High school wrestling will make its return to Pagosa Country this week with the Pagosa Springs High School Pirate wrestling team hosting the Rocky Mountain Duals and Rocky Mountain Invitational tournament Friday, Jan. 10, and Saturday, Jan. 11, at Pagosa Springs High School.
This will be the first action of 2025 for the Pirates after coming off of a two-week break over the holidays.
Coach Dan Janowsky explained that Colton Lucero was originally scheduled to compete in the Doc Buchanan tournament held on Jan. 3 and 4 in Clovis, Calif., but withdrew from the competition due to an injury.
“We withdrew him,” Janowsky said, explaining that Lucero is in the process of rehabbing an injury and is getting close to being able to return to action, “but we didn’t want to rush that at a big event like that.”
On Friday, Jan. 10, the Pirates will host the Rocky Mountain Duals, which are slated to begin at 6 p.m. in the Pagosa Springs High School gymnasium.
Friday’s duals will feature matchups between the Pirates, Rocky Ford and Durango.
On Saturday, the Rocky Mountain Invitational will feature 19 schools from three different states including Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
“It’s a tradition around here,” Janowsky said of the tournament.
He added the Pirates’ wrestling program dates back to the 1970s.
“We have a good tradition of wrestling in this school,” Janowsky said, “and we’re proud to carry that forward.”
Janowsky added that he is looking forward to the tournament, noting, “we don’t get enough” competitions in Pagosa Country.
He also mentioned the Pirates worked hard over the break, taking advantage of the five practice days allowed over the winter break.
“I thought we got a lot better on our skills,” Janowsky said. “I feel like we’ve had some really productive times since we got back to work.”
Janowsky noted that the Pirates currently have three state qualifiers in their lineup: Lucero, Anthony Manzanares and Antonio Quezada.
He indicated that Lucero is still questionable for this weekend’s competitions, but that they are hoping for a “green light” for Lucero to be able to compete on Saturday.
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