Wrestling runs deep in the Rosales family. It may have ultimately won him his third straight state title.

The game plan for Saturday’s 132-pound final in Class 3A was no different than in the matches that got him there: rack up those points. Aside from a fall in the quarterfinals, the Jefferson senior won his first-round and semifinal matches by a combined 40-9, both technical falls.

Then, just 1:35 into the championship bout, Rosales saw an opportunity from straight out of his living room.

“Me and my cousin do that move all the time,” Rosales said. “He grabbed me through. And when he did that, I just (took advantage) and held him there.”

It was a Granby move, as Jefferson assistant coach James Vogel described it. In essence, it was a roll into a reversal that required a bit of risk and a whole lot of reward. The move demands one to briefly put themselves in a vulnerable position, but Rosales just couldn’t pass it up.

The win put him into an exclusive club of three-time champions — Jefferson’s first-ever three-peat — but his goal was always to be a four-timer. His only loss was his freshman year, a painfully close 5-2 decision at the hands of Mullen sophomore Dale O’Blia, who went on to become a four-timer himself.

As upsetting as it was at the time, it didn’t deter Rosales, according to Jefferson head coach Oscar Fonseca.

“He’s always been that tough, and look at where it’s gotten him,” Fonseca said. “That kid got him (three years ago), but that just motivated him to clean up his technique, work hard and do all the right things he’s been doing the past few years.”

To start the bout, Rosales scored a pair of three-point takedowns within the first minute. If the Granby didn’t win him the match outright, he would have been well on his way to another efficient tech fall.

His opponent and state runner-up, Alameda International junior Anthony Torrez, looked every bit as quick on his feet, but ultimately, he couldn’t stay on them long enough to find a scoring opportunity outside of an escape.

“Just his confidence (stood out). He’s very aggressive and has very good technique — he just goes out there and flows and gets the job done,” Fonseca said. “We’re always looking to score a lot of points, but he especially likes to score. He scores on his feet, he scores on top, he (escapes). However he gets it done is how we’re going to get it done.”

A bout of sickness — a “bug that was just going around,” according to Fonseca — knocked Rosales out for two full weeks less than a month before the state tournament, but he said there was never any worry. Just back to work, as always.

And now, Rosales will return to Jefferson, a history-maker.

“Man, it’s pretty cool,” Rosales said.