{"id":35860,"date":"2023-02-09T19:32:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T02:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mathews-martinez-lead-mancos-wrestling-to-new-heights\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:27:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:27:33","slug":"mathews-martinez-lead-mancos-wrestling-to-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mathews-martinez-lead-mancos-wrestling-to-new-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"Mathews, Martinez lead Mancos wrestling to new heights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mancos
Mancos senior wrestler Ayden Mathews practices a takedown in preparation for the regional championships. (Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

If Ayden Mathews ever seemed fazed by the moment of competing on the state\u2019s highest level, you\u2019d never be able to tell.<\/p>\n

Looking to put a stamp on an impressive four years, Mathews walks with the cadence and confidence of a student-athlete years beyond his age.<\/p>\n

With visions of a third state tournament wrestling tournament, to go along with three seasons as starting quarterback of one of the state\u2019s premier small-school programs, Mathews\u2019 athletic career will rank among the best to grace the hallways.<\/p>\n

Yet, for all the moments where his arm was held up in the center of the mat after a victory, or for all the times when his football team marched down the field for a score, perhaps nothing sets Mathews apart like his humility and grace, both on the mat and in the classroom.<\/p>\n

\"Mancos
Mancos senior wrestler Isaiah Martinez spars with a teammate in a practice in preparation for the regional championships(Ben Bradley\/Special to The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Mathews joins classmate Isaiah Martinez as the Class of \u201923 leaders for a loaded Mancos wrestling squad, geared up to make their presence felt at the 2A Region 2 tournament in Hayden on Feb. 10.<\/p>\n

Under first-year head coach Ty Penning, taking the reins from Cole Allison, the program has continued to grow, emerging as a top 10 team in the 2A ranks a couple seasons ago, and climbing steadily since then. The Bluejays enter the postseason as the No. 4 team in the state, according to Tim Yount\u2019s On the Mat rankings, with plenty of big team and individual ambitions for the Ball Arena floor in Denver over the weekend of Feb. 16-18.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis all started when we were peewees,\u201d said Mathews, \u201cand this group of guys have stuck with it \u2013 we\u2019ve had some good coaching \u2013 and it\u2019s all led us here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mathews qualified his freshman year, but didn\u2019t make the podium \u2013 then had to wait until his junior season before he landed another opportunity. In the 160-pound division, Mathews dropped his opening match against eventual state champion Hayden Burr of Sedgwick County, but rallied over the rest of the weekend to claim fourth place overall.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time there (at the state championships), you can get dazed, but after having been there before, I view it just like any other tournament,\u201d Mathews said.<\/p>\n

For Mathews and Martinez, family influence serves as source of support through their athletic endeavors.<\/p>\n

Alan Mathews, Ayden\u2019s father, has been a fixture on the sideline during Ayden\u2019s development, calling the offensive plays for the Bluejays football team while serving as assistant coach for the wrestling team.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s been there with continuous love and support through it all,\u201d said Mathews, \u201cand I\u2019m so glad he\u2019s been in my corner during my journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps one day he\u2019ll wear a headset on the sidelines like his father, as Mathews spends part of his free time giving back to coach at the youth levels.<\/p>\n

Were it not for his family\u2019s tradition in wrestling, Martinez may have never set foot on the mat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always been something that we\u2019ve done in our family,\u201d said Martinez, \u201cand that\u2019s been one of the big things that\u2019s pushed me.\u201d<\/p>\n

It took him all the way to the state championships in his first year as a high school wrestler. Martinez posted his first win on the stage in the process as a junior, gaining valuable experience during his maiden state appearance.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis work ethic is one of the best I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d said Mathews of Martinez. Just two years in the sport for the blue-and-white, Martinez carries himself on the mat with all the skill of a savvy veteran.<\/p>\n

Martinez\u2019 three-sport talent \u2013 with his primary passion coming in the spring when he\u2019ll suit up as a utility player for the M-CHS baseball team \u2013 keeps him constantly moving, but he wouldn\u2019t have it any other way. \u201cI can\u2019t stand sitting at home doing nothing, so as soon as one season ends, I\u2019m ready to get going with the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to have that maturity in the wrestling room,\u201d lauded head coach Ty Penning of his senior leadership, \u201cwe never have to tell these guys to \u2018work harder\u2019 \u2013 they always come in and give everything you could ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Martinez and Mathews will end the season with more than 30 wins in 2022-23, joining several of their teammates with that accomplishment.<\/p>\n

Penning credits his team\u2019s physical preparedness as the Jays dive into their biggest matches of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis group has some of the best conditioning of any team that I\u2019ve been around, which helps as we go into the deeper waters at this point in the season \u2013 we\u2019re able to hold our breath.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discipline with maintaining a high level of fitness falls in line with the overall vision for the senior duo beyond the hallways of MHS.<\/p>\n

Mathews\u2019 post-graduation plans includes a variety of options, including the possibility of joining the United States Army at West Point. Martinez has his visions of college as well following graduation this May, aiming to attend Fort Lewis College.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the camaraderie of a strong program with talent up and down the weight classes \u2013 it\u2019s all played into the enjoyment of another fantastic season for the Jays. \u201cJust hanging with these guys, being a part of this \u2013 it makes the tough parts of the sport worthwhile,\u201d added Martinez.<\/p>\n

While the win-loss records for both Mathews and Martinez have been impressive, they recognize that their success is part of something much larger.<\/p>\n

Mathews holds a firm big-picture perspective on his athletic achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one is going to remember these medals, but people may remember ways that I was able to contribute to my community \u2013 and the way I held myself for my team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bluejays poised to compete for top spots in region, state<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,37,29,346,1205],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-35860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-mancos-high-school","tag-newsletter","tag-sports","tag-wrestling"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35860"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83150,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35860\/revisions\/83150"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35860"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=35860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}