IGNACIO
Ryan Nava moved to Bayfield in seventh grade. One of his first wrestling matches was against Ethan Appenzeller of Ignacio. Five years later, the two have faced off on the mat more times than they can count.
Now seniors at their respective high schools, the two competed against each other for perhaps the final time in matches Friday and Saturday. Nava earned a late pin victory in the third period to give Bayfield High School a dual-meet victory Friday night. Saturday, the two squared off in the 145-pound championship match at Ignacio’s Butch Melton Invitational Tournament. A grueling match again went Nava’s way in the third period via a 6-2 decision.
After, the two hugged and exchanged respect, an ultimate display of the camaraderie the two have built since they first met in 2011.
“It sounds weird, but he’s played a big part in how I wrestle and the things I can do,” Nava said. “I know any time he and I matchup it’s going to be a showdown. He doesn’t quit, and I don’t quit.”
Nava’s win improved his season record to 35-0, and he’s one of the top ranked 145-pound wrestlers in Class 3A. Appenzeller is now 33-4 and is one of the top 145s in Class 2A. Both wrestlers have their eyes set on the top step of the podium at the Pepsi Center in Denver on Feb. 18, the final day of the state tournament.
But perhaps neither would have reached their full potential without the rivalry they built against each other.
“He’s a constant reminder that there’s somebody better than you and that you have to push it,” Appenzeller said. “You have to be the one to go to all these camps and learn. I see him at plenty of camps all the time, and it’s nice to know I have someone there to push me and make me better.”
Nava controlled the region in middle school. But, when the boys reached high school, the constant improvement of both wrestlers fueled them both in practice.
“When I got in high school, I always felt like I had something to prove because I knew 10 miles down the road there was a boy just like me with the same goals as me,” Nava said. “It put good pressure on me and made me perform.”
With their high school careers winding down in the coming weeks, the two will transition from rivals to partners as they look to attack their brackets at the regional and state tournaments.
They hope to share one more special moment together inside the Pepsi Center.
“It’s great to know I’m going to see him at the state tournament,” Appenzeller said. “I’m going to help him warm up, and he’s going to do the same for me. We’ll both be there for each other’s last match of our high school career.”
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
