In the northeast corner of Colorado, a co-op program is helping wrestling thrive.

Sedgwick County/Fleming has been a co-op team since 2012, and in the years since the combination of wrestlers from Fleming High School, Haxtun High School, Julesburg High School and Revere High School have enabled the program to be perennially competitive at the Class 2A state tournament.

The program’s best finish has been fourth, which is where SCF sits in the standings following Friday’s semifinal round. SCF has consistently placed in the Top 10 dating back to its inception as one of the state’s first co-op teams.

“Back in 2012, the head coach at Sedgwick County at the time and I were really good friends, and we both had really low numbers,” explained Don Schelling, SCF’s head coach who was previously the head coach at Fleming. “There were many years where I had just four kids, and Sedgwick County had around six. So we committed to the co-op, and it’s been great to revive the sport in our communities.”

Sedgwick County’s had a co-op for all its teams for about 20 years, consisting of athletes from both Julesburg and Revere. But the combination of those two schools wasn’t enough to bolster the wrestling program, hence the merger with Fleming (which has long had Haxtun wrestlers on its team) 13 years ago.

Both Fleming and Haxtun are about 40 miles from Julesburg, which sits on the Colorado-Nebraska border. The team practices at Fleming together once a week, at Revere together once a week, and then practices separately the other days.

“Out in rural Colorado, where programs can get really small, you’ve got to adapt to survive,” said Chris Michel, who runs the Sedgwick County side of the team. “In the time we’ve had this co-op, there’s been times where both schools by themselves probably would have been in danger of losing their programs.

“This co-op allows us to continue to exist, allows us to compete better in the room with each other and in meets and tournaments.”

There are two other notable co-op wrestling teams in Class 2A in County Line and Baca County. SCF’s numbers have been strong lately, with 23 boys on the team this season as well as a burgeoning girls program. The girls team started three years ago with three wrestlers, and this year SCF had 11 on the team and took six to state.

In Friday night’s semifinals, SCF had three boys competing and two girls, underscoring Schelling’s hope of another top-five team finish on the boys side.

“This system works perfectly for them,” said On The Mat founder and Colorado wrestling expert Tim Yount. “What they’ve been able to do with a co-op program, and being a contender each year here, is magical.”

Name game >> The state tournament always produces some terrific grappler-worthy names. Here are a few of the better names for those competitors in Friday night’s state semifinals: Ethyn BravoPacker (Brighton), Gunner Lopez (Grandview), DJ Wince (Ponderosa), Charlie Herting (Grandview), Cole Good (Eagle Valley), Justus Freeman (Pueblo East), Achilles Evans (Sand Creek), Ripp Lockhart (Delta), Champion Dyes (Mullen), Remington Zimmerer (Regis Jesuit) and Ella Splitter (Lamar).

Pomona’s star freshman>> Pomona boasts one of the biggest and best youth clubs in the state and has a seemingly endless trove of young wrestlers who burst onto the scene each February at Ball Arena. The latest? Lincoln Valdez, who tech-falled his way through three matches and into Saturday’s finals at Class 5A 106 pounds. His Friday night dismantling of Ponderosa freshman Onofre Gonzales was a 16-1 tech fall that came in one period of work. Valdez faces ThunderRidge junior Emmett Alexander for the title.

Four-timer on deck >> Fowler senior Traven Sharon is one win away from becoming the 35th four-time state champion in CHSAA history. He beat Olathe senior Trevor Piatt via a 9-0 major decision in the Class 2A 126-pound bracket to set up a title match against Meeker sophomore Koy Weber.