If you are a fan of Summit High School athletics, you know Battle Mountain is one of the Tigers’ biggest rivals. 

Whether it is a spirited soccer match, a back-and-forth basketball game or a sprint to the finish line, Summit and Battle Mountain are some of the fiercest foes on the Western Slope.

Just like a Battle Mountain student wouldn’t sport the Tiger’s green and white, a Summit student would never fathom wearing the black and gold of the Huskies.

For the past few years however, several Summit girl wrestlers have been forced to wear singlets with Battle Mountain etched across their chests. While Summit has a boys wrestling program, there was no program for girl wrestlers until recently.

Due to this, talented wrestlers like rising juniors Ayla Hampton and CJ Traylor have competed as part of Battle Mountain — the closest high school girls wrestling program in the area — the last two seasons. 

Wanting to ditch their Battle Mountain singlets for ones that boldly say “Summit,” Hampton and Traylor made a statement last winter.

Beyond being outspoken about the necessity for a girls wrestling program at the high school, Hampton and Traylor were some of the best wrestlers on the Battle Mountain girls wrestling team during the 2024-25 winter season.

The Summit High School students both competed highly at the 4A Region 2 girls wrestling tournament in Gunnison on Feb. 8. Hampton claimed a regional title in the 130-pound weight class, making steady work of the bracket and winning the championship match against Gunnison’s Evelyne Cope.

Traylor took sixth overall in the 110-pound weight class, securing wins over Fiona Nixon and Hannah Taylor. 

Due to her placing at the regional tournament, Hampton successfully qualified for her second-consecutive Class 4A girls wrestling tournament. After not placing during her freshman campaign, Hampton dazzled at her sophomore state meet, placing sixth overall in the 130-pound bracket.

Traylor, on the other hand, barely missed out on qualifying to the state tourney.

As both girls made podiums throughout the season, Summit wrestling coach Steve Kasprzyk made sure to document their achievements, highlighting why Summit deserves a girls wrestling program. 

After being forced to wear Battle Mountain singlets for the first two years of their high school careers, Summit officially got approved to have a girls wrestling program by the Colorado High School Activities Association on May 19.

“Through the school it got approved ,and we started making formal announcements through the school,” Kasprzyk said. “I made a commitment to them last year that it was going to happen. I really kept what CJ and Ayla were doing in front of the athletic office. … They realized the importance of getting a team within Summit High School.”

“It is a huge accomplishment,” Hampton said. “You are finally seeing what we have been working for the past 10 years. I am really looking forward to the future of the girls program and watching it grow.”

The news is not only thrilling to Kasprzyk, but it is monumental for Hampton and Traylor, who despite their standout results, struggled representing a school in a neighboring county. 

“Knowing that I can represent and show everyone else the magic of wrestling, as a girl specifically, is something I am really looking forward to and proud to show off,” Hampton said. 

The news has already drawn some interest from other female Summit High School students. With the Summit girls rugby team seeing over 75 players come out for the team on an annual basis, Kasprzyk has attended Summit girls rugby practices and worked to recruit new athletes to the team. 

“We pitched the program to the rugby girls,” Kasprzyk said. “We are getting the name out. We are hoping to get some numbers out next year.”

Altitude Wrestling Club 

The Summit girls wrestling program will be aided by the introduction of a brand new wrestling club — Altitude Wrestling Club. Coached by Kasprzyk and Adam Thompson, the club is open to students who are looking to improve their wrestling skills and become better athletes.

Currently meeting three times a week in the mat room at Summit High School, Altitude Wrestling’s middle through high school program is already hard at work.

“It is probably one of the most individually demanding sports there is,” Kasprzyk said. “The skills that are learned here will all translate to all the other sports that are out there, as well as what these kids do in the future as contributors to society.”

The club is also working on developing a peewee program in order to focus on elementary kids who may be interested in the sport. The club is planning to have peewee practices at least two times a week. 

Beyond providing a space for wrestlers of all ages to grow, the club will look to bridge the gap between other wrestling programs in the state. 

According to Thompson, it is fairly typical for wrestlers across the Western Slope and the Denver Metro area to compete with a wrestling club all throughout their adolescence. Not only do the club programs foster great wrestlers from an early age, but they also build a culture around the sport — something Summit had desperately been missing until now.

“Our goal was to create this pipeline,” Thompson said. “These kids can get experience as an elementary kid. … By the time they get to the high school level they have wrestled under the same coaching, same methodology and they have experience.”

With the first week of practices taking place the week of April 27, the club’s wrestlers have already managed to hone their skills, learn new moves and grow more confident.

Seasoned wrestlers like Hampton and rising sophomore JD Danielson see the introduction of the club as a way to gain more teammates and, in turn, a deeper talent pool.

“This club is going to improve the skill of everyone on the high school and middle school team,” Danielson said. “It will make a much better varsity team here. … It will be helpful for years to come.”

For rising seventh-grader Aeson Lucero, the opportunity to practice with other female wrestlers like Hampton and Traylor is a dream come true.

“I do really like being here and it brings me a lot of joy,” Lucero said. “I would be really honored to be part of the high school girls program. Not only will I be one of the first ones to go through the program, but I get to expand girls wrestling.”

In order to raise money for the newly established club, a fundraiser will be taking place at CO Bar in Frisco on Sunday, June 1. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. and is open to the public. For more information on the Altitude Wrestling Club, visit Facebook.com.