LAFAYETTE >> Two years ago, when Erie’s Caleb McCollum was just a sophomore, a finals match at the Top of the Rockies wrestling tournament was a distant dream. He never thought that, in his final trip to Centaurus’ increasingly difficult tournament, he’d very nearly rise to the top of his 165-pound weight class.

That’s exactly what he did on a frigid Saturday night. He just ran out of gas by the time he faced off with Mullen’s Isaak Chavez in the championship match, where he suffered his first loss of the weekend in an 18-1 technical fall midway through the second period.

He did, however, manage to pull off an 11-2 victory over Mountain View’s Tristan Gilbert in the semifinals.

“Last season, we kind of had a history of just (Gilbert) beating me, and I finally showed that I could persevere and take it,” McCollum said. “It’s the last time we’ll probably see each other in high school ever, so it’s kind of a cool feeling.”

In his swan song with the Tigers, McCollum has chosen to let loose and have fun, and that’s made all the difference in chasing his 19-3 record as the season starts to come to a close. He said he’s trying to wrestle smart by pushing when he needs to and knowing when he doesn’t, and now he just needs to work on opening his offense up a bit more.

“I guess I was just kind of out of my head today,” McCollum said. “I went into this tournament feeling a little bit discouraged that it was so tough, and teams come from everywhere (Colorado, Wyoming, Florida and New Mexico). That kind of made me let go and feel like nothing’s really expected from me. Everyone talks about this tournament being the toughest in Colorado. Two years ago, sophomore year, I was here. I won one match.”

Shore-ing up his game

The five teams that hailed from the area illuminated just how challenging TOR is by sending just two wrestlers to the finals. Centaurus senior Mason Shore was the other local grappler to pave his way toward second place at 190s, and he faced just as much of a test.

Ponderosa’s De’Alcap Veazy ended Shore’s hopes of a championship with a pin in the last 17 seconds of the first period to push

Shore’s record back to 28-5. But this four-year wrestler has proven time and again that even the athletes that come a little bit late to the game can be just as dominant.

“I like to be a testament that even those who haven’t wrestled their whole life, if you didn’t do Little League or whatever it was — I didn’t do Little League, I just did it because I love it — if you love it too, you can come out and be a wrestler in four years and start making some noise,” Shore said.He’s seen himself improve astronomically since he first stepped onto a mat as a freshman and hopes his success at his team’s home tournament can help propel him to even greater things down the line.

It could, after all, provide a window into what the state tournament might look like next month.

“I just think it’s great because it’s the end of the season, everyone’s pretty much developed into their proper weight classes and developed their packages for what they like,” Shore said. “You bring the best of the best from various different regions, and you just bring them all together and you see who’s best.

“Last season to now I think, it’s just confidence and it’s unfortunately not one of those things you can teach. It’s just knowing that I deserve to step on the mat with people who have been wrestling their entire lives, and I can compete and do the best I can.”

Other local placers:

• Erie’s Noah Bridgewater (126s) claimed fifth after picking up wins against Legacy’s Isaac Woolman (15-6 major decision), Central’s Isael Beal (8-5 sudden victory) and Fort Lupton’s Robert Ortiz (9-5 decision).

• Legacy’s Matthew Clifton (132) placed fifth after he picked up wins against Rocky Mountain’s Cormac Loughlin (8-0 major), Riverdale Ridge’s Ian Ingalls (1:18 fall), Pueblo Central’s Colby Piper (fall 2:14), Grandview’s Graeson Streit (5-3 decision) and through a forfeit in the fifth-place match.

• Monarch’s Levi Carlucci (144) placed fifth thanks to a bye, an 18-2 technical fall (5:32) over Cheyenne East’s Wyatt Sellnow, a pin (2:23) over Pueblo East’s Logan Trujillo, a 13-3 major over Pueblo Central’s Onesimo Rodriguez and an 8-4 decision over Central’s Ryan Gonzales.

• Monarch’s Antonio Beall (165) placed third after defeating Rio Rancho’s Jacob Lesperance by a 17-2 technical fall (3:22), Riverdale Ridge’s Lino Oliverez by fall (2:28), Valor Christian’s Cole Beyer by an 8-2 decision and Poudre’s Brett Lamb by a 10-3 decision.