Eagle Valley wrestling collects senior-night victories over Glenwood Springs and Basalt

The Eagle Valley boys wrestling team took down Glenwood Springs and Basalt in a senior-night triangular on Wednesday night in Gypsum. Seniors Bode Cobb and Nathan Leeper led the way, with Cobb registering back-to-back pins and Leeper winning on a forfeit and a fall.

“They both wrestled extremely tough,” Eagle Valley assistant coach Kenny Martin said. “Both of them are showing up in the mornings, putting in the work and it’s just showing. They’re blossoming at the right time.”

The Devils defeated the Demons 52-16, led by pins from Cobb and Cody Littlepage. Littlepage took down Carlos Landeros 3 minutes and 1 second into the 106-pound matchup and Cobb got the fall over Finn Walz at the 1:26 mark.

Rowdy Hollenbach earned an 11-2 major decision over Ichiro Ecchavaria at 132 pounds for the Devils as well. Glenwood Springs received a 4-3 win from Eli Cuc over Gabriel Valdez in the 120-pound dual and Luis Arballo was victorious over Jaden Ward at 126 pounds. Judah Bogart also claimed a 12-9 decision over Eagle Valley’s Bentley Lovato at 138 pounds.

In the dual against Basalt, Lovato pinned Waylon Applegate and Leeper pinned Luca Shafer as the Devils defeated the Longhorns 51-27. Fellow Devil Bennett Maloley also earned an 8-4 decision over Brooks Ragan at 215 pounds and Cobb took down James Opp for his second fall of the night.

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“Anytime he steps on the mat, he has a chance of winning, just with his mental state right now and being able to push the pace,” Martin said of Cobb, whose motor never seems to die. “He just wears kids down. He’s able to get in on leg attacks and he’s super tough on top — I haven’t seen anybody hold him down yet this year.”

The third senior on the team, Henry Hovet, wasn’t able to wrestle due to injury. Hovet suffered a concussion at the Warrior Classic in December and hasn’t cleared protocol.

“It was great to celebrate them and the work they’ve put in,” Martin said of the seniors. The coach said while both Cobb and Leeper lead by example, Leeper tends to be more vocal, too.

“He’s not afraid to tell the kids to pick it up,” he added.

A state qualifier last year, Leeper plans to cut down to 175 pounds for regionals even though that bracket might be a bit deeper.

“But he’s not shying away from that,” Martin said. “He’s willing to work harder and be a better version of himself. It doesn’t matter what the opponent has in mind, he can go out and do what he needs to do.”

At the Jody Hern Invitational last Saturday, Leeper got revenge on Arath Lopez, whom he’d lost to two days prior in Rifle.

“He met that same kid in the finals and he stuck him with the same move he got stuck in on Thursday,” Martin said. “I don’t question their mental toughness. There’s a holy trinity of wrestling — you got to have technique, you have to be physically strong and you have to be mentally strong. I don’t have to question any of the kids who come in the morning on any of that.”

With only three seniors, the long term future looks bright for Eagle Valley wrestling.

“We have a really young team and it’s really exciting,” Martin said before adding that four or five freshmen have already bought in on two-a-day trainings. “A lot of times, people don’t want to start putting in that extra work that early. For these freshmen and sophomores to come in and be a part of that group — it’s really special.”

With just two weeks until postseason, the morning workouts will soon be coming to an end as athletes begin their taper, Martin said. This weekend is the junior varsity state tournament. Meanwhile, some varsity athletes will look for more mat time at the Richard Urano Invite in Eaton while several others have reached their regular-season tournament limit and are resting for regionals.

The 4A Region 4 tournament is Feb. 13-14 at Falcon High School. The Devils will go up against 13 other schools, with the top-4 individuals in each weight class earning a ticket to the state wrestling tournament at Ball Arena Feb. 19-21.

“I’m just excited to see how everything works out,” Martin said. “They’ve put in a lot of great effort.”