Cheyenne Mountain senior Amond looks forward to dropping to 126 class

PUEBLO • Bobby Amond probably won’t be eating too many sugar cookies this holiday season.

The Cheyenne Mountain senior plans to drop from 132 pounds to his more natural wrestling weight of 126 after the first of the year, and it will be a welcome change.

Amond, the 4A runner-up at 126 in February, improved to 7-4 this season at 132 after a second-period pin of Buena Vista’s Damon Brown in the second round of the Southern Colorado Classic on Friday.

The two-time state qualifier has been frustrated a bit by the new weight class.

“I just need to make the jump (back to 126) and I’ll be fine,” said Amond, who was 36-7 last season. “I’ll be working out all (Christmas) break.”

The 5-foot-6 Amond, who is ranked seventh at 132 by Tim Yount’s On the Mat, has had trouble against some of the taller competitors in his weight class.

“It’s tough being shorter than everyone, because everyone else is like 6-1 for the most part,” said Amond, who lost 3-0 to Pueblo West senior Robert DeHerrera in the state title match. “I’m ready to get back down to my actual weight and wrestle the best I can.”

A few early season losses did more to motivate than derail Amond last season, and he believes this season’s initial ups and downs will do the same.

“I took some tough losses at the beginning (of last season) that kind of discouraged me, just like this season,” said Amond, who finished fourth at state at 125 pounds as a sophomore in 2011. “But it made me a better wrestler and made me work harder. There was a lesson with every loss.

“(The key was) just never giving up, and just getting further and further along every match.”

Indians coach Nick Gagliardi had good things to say about his talented senior.

“I expect him to have a better second half of the season,” Gagliardi said. “He’s just one of the mentally toughest kids I’ve ever had. There’s no quit in him, and you have to beat him because he’s not going to beat himself.

“He works extremely hard and leads by example. He’s what the sport needs — kids who are hard workers, who listen to their coaches and do everything that’s asked of them.”

Amond, who faces Gateway’s William Logan in Saturday morning’s quarterfinals, knows he is a work in progress and believes his best wrestling is ahead of him.

“I’ve improved my all-around wrestling, and I think I still have a lot of work to do,” Amond said. “It’s still early in the season. I went to a bunch of wrestling camps this summer, and I tried to get as many matches as I could.

“After losing the (state) finals match, it taught me I’m not the best and I need to still keep working.”