Caleb Copeland has a bit of family tradition to uphold.
Copeland, a junior from Bennett wrestling in Class 3A’s 170-pound division, brought a perfect record into his semifinal bout Friday night. A year earlier Copeland watched his older brother Elliot go 32-0 en route to a 171-pound title as a senior.
“It’s not new for us,” said Bennett coach John Faczak, “and it’s kind of expected for (Caleb).”
Copeland protected his perfect record in the semis, downing Grand Valley’s David Witt, who also was unbeaten (41-0) heading into the match. Copeland is 27-0, but he said the unbeaten streak will mean nothing if he doesn’t win today’s final.
“My ultimate goal is to win a state title. It’s not to be undefeated,” Copeland said. “I only got one more (match), so I better go undefeated.”
He’ll have a tall task in front of him in Valley senior Austin Trujillo, who will also enter today’s 170-pound final without a loss at 44-0.
Trujillo’s not a familiar opponent — the two have not faced one another in their careers — but there is familiarity that exists. Elliot Copeland beat Trujillo when he was a sophomore.
In Friday’s semifinal, Copeland quickly gathered points early in the match — he led 4-2 after the first period, and 8-3 after the second en route to a 12-3 major decision over Witt.
“It’s always easier to wrestle from the lead than from behind,” Faczak said. “A lot of people want to go for a Hail Mary, but sometimes it’s easier to kick field goals, pick up your points, and by the time you look up at the scoreboard you’ve got six or nine, and then you can kind of sit back a little bit and not worry about taking so many chances.”
That he’s even in the final is something of a surprise — not for lack of talent, but for lack of fortune. Copeland dislocated his elbow during football season. It was an injury that also tore a biceps and forced him to miss half the wrestling season, through all of December.
“He had a rough year,” Faczak said. Had Copeland not been injured, “I think his record would be even better right now.”
In the 132-pound bracket, unbeaten Zach Shank (43-0) continued his quest for a third title in four years by narrowly escaping Strasburg’s Jacob Haney with a 4-2 decision.
Alamosa widened the gap in the team competition. The Mean Moose lead Olathe by a 114-91½ margin. Valley is third with 69½ points, followed by Center (61) and Highland (51).
Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
