As a freshman, Tyler Eise lost a heartbreaking match in the state championship at 145 pounds, a narrow 3-2 decision to Adams City’s Levi Deaguero.
Since then, the Ponderosa star hasn’t lost in Colorado, turning superhuman en route to consecutive Class 5A crowns at 175 pounds as he’s established himself among the nation’s elite.
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Eise was untouchable at Ball Arena this weekend, recording the most pins/tech falls in the least time (4:19) of any wrestler in the tournament.
After pinning his first three opponents in under a minute each on Thursday and Friday, Eise blasted Pomona sophomore Emerson Claeys in the final on Saturday with a 16-0 tech fall in the second period.
“I flipped a switch after that (freshman) season,” Eise said. “It opened my eyes that what I was doing wasn’t enough. I’ve never worked so hard in my life as I did coming back after that loss. From there, I took the biggest leap. My first tournament back from losing in the finals was Super 32 (as a sophomore), and I ended up beating seven of the top 20 dudes in the country at my weight.”
On Saturday, Eise earned Class 5A’s Most Outstanding Wrestler for his dominance while finishing 35-2 for the second straight year. Both of his losses over the past couple seasons came at the Ironman in Ohio. He also won another prestigious national tournament, the Cheesehead Invitational in Wisconsin, the last two years.
Hopefully, the Ball Arena crowd soaked in his signature tilts and unmatched strength over the past few state tournaments, because there’s a chance Eise might not be in a Ponderosa singlet next winter. The Nebraska commit is considering taking online classes his senior year so he can train with Team USA at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“It would get me ready for the college level, to hit the ground running,” Eise said. “I think that’d be a great opportunity, so I’m not sure if I’m making a return to high school wrestling next year.”
While Eise mulls his future, he’s already got an NIL deal with Chain Wrestling, complete with an iced-out logo of his initials and his own branded wrestling clothes. He’s already got his eyes on collegiate success.
“As far as the next level, an NCAA championship is where my mind’s at right now,” Eise said.
Meanwhile, Ponderosa took runner-up for the fourth straight year as Pomona captured its sixth straight Class 5A title. The southern metro power finished 34.5 points back of the dynasty out of the northern metro.
That was despite the Mustangs’ edge in finalists (seven to five) and champions (four to one). Pomona’s full slate of 14 qualifiers once again made a difference in the Panthers’ ability to rack up points, especially on the consolation side of the bracket.
“We wrestled well overall — seven in the finals is pretty good — but I hoped for a different outcome in the end,” third-year Ponderosa head coach Jarion Beets said. “But without 14 guys going, it makes all the difference in the numbers game. Plus we had a couple mishaps (in the postseason), including missing our 120-pounder (Thomas Blackmon) who could’ve made a deep run but he missed weight at regionals. That really hurt us as far as propelling us into that place where it was going to be tight right until the end.”
Ponderosa’s other champions besides Eise were sophomore Michael Lopez Jr. (won by first-period pin over Pomona’s Geno Cardenas at 126), sophomore Tommy Verrette (14-4 major decision over Poudre’s Nico Bekkedahl at 138 for his second title) and senior Westin Hoffschneider (5-2 decision over Pomona’s Kalob Ybarra at 190). Jeremiah Waldschmidt (106), sophomore Jaylen Burge (132), and senior Jacob Myers (144), a two-time champ, lost in the finals.
The Mustangs only graduate Hoffschneider and Myers off this year’s team, so Beets believes Ponderosa will be deep enough to seriously challenge Pomona’s stranglehold on Class 5A next year. He hopes that team includes Eise, who will likely make his decision by the summer.
“I want him to do what’s best for him and his family, and whatever that is, that’s going to be okay with me,” Beets said. “But, I think we can get anything we want done (for his future) at Ponderosa, as we’ve proven in the past with (four-time state champion) Cohl Schultz and (two-time state-champion) Mosha Schwartz making world teams and doing what they need to propel themselves into success in Division I.”
The Mustangs also have a ringer who’s been waiting in the shadows all season in junior De’Alcapon Veazy.
Veazy is a nationally ranked wrestler at 190 pounds who transferred from Snider High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana, over the summer. The Michigan commit was declared ineligible to compete this year in CHSAA because of a perceived club connection to Beets, a ruling that didn’t sit well with the Mustangs. Veazy was legally adopted by a family in the Ponderosa neighborhood.
“There were a lot of distractions (in Fort Wayne), and my (biological) parents felt like it was best for me to come out here,” Veazy said of the move. “It wasn’t the best head space for me out there.”
Veazy took the transfer decision in stride, wrestling in some college opens this winter while also demolishing his way through the junior varsity circuit. He’ll be eligible to wrestle varsity next year, although he said he’s considering the OTC program, too, seeing as Eise is his practice partner.
If both wrestlers return to Ponderosa, they’ll make a potent one-two punch in the upper weights and give the Mustangs a pair of instant state title favorites. Eise would likely be at 175 again or perhaps 190, and Veazy would then be at either 190 or 215.
That tandem, in conjunction with the Mustangs’ other returning firepower, might finally be enough to topple Pomona. The Panthers passed Ponderosa on Saturday by securing their 11th crown, the most in big-school history.
“This performance as a team this year is just another stepping-stone for us,” Veazy said. “Our team is really young, and we’re going to be really strong next year. Taking down (Pomona), it’s talked about a lot in the room, and that remains the ultimate goal.”
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