The Top of the Rockies tournament is typically a measuring stick each January for some of the state’s elite wrestlers, especially as it comes roughly a month before the state tournament.

The 2026 version of the tournament takes place Friday and Saturday at Centaurus High School in Lafayette, with some of the state’s top programs competing.

Class 5A’s top three programs currently residing in the On the Mat rankings – Pomona, Grandview and Ponderosa – are set to be at Centaurus. 4A’s top-ranked Pueblo East and No. 3 Roosevelt will compete, as will 3A’s No. 2 Roosevelt and 2A’s No. 3 Rocky Ford.

Pomona, Grandview and Pueblo East finished in the top three last January. The Panthers, who won a seventh consecutive state crown a month later, are coming off a dominant showing at the Arvada West Invitational last weekend despite not having its full roster. Pomona had a handful of its top performers at the Doc Buchanan Invitational in California.

Pomona claimed six first-place finishes on its way to the team trophy with 249 points. Palisade was second with 188.5 points, followed by Loveland at 185.5.

Alamosa won the Mel Smith tournament at Florence High School, with Fort Morgan placing second.

Here is a quick glance at each of the state’s four classifications headed into mid-January:

Class 5A

Boys
Pomona’s Colby Payne (120), Logan Dellow (126), Emmitt Munson (165), Emmerson Claeys (190), Maddux Najera (215) and Rylan Berger (285) each took first place at A-West. Dellow’s victory came over 4A No. 1 Teagan Young of Palisade by an 8-3 decision. … Grandview’s JR Ortega went 6-1 at the Doc Buchanan, with the only loss coming by an 8-6 decision. In what could a preview of the heavyweight bout at state, Legend’s Alexander Rose edged No. 1 Leland Day of Grandview 3-2, one of Rose’s two wins at the tournament. … A handful of ranked wrestlers also competed in the Rodriguez Tournament of Champions at Eaglecrest High, which was won by Kearney (Neb.) with 483 points. Rocky Mountain and Chatfield finished behind Kearney.

Girls
Pomona’s Justice Gutierrez (100) and Timberly Martinez (155) won their brackets in the Gold Division at the Vista Ridge Alpha Female tournament. Chatfield’s Alyssa Cyrus (140) and Ryen Hickey (145) also took first (Cyrus defeated No. 1 Akadia Puga of Thornton) along with Castle View’s Zaret Silva Lopez at 130. … Top-ranked Grand Junction Central finished fourth in the Girls Tournament of Champions at Uintah High School, with Shylee Tuzon winning the 170-pound bracket and three Warriors teammates placing second. … Brighton captured the Arvada West Invitational team title.

Class 4A

Boys
Palisade had a strong showing in Arvada, with the sixth-ranked Bulldogs placing second. Kadin Mulford (150) topped No. 4 Jackson Eversman of Thompson Valley, and Jacob Snodgrass (175) also took first. Cheyenne Mountain’s Wyatt Boley was first at 157. … Pueblo East captured the Pueblo Centennial Invitational with 252.5 points, followed by Sand Creek. East took first in six weight classes. One of the top matches saw No. 2 Tristan Pino of Sand Creek defeat No. 3 Jason Soto of East at 120 pounds with a 17-10 decision. Mead’s Carter Woods, ranked No. 1 at 190, defeated No. 3 Achilles Evans of Sand Creek via major decision. Pueblo East’s Justus Freeman and Elijah Contreras were in California for the Doc Buchanan Invitational.

Girls
Falcon’s Allison Daniel, the top-ranked wrestler at 110 pounds, won her bracket at the GTOC in Utah via technical fall. Steamboat Springs’ Amanaki George placed second at the GTOC in Utah at 145 pounds, with Rifle’s Karisa Craig (110) and Reeves Davis (155) placing third. Meeker’s Emma Ford was second at 130. … Bennett’s Emma Faczak took first 105-pound Gold Division at the Vista Ridge Alpha Female Tournament, as did Canon City’s Piper Montoya at 110 and Kate Doughty at 135, and Alamosa’s Gizelle Meraz at 115 and Samantha Maestas at 120.

Class 3A

Top-ranked Alamosa’s three titles carried the team to the Mel Smith crown, as Jeremiah DeLaCerda (106), Pablito Rodriquez (132) and Uriah Martinez (138) finishing first. Top-ranked wrestlers placing first included Gunnison’s Zach Benson (144), Salida’s Samuel Johnson (157) and Resurrection Christian’s Samuel Stockton (285), who beat 4A No. 2 Ben Reish of Canon City by an 8-0 major decision.

Class 2A

Highland was the high finisher among the 2A team at the Mel Smith at 128 points. Buena Vista and Cedaredge also finished in the top 10. Top-ranked Derrek Buford of Crowley County won the 113-pound bracket, as did Cedaredge’s Cash Martinez at 120. Highland’s Tyler Varra, ranked second at 150, won his bracket, as did Wyatt Chase at 190. Buena Vista’s Carter Stromer, No. 1 at 215, placed first as well. … Rocky Ford won the Rocky Mountain Invitational at Pagosa Springs, with Ignacio placing 11th.