Wesley Reeves has been a standout for Manitou this season.
It’s regionals, and anything can happen. — Paul Bonner
By Daniel Mohrmann
The Manitou Springs wrestling teams are coming off strong showings at league meets and are now turning their eyes to regionals.
Between the boys and the girls, the Mustangs got out of the weekend with three league champions as Maggie Ganser claimed the 105-pound league title and Alex Traenkle won the 115-pound title for the girls at Woodland Park. At Dolores Huerta, Wesley Reeves pinned both his opponents in the 190-pound field to capture the Tri-Peaks crown.
There were some other high placers: Abby Reeves took second while MichaelRay Abeyta and Bradyn Dowling took fourth.
The league tournaments were a good warmup for what’s on the horizon as the teams now head to their respective regional tournaments, where the results genuinely matter.
“At the beginning of the year I said four [state qualifiers] would be solid and I think that’s still where I’m at with it,” coach Paul Bonner said. “It’s regionals, and anything can happen.”
Regionals begin Friday, Feb. 10, for both teams. The girls will head to Coronado for a one-day tournament with championship matches taking place at 5:15 p.m. The boys go to The Classical Academy, where the first two rounds take place on Friday with placing and championship matches on Saturday.
For both squads, the league tournaments provided a little confidence boost heading into the weekend.
“I want to fight really hard this weekend,” Abby Reeves said. “I want to use what I’ve learned in all my matches and fight like heck.”
The Mustangs battled through a tough January schedule with the hope that the difficulty will help them power through regionals so that they can get as many bodies to the state tournament as possible.
Last year, Hannah Hollick-Mitchell made school history by becoming the first girl to qualify for state and was Manitou’s lone representative at Ball Arena in Denver.
Wesley Reeves qualified as a sophomore when the tournament was held at the Southwest Motors Events Center in Pueblo because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He didn’t wrestle with the team last year but is happy to get the chance to get to Ball Arena this season.
Not just Reeves, but the whole team is ready for their chance to send a herd of Mustangs to Denver next week.