Colorado high school wrestlers injured in December crash return to the mat at state tournament

Stepping onto a wrestling mat -- knowing the pride of a win or the weight of a loss falls only on you -- isn't for everyone.

"My name is Micah Bautista, and I wrestle at 120."
"Tristan Valdez and I wrestle heavyweight."
"My name is Justice Espinoza, and I wrestle at 106."
"Kyle Weaver, 157."
"My name is Cruz Moncada. I'm 138."

On Dec. 6, the wrestling season for these Central High School Warriors came to a screeching halt when a speeding driver collided with the western Colorado team's bus. More than a dozen people were hurt and one passenger in the speeding driver's vehicle died.

"I remember waking up to the sound of ringing from the bus," Weaver said.

"I got ejected from the bus. I probably rolled about a solid 25, maybe 30 feet away from it. I remember I stood up and I couldn't find my shoe," Bautista said.

"I had road rash on my knees, road rash on my elbow, and then I had to get stitches in my head right here," Valdez said.

Each of the Grand Junction-area residents would spend the next two months on the road to recovery.

Head coach Clint Trujillo says through it all, they've remained positive.

"It's the character that I think all wrestling programs try to instill in their boys: how to handle adversity, be respectful, just having a great attitude toward hard work," he said.

After getting the all-clear from doctors, four of the wrestlers involved in the crash returned to the mat -- and are now competing at the highest level.

"I want to go out there and obviously win the state title, but I'm not looking ahead of anybody, I'm not looking behind anybody," Valdez said.

"It gives me a drive. If there wasn't one before, I've got that drive now," Weaver added, thinking of his teammates.

 In their corner are the teammates still working to heal.

"I'm grateful," Cruz Moncada said.

He was badly injured, fracturing his skull. He would spend 27 days in the hospital.

"I made it out alive and I kept strong, and I'm going to keep going and keep pushing myself," Moncada said.

Justice Espinoza ruptured his spleen and had nine staples in his head.

"I think before, when you have something happen like this, it's just ... you notice how much you've taken for granted," he said.

Both are watching from the stands with a new perspective.

"I don't want to take anything for granted and I want to do the best in anything I can," Espinoza said.

Each one is wrestling to win, and yet whatever the score may be -- when the final whistle blows -- one thing is clear: as a team, these Warriors have already won.