Title Wrestling Tournament Final to Feature 2 Girls for First Time After Boy Knocks Himself Out

Tiffany Meier
By Tiffany Meier
February 24, 2019Sports News
share
Title Wrestling Tournament Final to Feature 2 Girls for First Time After Boy Knocks Himself Out
Wrestling match. (Chris Chow/Unplash)

For the first time in Colorado history, two females will face off in the final day of a state wrestling tournament,—after a boy knocked himself out of the competition. He would rather stand down than wrestle a girl.

The pair of wrestlers in the CHSAA state wrestling tournament, Angel Rios of Valley and Jaslynn Gallegos of Skyview, advanced as contenders for the podium, reported Denver Post.

Rios advanced to the final round after Brendan Johnston, the boy she was slated to wrestle, forfeited the match.

“I’m not really comfortable with a couple of things with wrestling a girl,” Johnston explained to the Denver Post. “The physical contact, there’s a lot of it in wrestling.”

Johnston, a wrestler at The Classical Academy, is now forever a part of Colorado state tournament history, after his decision to forfeit twice, which has effectively eliminated him from the event.

“There are bigger things than state tournament wrestling,” Classical Academy coach Sean Collins said of his 106-pound contender Brendan Johnston, who declined to wrestle two girls at the 2019 tourney.

Posted by The Denver Post on Saturday, February 23, 2019

His cited personal and religious reasons for the forfeit.

“Wrestling is something we do, it’s not who we are,” Johnston said, before forfeiting to Rios during the third round on Saturday morning, Feb. 23. “And there are more important things to me than my wrestling. And I’m willing to have those priorities.”

As for Rios, Johnston isn’t the “only (boy) that has forfeited on me before. I mean, it kinda sucks, but at the same time, it’s what they choose to do and I have no control over it.”

Johnston wasn’t comfortable with the close proximity of wrestling a girl, or the aggressiveness of it either.

“I guess the physical aggression, too,” he said. “I don’t want to treat a young lady like that on the mat. Or off the mat. And not to disrespect the heart or the effort that she’s put in. That’s not what I want to do, either.”

While Johnston is aware his stance will bring divided comments, he’s at peace with his choice.

“I’m OK with the decisions I made,” he said. I’m peaceful. I’m fine. I’m calm.”

He finished his senior season with 37 wins and six defeats, with at least five of the latter resulting from self-forfeit.

“There are bigger things than state tournament wrestling,” he said.

Johnston is looking into competing at Division III at Wheaton College next year, a private school in the Chicago suburbs.

For Johnston, there’s no looking back. Not now. Not ever. When asked how he felt, he responded, “I feel good.”

While Johnston is out of the state finals, Rios is still in.

“It’s truly grown as a sport,” she said, after becoming the first female wrestler in state history to win a regional. “But there’s not many girls that would compete with the boys, so I feel like it takes us to a different level.”

Her final match is to face Gallegos who won against Hunter Frederickson of Moffat County to cement her place on the podium as well.

“I’ve worked my entire life for this,” she told the Denver Post.

Like Rios, Gallegos had the option of competing in the postseason against either sex. She chose the traditional tournament path.

“I’m pretty used to it,” Gallegos said. “I’ve always been recognized as this good girl wrestler. And I just want to be recognized as a good wrestler in general, you know? This is my time to prove that I’m just a wrestler.”

For the final matchup between Rios and Gallegos, CHSAA Assistant Commissioner Ernie Derarra told the Denver Post, “Those two girls are good wrestlers. They didn’t get here by accident. And it’s not surprising to anybody who’s been following the sport that those two girls have put themselves in the positions to place.”

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments