Gavin Burrage wraps up NHS wrestling career at state tournament

Under the bright lights of Ball Arena in Denver, Gavin Burrage closed an impressive four-year Niwot High School wrestling career at the Class 4A state championships.

The senior qualified for state in the 175-pound division and after dropping his first-round match, advanced in the consolation bracket by pinning Thomas Jefferson High School's Miles Anderson in only 32 seconds on Friday, Feb. 16.

Niwot wrestling head coach Bobby Matthews was thrilled to see Burrage's hard work pay off on the state's biggest stage. "Gavin getting a win in his senior year was huge," Matthews said.

Unfortunately for Burrage, his state tournament run ended soon after when Erie's Wyatt Walston pinned him (2:06) in the second round of the consolation bracket. Still, Matthews described Burrage's high school career as an inspiring journey.

"Gavin came from never wrestling before to being here and winning a match," Matthews said.

Burrage was joined at Ball Arena by teammate Ryder Evans, who competed in the 144-pound division. The two Cougars represented Niwot's first wrestlers to compete in the state tournament since 2020 when Jovani Lopez and Daniel Torres made the trip to Denver. Lopez's older brother, Jose, was an assistant coach at Niwot this season while his younger brother Jonathan wrestled as a 285-pound sophomore.

Evans, a junior, was pinned in both of his state tournament matches, but Matthews remains confident that he'll return "strong" next season.

"Ryder put in tons of work in the offseason. I think he finished 33-8," Matthews said. "He just wrestled not like himself in this tournament, and that happens to a lot of kids here. It's a big event, so I think the experience will make him much, much better."

Moving forward, Evans and Jonathan Lopez figure to be key contributors to the Cougar wrestling program. Niwot is also set to return current sophomores Lucas Menza and Hikaru Johnson, and juniors Jacobi Alton, Max Burke Bedell, and Shubham Shrestha, among others.

"Having over 40 kids out at the beginning of the year, finishing above 25, getting kids to learn and be involved in wrestling is huge," Matthews said. "I think that only bodes well for the future because we only lose three wrestlers."