In a sport full of tough individuals, Montezuma-Cortez High School senior Seager Oliver asserted himself as one of the toughest during a pin victory in the Class 3A 182-pound state semifinals.
Trailing Salida High School’s Nate Lowe (29-9) 9-7 in the second period, Oliver injured his left shoulder and lay nearly motionless on the mat for approximately 10 seconds.
After speaking with doctors and coaches, Oliver returned to action roughly one minute later, finished out the second period and pinned his opponent with 1:14 left in the third.
“I dislocated my shoulder, said Oliver. “It popped out and I laid there for a second. It popped back in when I raised my arm.”
Asked what allowed him to fight through the pain, Oliver responded that the opportunity to win a state title his senior year kept him going.
“I wanted to get the win,” Oliver said. “It’s my senior year. I’m not going to throw this away.”
After dominating throughout his first two matches of the tournament, Oliver found himself in trouble against Lowe, who took the M-CHS senior down five times in the match.
Many of Lowe’s takedowns came after Oliver missed single leg and double leg shot attempts.
“(Lowe) was tough,” said Oliver. “He had good technique and good takedown defense. He caught me off guard. I didn’t feel I wrestled to my full potential, but we got through it still.”
Shortly after the conclusion of his match, Oliver visited with a doctor and left the arena with ice taped to his shoulder. His words left no doubt, however, that he will be ready to go tomorrow.
Oliver will meet Eagle Valley’s Devin Ward (36-6) in tomorrow’s state finals. Oliver defeated Ward 12-5 on Feb. 14 in the Class 3A Western Region Championship. Tomorrow’s match will be the final one of Oliver’s career.