Meeker’s Sheridan Harvey is in his fourth and final go-round at the Class 2A state wrestling tournament. He isn’t short on inspiration as he attempts to bow out as a state champion at 138 pounds.
Harvey finished fifth at 113 pounds as a sophomore and fifth again as a junior at 120, and has been a witness to history in his time as a Cowboy. For three years he was teammates with TJ Shelton, who last February became the 19th wrestler in Colorado history to win four state titles.
Shelton’s accomplishments — along with state titles by graduate Devon Pontine at 182 and current senior Casey Turner at 152 — gave the Cowboys a total of 59 individual champions, tied for third-most all time. The Cowboys took home the team title by one point over , giving Meeker its seventh championship.
“TJ and Devon were really good role models,” Harvey said. “They pushed us the last three years and led by example, and I think they saw success because of that. I’ve thought a lot about what they did, especially Devon, who finally won a title after coming up short a few times like me, and it’s pushed me mentally this season.”
Fast forward to the 2017 tournament, and four of Meeker’s nine qualifiers advanced to Saturday night’s finals — including Harvey (32-3), who defeated Rocky Ford junior Carlos Romo by first-period pin in the semifinals. The Cowboys (127 points) hold the lead after the semifinals in the team competition, with John Mall (120) and Rocky Ford (118.5) close behind.
But beyond the history on the mat that’s driving Harvey, the memory of his younger brother is equally as crucial. Angelo Theos was only 7 years old when he died of injuries suffered in an ATV accident during the summer of 2013. His influence, along with beams of support in the Cowboys’ practice room, has propelled Sheridan Harvey to the cusp of high school wrestling immortality.
“That was super hard, but now I think he pushes me and motivates me. I’m wrestling for both of us, in a sense, because I feel him every time I’m out there.” Harvey said. “Plus, the brotherhood I have in the room at Meeker is big. I’ve got a handful of buddies in there that I battle during practice, but then after practice, they’re still there to help you and support you. To have a safe zone where I could go, that helped me a lot.”
And while other Meeker wrestlers also look to pad the program’s championship pedigree — Turner is gunning for a second title at 170 pounds this year, while senior Chase Rule (28-6 at 182) and senior Tyler Ilgen (29-9 at 285) seek their first championships — sixth-year coach JC Watt noted that the Cowboys saved their best wrestling for the Pepsi Center.
“Our guys are wrestling really well across the board, which is nice because we got off to a slow start because a lot of our guys, including Sheridan, are football players and they went to the state championship game,” Watt said. “So we’re peaking a little later than normal, and that’s showing in the tournament so far.”
And while Rocky Ford had the numbers heading into the semifinals — three of the Meloneers’ classification-best 14 qualifiers made the finals, not to mention the array of others still in the running to earn points in the consolation bracket — Harvey and the Cowboys have a deep-seeded belief in themselves as they fight to defend their team title.
“Belief is as big as anything,” Harvey said. “You’ve got to believe in yourself and that you have the toughest partners in the room, and that they’ve prepared you to have success on a big stage like this. I believe that 100 percent.”
