Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Motivation for Brandon Yeager and Casey Williams each comes from a different spot. 

But the common thread with the two Steamboat Springs High School wrestlers doesn’t lie in what makes them burn. 

As proved Tuesday during a pair of duals with Eagle Valley and Glenwood Springs, the end result is the same for each. 

Yeager, at 182 pounds, and Williams, at 152 pounds, paced the Sailors on Tuesday, each picking up a pair of wins. 

For Yeager, a sophomore, this year has been part redemption from a tough freshman year when he won three matches. For Williams, thoughts of not making state last year as a sophomore after making it as a freshman remind him why he does it. 

“Every day before we go into the (wrestling) room, we have ‘my goal is,’” said Yeager, who is coming back to action after breaking his wrist Dec. 17. “That’s what I say every day is, ‘I want to qualify for state.’ I just say to myself that I’m going to get closer today than I was yesterday.”

The two Steamboat wrestlers highlighted a tough night for the Sailors. Steamboat fell, 51-16, to Glenwood Springs and 53-23 to Eagle Valley, a good portion of the points coming via forfeit. 

Still it was Yeager and Williams who led the way, both looking like future state qualifiers.

“I’ve definitely started getting motivated for regionals,” Williams said. “I want to make it to state. I want to show people I can still make it to state. It sucked not making it last year when I felt like I could have. It has helped me to remember that and how I felt.”

Steamboat’s only other head-to-head win came at 120 pounds where Nathan Parks beat Glenwood Springs’ Miguel Vega.

“It’s confidence. That’s what we’re lacking as a team,” Steamboat coach Shane Yeager said. “You can see them thinking about it. But you can’t think on a wrestling mat. It’s got to be reactionary. It’s confidence and a little conditioning. We’ll get some good mat time here in the last two weeks.”

The match opened up a big week for Routt County wrestling. 

Steamboat travels to Hayden on Thursday. Steamboat will face Meeker, Hayden and Soroco. That match begins at 5:30 p.m. 

Steamboat also hosts another dual at 6 p.m. Jan. 31 at home against Summit. 

Results

Glenwood 51, Steamboat 16 

120 pounds: Steamboat’s Nathan Parks def. Miguel Vega 

126 pounds: Glenwood’s Edwin Meraz def. Dylan Parsons

132 pounds: Glenwood’s Arturo De La Cruz def. Logan Epperson 

138 pounds: Glenwood’s Mike Mills def. Dane Koepfer 

152 pounds: Steamboat’s Casey Williams def. Justin Barham 

160 pounds: Glenwood’s Christian Gonzalez def. Connor O’Brien

170 pounds: Glenwood’s Conlan Fullenwider def. Dylan Wallace 

182 pounds: Steamboat’s Brandon Yeager def. Erick Madrid 

220 pounds: Glenwood’s Brian Ochoa def. Cole Sittig 

Glenwood 50, Eagle Valley 29 

106 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Damien Atencio def. Alex Cohen   

113 pounds: Glenwood’s Miguel Vega def. Marcus Median 

132 pounds: Glenwood’s Arturo De La Cruz def, Raffa Gurule 

152 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Jacob Morrison def. Justin Barham  

160 pounds: Glenwood’s Christian Gonzalez def. JD Wamboldt 

170 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Riley Rowles def. Conlan Fullenwider 

182 pounds: Glenwood’s Erick Madrid def. Josh Schaecher

Eagle Valley 53, Steamboat 23 

126 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Kris Moya def. Dylan Parsons

132 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Raffa Gurule def. Logan Epperson 

145 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Taylor Wheeler def. Guerin Lewis

152 pounds: Steamboat’s Casey Williams def. Devin Ward

160 pounds: Eagle Valley’s JD Wamboldt def. Connor O’Brien

170 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Riley Rowles def. Dylan Wallace 

182 pounds: Steamboat’s Brandon Yeager def. Josh Schaecher 

220 pounds: Eagle Valley’s Andy Armstrong def. Cole Sittig 

To reach Luke Graham, call 970-871-4229 or email lgraham@SteamboatToday.com