NHS boys wrestling finds wins at Northglenn Norse Varsity Invite

Shorthanded and stricken by winter illnesses, the Niwot High School boys wrestling team gutted out a respectable showing at the Northglenn Norse Varsity Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 20.

The Cougars finished 20th out of 21 teams but received wins from three different wrestlers: junior Ryder Evans placed fourth in the 144-pound class, 190-pound senior Pavi Soni won his first consolation match, and 285-pound sophomore Jonathan Lopez reached the consolation bracket championship match.

For those who didn't enjoy as much success, Niwot assistant coach Jose Lopez, Jonathan's older brother, hopes his wrestlers can view their losses as learning opportunities.

"I'm hoping that they take everything from each loss that they receive," Jose Lopez said. "If you can't learn from a loss, you can't learn from anything."

Other NHS wrestlers who competed were Cole Dudderar (106), Winston Richards (126), Hikaru Johnson (138), Martin Rutherford (165), and Shubham Shrestha (215). Dudderar and Richards both lost in the preliminaries while Johnson, Rutherford, and Shrestha fell early in the consolation bracket.

Coach Lopez mentioned Johnson, in particular, as someone who has impressed him this season. Johnson admitted that while his matches featured plenty of mistakes, his endurance continues to improve.

"I've been doing better toward the end (of matches) because I'm not really tired," Johnson said.

Moving forward, Johnson is looking to improve the more nuanced aspects of his game.

The Cougars' biggest point-scorer on the day was Evans, whose three wins produced 12 of Niwot's 21 total points. Evans won his first-round match and two consolation bracket battles before falling to Canon City's Jesse Riopel in the third-place match.

From Lopez's perspective, Evans and others are embracing what Niwot's coaching staff is teaching.

"They're doing really good, they're showing good stuff," said Lopez, who works alongside fellow assistant Nik Blume and under head coach Bobby Matthews. "Most of the good things that they're doing out there is stuff that we're trying to teach them to continuously do - not just here and there, but consistently."

Niwot is set for another busy week ahead. The Cougars will be at Fairview High School on Wednesday, Jan. 24, for a dual match before hosting Riverdale Ridge High School the following day. After that, they'll compete in a tournament at Mead High School on Saturday, Jan. 27.