DENVER — For her father Sam Barajas, Shayla Martinez wears “Barajas” on the back of her Broomfield wrestling singlet. Soon, she said, it will legally be her last name, too.
Their bond, however, goes far deeper than namesake, the sophomore explained after her semifinals win at the state wrestling tournament on Friday night. The two embraced in the center of Ball Arena after she pinned Vista Peak’s Parice Jones and clinched a spot in Saturday’s 190-pound 5A girls’ championship.
Before the finals, her father, a runner-up at the tournament in 2005 for Monarch, said his daughter has already surpassed his success on the mat. While he’s still thinking what words of encouragement to give her before her chance at gold, he also knows that there really isn’t much to say.
“I’m not too sure what to tell her other than to wrestle her best,” Barajas said. “Wrestle her match. You have nothing to lose.”
Since taking up wrestling just two years ago, Martinez, a Monarch student, has only Loveland’s Abigail Stearns in the way of everlasting glory. Sitting, trying to catch her breath after her dominant semifinals win, she took time to see the bigger picture.
“My dad is a big inspiration to me,” she said. “I look up to him. And what he’s done. He’s pushed me to be a better person. And he told me after (losing in the semifinals as a freshman that if I want to be a champion, I just have to put the work in.”
Martinez is 28-1 this season. She’ll be joined in Saturday’s championship round by fellow Broomfield County wrestler Camden Austin of Holy Family. He pinned Brush’s Christaun Astorga in the first period of his 3A 215-pound semifinals match.
The night started with eight semifinalists from Boulder and Broomfield County. Six of them bowed out and will compete for a place on their respective podium in consolations ahead of Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship round.
Centaurus’ JR Spence (5A 120s), Mason Shore (215s) and Legacy’s Matthew Clifton (132) lost. As did three Holy Family wrestlers in Lorenzo Trujillo (3A 120s), Adam Moore (138s) and girls’ teammate Charlii Carbajal-Sanchez (135s).
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