Several stand out in singlets

Most seasons there is one wrestler who stands out just a little above the rest.

This year is unusual in the south metro area since there were four individual state champions, three undefeated wrestlers and three that became two-time state champions.

So instead of a Colorado Community Media Wrestler of the Year, there are Wrestlers of the Year, four of them to be exact.

Castle View’s Malik Heinselman and Tate Samuelson, Mountain Vista’s Trent Schultz and his younger brother Cohl Schultz of Ponderosa were the honored wrestlers.

Heinselman, the junior who is the InterMat No. 1 ranked high school wrestler in the country, was 44-0 this season and captured his second straight state championship at the 106-pound classification. He recently committed to wrestle at Ohio State University.

He had 27 pins last season, 12 technical falls and won 162.5 points.

Samuelson was 44-0 at 170 pounds and won the state title after finishing the runner-up at 160 pounds during the 2016 state tournament. The junior recorded 29 pins and three technical falls while earning 155 team points.

Trent Schultz won his second consecutive 195-pound state championship and ended the season with a 40-0 record. The senior is the first Vista wrestler to win a state championship.

He recorded 26 pins last season to wind up with 108 career pins. He had four technical falls and two major decisions among his 40 victories during the 2016-17 season. He scored 50 takedowns and gave up none while outscoring opponents 201-20.

Cohl Schultz was 46-1 with his only loss coming to the nation’s No. 1 ranked Chase Singletary of Blair Academy (New Jersey). The Mustang sophomore is undefeated for the past two years in Colorado and became a two-time 220-pound state champion during last month’s state tournament.

He had 35 pins this season and 90 in two years. He has compiled a 93-2 record over two seasons and could top the all-time Colorado records for career wins, which currently stands at 161, and the mark for career pins of 121.