by David Tesitor
DENVER — Wesley ‘AJ’ Van Matre of John Mall is a two-time state wrestling champion at 132 pounds in 2A. Van Matre’s journey to his championship run began in his first round match against Caden Meilner of Paonia, winning with a 17-1 technical fall 42 seconds in to the third period. Van Matre threw Meilner around like a rag doll, toying with his opponent for the first fifty seconds then opening up a barrage of takedowns and near pins.
After two periods the question was if Van Matre could pin his opponent who found a way to wiggle out of a pinning position. Meilner managed one escape in the third, but Van Matre took him right down into a pinning position. From there, the ref called the match and awarded Van Matre the points for a near pin.
The win moved Van Matre into the quarter finals where he met Dylan Meill of Rocky Ford. Meill was the #3 seed out of his region. As with Meilner, Van Matre controlled the match from the onset and breezed to a 6-1 decision. Meill’s only point was an escape awith seconds remaining which Van Matre allowed to prevent him from a reverse and pin.
In his semifinal match Van Matre easily won a 9-2 decision over Traycer Hall of Hotchkiss. Hall’s only points came off a reverse.
That victory set up the championship match against Brett Benavides of Del Norte. Benavides had been #2 for the entire season behind Van Matre, and the championship marked the third time in three weeks the two combatants met on the squared circle. In the toughest match to date, both wrestlers struggled to score points. Throughout the battle, both stood head to head, shoulder to shoulder in an upright position, accessing each weakness.
The first points scored were a takedown by Van Matre as the first period ended.
The second period saw little action. Van Matre scored on a reversal to opened up a three point advantage. However, in this sport, a takedown and pin can happen at anytime, so Van Matre took a defensive position.
He allowed an escape with 17 seconds and Benavides could not score. In the process, Van Matre was bloodied, his lip broken open, but after a two minute ‘blood timeout’ the match was allowed to continue. Van Matre ended the match controlling Benavides as time ran out.
The match opened the door for Van Matre to become a four time state champion and makes him the 11th champion in the history of Walsenburg/ John Mall.
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