Girl power! Pfau gets win at state wrestling tourney

MEEKER I “It was neat to see Cody get a win,” Meeker’s head wrestling coach Joe Gutierrez said of his 103-pound freshman Cody Pfau, who became the second girl to ever win a match in the Colorado State Wrestling Championships, held last weekend in the Pepsi Center.
Pfau, along with senior Pat Love and sophomore Justin Hardy, all qualified for the state tournament, but only Pfau won a match.
Pfau’s weight class featured three girls, including sophomore Lauryn Bruggink of Soroco, who beat Pfau during the season and Ariel Oster of Byers. Pfau and Bruggink were on opposite sides of the bracket and both lost in the first round, sending them to the consolation bracket. Bruggink a sophomore, who also qualified as a freshman, was called to the mat first and pinned her opponent in 33 seconds. Pfau was called to wrestle two matches later and pinned her opponent from Center in 2:31. Pfau was pinned and eliminated in the next round.
“Cody’s goal at the start of the season was to win a match in the state tournament,” Gutierrez said. “I’m glad she accomplished it.”
The state tournament was tougher for Love and Hardy, both first-time qualifiers, as they had to wrestle regional champs in the first round.
“It’s hard when you hit No. 1 kids in the first round,” Gutierrez said of his wrestlers first-round opponents. All three Meeker qualifiers were pinned in the first round.
“Pat went tough with his kid for a while but couldn’t pull it off,” Gutierrez said.
Love was eliminated after a 19-3 loss in the consolation bracket, while Hardy was eliminated after an 8-1 loss.
“Hopefully Cody and Justin know what to expect next year and realize it takes a lot of work to do well at state,” Gutierrez said. “I hope they can help motivate others and become team leaders next year.”