on Feb. 16.
But Hoffschneider, this year’s 5A Jeffco League champion at 182 pounds, wasn’t as aggressive offensively as he needed to be.
“At that point you’ve got to push the pace. We didn’t push,” Columbine head coach Mark Baltazar said. “A couple of stalling calls that hurts, kills you. We kept telling him you’ve got to circle in. If you’re not pushing the pace that’s going to happen. The kid was good of course, but Nick’s good, too.”
He just wasn’t good enough to overcome a pair of stalling calls that cost him a point and a 2-1 decision.
“If you’re down by one with 10 seconds to go you better try something. It doesn’t matter if you lose by one or lose by three it’s still a loss. You’ve got to try something at the end and we didn’t,” Baltazar said.
Hoffschneider was bounced from the tournament one match later by Doherty’s Ricky Mahan.

HANK HAMMOND, COLUMBINE, 145 SOAKING UP THE EXPERIENCE
Hank Hammond was 5 years old when he first started attending the 5A state wrestling championships. It was then that he knew one day he would be here actually wrestling. Finally, in his senior season, the Columbine 145-pounder made it.
“It’s a whole different atmosphere out there. I’ve never experienced anything like this,” Hammond said. “I’ve played in the state football championship, but there’s nothing like wrestling.”
His stay was a brief one after going 0-2 with a pair of pinfall defeats, but Hammond had made it. That’s all that mattered.
“That was a tough one, but I’m still happy to be here,” Hammond said after his first-round defeat to Loveland’s Jordan Henrickson. “I wouldn’t want to change it.”