By the latter part of next season, there will be no questioning where Severance junior Drake VomBaur’s and sophomore Eila Schultz’s focus is.
Someone doesn’t become a multi-time high school wrestling state champion without having their crosshairs placed firmly on that ultimate goal.
But on Feb. 21, in the moments after each wrestler won another state title, VomBaur said he had other items to focus on before thinking about winning another championship.
On the other hand, Schultz said, “Why wait?”
Schultz, who is now a two-time state champion, said — mere minutes after her title match victory a week ago — that she had begun thinking about title No. 3 “right now.”
“Right after I win that match, I’m already thinking about it,” she said. “I love thinking about it.”
Schultz (29-3) defeated Sedgwick County/Fleming freshman Brooklyn Glende (41-3) via an 8-1 decision in the 4A girls 130-pound final.
About an hour before Schultz’s championship win, VomBaur (42-3) won his third consecutive state title when he picked up a 7-1 decision over Air Academy freshman Dylan Saba (44-6) in the 4A boys 120-pound title match.
VomBaur’s and Schultz’s state tournament runs couldn’t have been much more similar.
Severance junior Drake VomBaur wrestles with Air Academy's Dylan Saba during the Class 4A 120-pound final at the State Wrestling Championship at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)In addition to their title match scores being nearly identical, Schultz earned pins in each of the first three rounds of her tournament run. VomBaur secured pins in two of his first three matches.
But the instant those titles were secured, the similarities came to a halt.
While Schultz was thinking about that next title immediately, VomBaur said there will be plenty of time later to shift his focus directly on what it will take to enter rarefied air and become a four-time champion.
“I’m not really thinking about being a four-time champion yet,” said VomBaur, who has verbally committed to the University of Minnesota’s powerhouse program where his older brother, Vance, wrestles. “But I did see that (four-time champion tribute video at state). It’s going to have to be about 20 seconds longer if they put me on that. But the bigger goal for me right now is I want to win some tough matches again. I lost some tough matches this year.”
VomBaur helped lead the Silver Knights’ boys team to a fifth-place finish, while Schultz paced the Severance girls’ run to a runner-up finish behind Pueblo Central. They were two of three Silver Knights wrestlers to claim state titles, joining sophomore Simon Carter (30-4), who won a boys 106-pound title.
For Schultz, nothing could quite replace that feeling of winning her very first state title a year ago.
But this year, becoming the first two-time state champion in the Severance girls wrestling program’s brief history provides a unique feeling of its own. It firmly establishes her as one of the top wrestlers in the state.
“It’s more reassuring instead of surprising,” she said. “But, besides that, it still feels the same. It still feels good.”
Air Academy freshman Dylan Saba looks up with a bloody nose as he watches time run out while underneath Severance junior Drake VomBaur during the Class 4A 120-pound final at the State Wrestling Championship at Ball Arena in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. (Brice Tucker/Staff Photographer)Seemingly no one in a state tournament field is 100% this time of year.
Schultz admits having to push herself to remain sharp mentally, as she wrestled a bit banged up herself.
Then there are those like VomBaur, who came in with an entire laundry list of physical ailments.
Just before the state tournament, he hurt the sartorius muscle in his left upper leg/hip area. He also had been battling a lower back injury and recent illness.
As a result, he had to miss a few days of training leading up to the tournament.
But when those bright lights at Ball Arena came on, VomBaur was ready, even though he admits feeling a bit sluggish through the first couple rounds of the tournament.
“I was able to overcome all of that, and I was able to get better really soon,” VomBaur said. “A lot of prayers. A lot of vitamins. And I’m just grateful that I was able to get healthy enough for this tournament. … I really thank my coaches. They would take me back to the hotel (after matches). I probably got about 30 hours of sleep. They helped me recover quickly.”
Though his body didn’t feel the best in the early stages of the tournament, VomBaur said his mind never wavered.
“I feel like people who get injured, they often just think about the injury,” he said. “But if you’re just thinking about doing what you love — going out and scrapping — you don’t focus on any of that.”
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