LAFAYETTE — Coming into the week ahead of the Top of the Rockies wrestling tournament, Broomfield’s Nick Penfold had more than proven his strength among all of the Class 5A 157-lb. competitors.
He ranked No. 1 in the weight class according to On the Mat, but one of the season’s toughest tournaments was enough to test his mettle. In a tight finals match on Saturday, he fell 4-1 to Pomona’s Donovan Symalla, who was ranked No. 4.
It wasn’t the first time Symalla got the better of him.
“He moves his hands and feet very well,” Penfold said. “It was just kind of hard to get to my attacks and get my underhook there. I just got to fire more, I think. I just wasn’t in the right headspace going in a little bit too. I got to be willing to pull the trigger more. I lost to him on Thursday too — much tighter match. But I just got to move my hands and feet, I feel.”
Penfold said that he entered his senior season brimming with the confidence of a full year of wrestling. He spent the few summers before recovering from shoulder surgeries, but since the state tournament ended last year, he’s traveled the country competing against all kinds of wrestlers, both in freestyle and Roman-Greco.
That, he says, shows he’s battle-tested.
“I’m much more offensive, I guess,” Penfold said. “I’m willing to get to my attacks. I have a lot more leg attacks this year, and my underhook’s something that’s been working for me. I attribute that a little bit to Greco.
“This year, I’ve just gone into every match feeling like I’m kind of the man. I’ve put in a lot of time over the summer and just throughout my whole life. I feel like this year, it’s really showing and I feel like I — not deserve to win — but I’ve put in too much work to lose.”
Monarch’s Levi Carlucci wrestles against Grandview’s Gunner Lopez during the 165-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Monarch’s Levi Carlucci wrestles against Grandview’s Gunner Lopez during the 165-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Monarch’s Levi Carlucci wrestles against Grandview’s Gunner Lopez during the 165-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
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Monarch’s Levi Carlucci wrestles against Grandview’s Gunner Lopez during the 165-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
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Returning to mat form
In his third year with Monarch, junior Levi Carlucci has a lofty goal laid out before him thanks to his father and brother. First, his father Brian took home two wrestling state titles for Monte Vista in the 90s. In 2022, Cole Carlucci claimed the gold for the Coyotes.
Now, fourth-ranked Levi has the top of the Ball Arena podium set in his sights, but after suffering a knee injury during football season, he’ll have a bit of a tougher road to get there. After all, Top of the Rockies was just his third tournament back from rehab.
He still managed to place runner-up in the 165-lb. division after Grandview’s second-ranked Gunner Lopez beat him 4-1 in the finals. The ghost of knee injury past came back to haunt him, especially in the second period, when he couldn’t get his offense going.
He’s hoping that he’ll see Lopez again when the state tournament rolls around, and by that time, he’s confident he’ll be back to full form to pull off a little revenge.
“We knew about Gunner for a while,” Levi said. “That’s who we thought I was going to wrestle in the finals here. He’s scrappy everywhere, so we knew that it was going to be a one-takedown match like it was. He got me in a scramble early that I should have fought out of. He got his head up. He got it in the first period, and I just couldn’t end up finishing.
“This is the one (tournament) that everybody talks about. You can go out of state and stuff, but this is probably the toughest tournament in Colorado for sure. This is the one marked on our calendar. … I was just glad to be able to come back in time for this one because this is the one we mark on our calendars. This is the big one.”
Erie’s Tyler Muir wrestles against Brush’s Austin Ley during the 175-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Erie’s Tyler Muir wrestles against Brush’s Austin Ley during the 175-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Erie’s Tyler Muir wrestles against Brush’s Austin Ley during the 175-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Monarch’s Levi Carlucci wrestles against Grandview’s Gunner Lopez during the 165-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Monarch’s Levi Carlucci wrestles against Grandview’s Gunner Lopez during the 165-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Monarch’s Levi Carlucci wrestles against Grandview’s Gunner Lopez during the 165-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Broomfield’s Nick Penfold wrestles against Pomona’s Donovan Symalla during the 157-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Broomfield’s Nick Penfold wrestles against Pomona’s Donovan Symalla during the 157-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
Broomfield’s Nick Penfold wrestles against Pomona’s Donovan Symalla during the 157-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
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Erie’s Tyler Muir wrestles against Brush’s Austin Ley during the 175-lb. finals of Top of the Rockies at Centaurus High School on Jan. 17, 2026. (Alissa Noe/BoCoPreps.com)
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Flipping the switch
Going into the third period of his 175-lb. finals match, Erie’s Tyler Muir, ranked No. 4 in 5A, held a slight command over Brush’s Austin Ley, who was No. 2 in 3A. Despite a lot of pushback from Ley, Muir was able to out-maneuver him to hold a 3-2 advantage.
But as the final two minutes ticked down at Centaurus, Ley tapped into one last burst of energy. He scored seven straight points to defeat Muir 9-3, leaving Muir’s mouth bloodied.
“He’s a monster on top,” Muir said. “I knew I didn’t want to go bottom with him, and that’s kind of what happened. I took a shot, I was in deep, and I just went to my hip instead of finishing it. It was a really close match. I believe if I would have finished that shot, it would have ended differently, but that’s what happens. He flipped his hips, he got on top, threw in legs, and it was over from there.
“He’s a state champion. If I could wrestle him every weekend, I would love to because that’s kind of the pressure I need. We won’t see each other again just because I’m in 5A, he’s in 3A, but (heck) of an opponent. That’s what this tournament’s all about, is wrestling the best of the best.”
By season’s end, Muir hopes to be standing on the podium at Ball Arena, no matter what place he’s in.