Ryan Daves said he is going to win a state wrestling title.
By the look of things, the 138-pound Montezuma-Cortez High School senior may be right.
Channeling his inner warrior, Daves went 5-0 at the prestigious Warrior Classic at Colorado Mesa University on Friday and Saturday. The two-day tournament was hosted by Grand Junction Central High School.
The tourney features wrestlers from all classifications in Colorado. It is Daves' first Warrior Classic championship.
Daves pinned Daniel Bollotti (Pueblo South), Ulyises Flores (Pueblo Centennial), Jeremiah Merino (Center) and Taylor Berquist (Arvada West). He then won a hard fought 4-2 overtime decision against Jace Lopez of Roosevelt in the finals. Daves is 10-0 this season.
Seager Oliver and Trenton Gustafson each wrestled to fourth-place finishes at 170 and 182 pounds, respectively.
Oliver went 4-2 and upped his overall record to 9-2. Gustafson had the same 4-2 result and is 9-2 as well.
Jonathan Tavra and David Skaggs both recorded wins at 113 and 195.
The Panthers will be off for Christmas break and wrestle again Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013 at the Montrose Indian Invitational.