To qualify for the state tournament for wrestling is extremely tough. In the past three years, Greeley West  has had fewer than five athletes compete at the State Tournament held at the Pepsi Center. Tonight. 106-pounder Dion Velasquez will be Greeley West’s lone representative at the tournament.

It was Velasquez’s third year wrestling on the varsity team for West and he ended his junior season with a record of 18-13.

To become a state qualifying wrestler takes a lot of work and a certain mentality. Velasquez’s offseason consisted of constant work at the gym and on the mat. He also found time to compete in offseason tournaments to prepare for his junior year and Velasquez believes that his work is finally starting to pay off.

Velasquez’s road to state got a little bumpy when he got to regionals.  Velasquez ended up losing to Arvada West and Grand Junction. He then had to grind out five extra matches to eventually qualify for the State Tournament.

“After losing those matches to Arvada West and Grand Junction I had to find a way to pull myself together and really grind out those last matches,” Velasquez stated.

Velasquez faces the number one seed out of Pomona High School in his first round match tonight. Velasquez believes this experience at state will help boost his confidence heading into his senior season.

“This whole year was just a great experience because I got to see what it takes to qualify for state and it gives me the chance to experience the competition at the State Tournament,” Velasquez said.