DENVER
Driving up to Denver the third weekend in February has become a family tradition for Ignacio’s Peñas.
Kenneth and Shasta Peña watched their eldest son, Alex, win three state championships between 2009 and 2011, oftentimes using up his “savings” for dramatic come-from-behind victories. He finished runner-up his senior season.
“I used up all my savings,” Alex Peña said after finishing his career 132-8.
Alex’s youngest brother, Lorenzo, qualified for state this season and won his opening match Thursday. He credited the lessons his brothers taught him during that victory, during which he turned a 7-0 deficit into a second-period pin.
“It helps a lot (having my brothers’ advice) because they showed me a lot in practice,” Lorenzo Peña said. “They taught me everything.”
Lorenzo may have made the move look smooth, but it didn’t do wonders for his mother’s heart.
“A moment of panic turned into a moment of excitement,” Shasta Peña said. “Very nerve-wracking.”
Iaasic Peña sat next to his parents with his right arm in a sling during Lorenzo’s preliminary win and quarterfinal loss. He, too, likely would be wrestling on the Pepsi Center floor rather than watching in the leather seats had he not severely dislocated his elbow in what Ignacio High School head coach Cody Haga called a “freak” injury.
“It’s my third year in a row not being able to wrestle at the state tournament, and it bums me out,” said Iaasic Peña, a junior the Bobcats simply call Ike. “I was worried about not wrestling. I wasn’t worried about my arm. It hurts pretty bad being up here (in the stands).”
Being able to watch, cheer for and help his younger brother “Woody” helps ease some of that sting.
“Even though I’m not wrestling, I still got the chance to watch my younger brother,” Iaasic Peña said. “That’s pretty awesome.”
The Peña’s extended family planted the wrestling bug early on.
Older cousins would come over to the Peña’s house and teach them about wrestling; the boys were hooked.
Every one of the Peña boys started wrestling when they were five years old, Shasta Peña said.
“We just grew up around the sport,” Iaasic Peña said.
And as they’ve grown, the sport has helped bring the family closer. They all travel together to every wrestling event from the high school season through summer competitions.
“Wrestling is a really big part of our family,” Shasta Peña said. “We live for wrestling season.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
