Student Athlete of the Week Jonathan Lopez

Wrestling at 285 pounds, Niwot High School junior Jonathan Lopez achieved a major personal milestone earlier this month by competing in his first-ever state tournament.

Lopez was one of three Cougars who suited up at Ball Arena in Denver, joining 144-pound senior Ryder Evans and 165-pound junior Eli Quesada. Neither of Lopez's two Class 4A state tournament matches went his way, but wrestling on Colorado's biggest stage remained special.

"I'm pretty proud of making it," Lopez said. "It was a really cool accomplishment. It was one of my goals since I was a freshman. I didn't do my very best, which was kind of disappointing, but I think it was really a cool experience."

In Lopez's first-round bout, he was pinned by Discovery Canyon High School's Jude Suhajda midway through the second period. Lopez fared better in his consolation round match against Palmer Ridge High School's Dylan Yanovich but was ultimately eliminated via a 6-2 decision on Thursday, Feb. 13.

Reflecting on his first state tournament appearance, Lopez admitted he had some nerves going up against Colorado's top heavyweight wrestlers. Still, he left Ball Arena confident and motivated to return next year.

"I learned there's definitely going to be guys better than you," Lopez said. "It taught me to keep working harder."

Lopez qualified for the state tournament in dramatic fashion at the 4A Region 2 championships on Feb. 8. After falling in the consolation bracket semifinals, Lopez won the fifth-place match to set up a wrestleback bout against Falcon High School's Kyle Tarver, with the winner earning a state tournament bid.

"Once I saw that I was going to wrestle back, it got me excited because I finally got my shot again to go to state," Lopez said.

The 285-pound Lopez celebrated his victory over Tarver (5-2 decision) by leaping into a hug with Niwot assistant coach Nik Blume, nearly knocking him off his feet.

"He (Blume) helped me through it the whole time," Lopez said. "He was really there for me."

Along with Blume, Lopez gains strength from his two older brothers, Jose and Jovani, who both wrestled at Niwot. Jose graduated in 2018 and currently works as an assistant coach with the Cougars.

"They both inspired me to try and make state because they both made it," Jonathan Lopez said of his older brothers. "I was really trying to work as hard as I could to make them proud. They were with me the whole time, trying to help me through it and trying to help me become better than they were."

This offseason, Lopez aims to develop his offensive skills on the mat by working with his older brothers and Niwot head coach Michael DeCamillis. He's also considering joining a club wrestling program.