For Highland senior Wyatt Chase and the rest of his teammates on the Huskies boys wrestling team, the letters “W.I.N.” had numerous meanings this past weekend at Denver’s Ball Arena.
For starters, Chase and the rest of the team used those letters as an acronym for “What’s Important Now”.
What was most important during the Class 2A state tournament was scoring as many points as possible from when action began Thursday until it concluded late Saturday.
But, also, those three letters simply spelled out Highland’s desire to win.
And, as the dust cleared Saturday night, the Huskies hadn’t just won. They had won at a level the program never had before.
With a trio of individual state champions — Chase, junior Carter Jensen and senior Tyler Varra — leading the way, Highland made history, securing the school’s first state wrestling team title.
“It feels amazing,” Chase said. “That was part of the excitement for me: just helping out my team and trying to come home with a state championship. … ‘W.I.N.’ stands for ‘What’s Important Now.’ What’s important now was pushing through, trying to get pins and score key points for our team. Whether it’s coming in early in the morning, working out and putting that hard work in — it’s about what’s important now.”
The Huskies needed just about every one of their 111 team points — and their 3-0 performance in Saturday night’s finals — to win a razor-tight team race over North Fork (105.5), Burlington (94.5), Rocky Ford (94.5) and Buena Vista (93).
Highland senior Wyatt Chase celebrates winning the Class 2A 190-pound final at the State Wrestling Championship at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)The finals round began at 190 pounds, and Chase (46-4) was quick to ignite Highland’s fiery title-seizing night. He pinned Yuma senior Daden Beauprez (34-5) in just 1 minute, 30 seconds to give the Huskies much-needed bonus points in the closely contested team race.
Jensen (44-11) secured a 16-3 major decision against Dayspring Christian senior Liam Deboer (34-12) in the 132 final to all but secure the team crown for Highland.
Mere moments later, Varra (48-2) put an exclamation point on Highland’s historic championship run. He earned a 16-0 technical fall in 3:09 against Akron senior Kaleb Grauer in the 144 final.
A year ago, the Huskies placed fifth in the state tournament’s team standings. Individually, Chase finished second, Jensen was sixth, and Varra placed second.
In addition to washing out the bad taste of a 4-3 finals loss a year ago and securing his own individual title, Varra said that when he stepped on the mat Saturday night, he wasn’t just wrestling for himself. He was also wrestling for all of his teammates that battled to score points for the team, even after their own hopes for individual state titles had evaporated.
The Highland wrestling team, kneeling: Korbin Hoke, Carter Jensen, Wyatt Chase, Gino Bautista; standing: Bowen Winter, Jake Varra, Dan Lewis, Robert Olson, Audie Lewis, Cason Jensen, Tyler Varra, Zack Finkbeiner, Chris Villalobos, Keaton Sameshima (Andy Lavier/Courtesy)“Every single one of those points counted,” Varra said. “We had guys that faced some adversity, ended up going onto the back side (of the bracket). At this state tournament, when your dreams are crushed like that, it’s easy to just fall over and lay on your back and not give a crap about your team. But, we had guys that battled. … We deserved it, and we went out there and got it.”
Five of the eight wrestlers Highland brought to Ball Arena earned spots on the championship podium. In addition to the team’s trio of champions, the Huskies also received fifth-place finishes from freshman 120-pounder Robert Olson (33-17) and senior 126-pounder Korbin Hoke (43-8).
“This championship is the result of extreme hard work and a whole lot of hours put in,” Huskies coach Jake Varra said in an announcement the school put out the day after the tournament. “Our athletes committed themselves to the process every single day. I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
Hence then, the article about highland shows desire to w i n in historic wrestling championship run was published today ( ) and is available on GreeleyTribune ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Highland shows desire to ‘W.I.N.’ in historic wrestling championship run )
Also on site :