Trinidad Miners Send Nine Wrestlers to CHSAA State Tournament

Nine Trinidad High School wrestlers earned spots at the 2026 CHSAA State Wrestling Tournament at Ball Arena in Denver, capping a strong regional run for the Miners program across multiple weight classes and both the boys and girls rosters.

The state qualifiers included Sereniity Garcia-Sanchez, a sophomore on the girls side at 110 pounds; Jose Padilla, a freshman at 120 pounds; Kellen Rivera, a junior at 138 pounds; Matthew Garduno, a senior at 157 pounds; CJ Sandoval, a sophomore at 165 pounds; and Connor Knezel, a junior at 215 pounds. They were joined by junior Santiino Garcia-Sanchez at 106 pounds, senior Isaiah Martinez at 113 pounds, and Dominic Edwards, whose bracket results were also logged at state.

The best finishes for the Miners came from senior Isaiah Martinez at 113 pounds and junior Santiino Garcia-Sanchez at 106 pounds, as both battled through the consolation bracket for fifth place. Garcia-Sanchez carried a 41-5 record into the tournament. He fell by decision to Emilio Vallejos of Rocky Ford, 11-9, in an early-round matchup.

The 2026 Colorado High School State Wrestling Tournament, hosted by CHSAA at Ball Arena, ran Feb. 19-21. By the time regional brackets were completed on Feb. 14, more than 1,300 wrestlers had qualified for the event in all classifications. Landing nine qualifiers from a single southern Colorado program like Trinidad placed the Miners among the more represented schools at the meet.

Ball Arena can seat more than 20,000 fans and serves as the home of the Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets, in addition to hosting the CHSAA State Wrestling Championships each year. Competing on that floor represents one of the highest-profile stages in Colorado high school athletics.

The Miners' contingent spanned all four class years, from Padilla as a freshman to Garduno as a senior, reflecting the depth the Trinidad program brought into the postseason. The NFHS Network live-streamed each of the six sessions, giving Trinidad fans back home the opportunity to follow along from Las Animas County.