Junior wrestler Trey Vanpelt competed at the Wrestling tournament in Great Bend on Jan. 27th at the 59th Rocky Welton Invitational, but the match wasn’t against any regular opponent.

Instead, it was Sophomore Colton Schultz, one of the top wrestlers in the entire country. Vanpelt finished in 11^th place, earning 7.00 team points. Colton Schultz meanwhile, improved to 32-1.

Schultz is from Ponderosa, Co. and is ranked second out of the 220 and below weight class nationally. He has earned a great reputation in his school and among others for getting high rankings even as an under-classman, and for registering 36 consecutive pins.

Schultz was also the first freshman wrestling captain Ponderosa has ever had in its entire history and was named the top freshman wrestler in the entire country by Flowrestling.org last year.

Despite having the odds stacked against him, Vanpelt lasted a minute and 38 seconds against Schultz.

“I just went out there and gave it my all,” Vanpelt said.

Unsurprisingly, Vanpelt didn’t share any words with his opponent during or after their match, but Vanpelt said that Schultz looked like a “big dude” and was very stacked for his size.

The Hays High team earned 39 points and got 27^th at the tournament, but great skill was shown on the part of Trey Vanpelt for doing well against a foe that has such a reputation behind him.

18elee@usd489.com