DENVER – If you don’t know the Gitke name yet it’s understandable because they haven’t been in the game all that long.
But by the time all is said and done, Strasburg sisters Vivienne and Madilyn Gitke might go down as one of the most decorated sibling tandems this state has ever seen. Vivienne, a senior, won her second title on Saturday night at Ball Arena and her sophomore sister Madilyn also got No. 2 and is halfway to joining elite Colorado company.
“I don’t care about bragging rights,” Vivienne said. “She’s doing a great job and I really hope she gets those four. She has a goal of getting to 200 wins.”
A lofty achievement that doesn’t seem too far away when you consider she’s already at 92 wins after beating Gunnison senior Romie Uhrig 3-0 in the championship match at 155 pounds.
But the night truly belonged to Vivienne, whose Indians coaching entourage were discussing in the tunnel after the match whether or not she had even been taken down once in her perfect 41-0 season. Nobody fully came to the conclusion, but the mere fact that it was even a discussion is a little hard to fathom.
“I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I can’t think of it happening,” she said. “But that is pretty cool.”
Vivieene knew all eyes were going to be on her after winning a title as a junior, but her cool, calm and collected nature didn’t really allow any sort of doubt about her senior season to creep in.
(Eric Brown/ebrownfoto.com)
“I didn’t feel much pressure honestly because I’ve been going to a lot of really big tournament and that pressure just becomes easy to work with,” said Vivienne, who along with her sister really picked up the sport in middle school. “And I’ve gotten better at it over the years, so this wasn’t too bad, I was able to get through it.”
She was impressive in her final against Evergreen’s Margaret Burrier as well. The two matched up last week in the Region 4 final and Vivienne Gitke was quick to admit that anything that happened in that match was inconsequential to Saturday night’s rematch that resulted in a first period pin at 1:33.
“It did help, but it also means she could’ve learned from me and come back from it,” said Vivienne, who will continue her career at King University in Bristol Tennessee next fall. “She did learn, especially not to get chicken winged so much.”
Vivienne, after standing on top of the podium, was able to stand back and watch Madilyn gut out a 3-0 win.
It was a big night for all seven of the defending champions in Class 4A. Pueblo Central’s Acelyn Duran (100 pounds), Bennett’s Emma Faczak (105), Alamosa’s Samantha Maestas (120), Severance’s Eila Schultz (130) and Canon City’s Kate Doughty (135) as well as both the Gitke’s all defended their title. Doughty joined Vivienne Gitke in the 2026 undefeated club, finishing 24-0.
For the second straight season, Pueblo Central is the Class 4A champion. The Wildcats wrapped it up when Gionna Duran won the title at 115 pounds, putting enough distance between themselves (115.5 points) and a tight runner-up finish between Severance (102.5) and Las Animas (102).
“We brought 11 girls here and the outcome wasn’t what we expected; but we placed four girls and those girls put the team on their backs and that’s what hard work is all about,” said Central coach Chris Gutierrez to the Pueblo Cheitain’s Chris Abdelmalek. “These girls come in and they put everything they’ve got into this sport. They gave it all and look what the outcome is.”
Class 4A girls wrestling champions
| WEIGHT CLASS | CHAMPION | SCHOOL |
|---|---|---|
| 100 | Acelyn Duran | Pueblo Central |
| 105 | Emma Faczak | Bennett |
| 110 | Piper Montoya | Canon City |
| 115 | Gionna Duran | Pueblo Central |
| 120 | Samantha Maestas | Alamosa |
| 125 | Alyssa Ornelas | Fort Lupton |
| 130 | Eila Schultz | Severance |
| 135 | Kate Doughty | Canon City |
| 140 | Vivienne Gitke | Strasburg |
| 145 | Roxie Uhrig | Gunnison |
| 155 | Madilyn Gitke | Strasburg |
| 170 | Julianna Darmafall | Liberty Common |
| 190 | Valancia Bentrott | Evergreen |
| 235 | Toryn Neugebauer | Holly |
Top 10 teams
| PLACE | TEAM | SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pueblo Central | 115.5 |
| 2 | Severance | 102.5 |
| 3 | Las Animas | 102 |
| 4 | Canon City | 95 |
| 5 | Gunnison | 68 |
| 6 | Fort Lupton | 66 |
| 7 | Holy Family | 62 |
| 7 | La Junta | 62 |
| 7 | Strasburg | 62 |
| 10 | Evergreen | 60 |
