Brandon Lucero isn’t preaching a new message ahead of the COS Metro Wrestling Championships.  The Kadets’ wrestling coach is confident in his team with the tournament set to start Friday. And Lucero hopes his team leaves Fountain-Fort Carson with its first-ever Metro title at the 25th annual event. But Lucero isn’t about physical hardware. He’s about the grind.  “What I preach to the kids, and this is even with the state championships,” Lucero said. “As much as we want to win as a team, it’s another tournament. It’s another tournament that we get to go to and compete and see where we’re at and test our abilities. At the end of the day, we’re there to get better. We’re there to push the pace and score points. As far as winning it, would it be great? Yeah, that’s the result that’s out of our control. We have to control the controllable. … We’re coming to scrap six minutes every match and at the end of that, hopefully we come away with the title.”  Air Academy ranks second in 4A and features nine competitors in Tim Yount’s On The Mat rankings. The Kadets will battle for their first Metro title, after a fourth-place finish in 2025 at the tournament, and will need to dethrone reigning champion Pine Creek, which is seventh in 5A and competing for its 10th Metro title, and a slew of area teams vying for the boys’ championship.   The Kadets will be without a couple of wrestlers including Michael Saba, who is 26-0 and ranks second at 150 pounds.  Saba will miss the annual event to compete for Team USA in a wrestling tournament in France this weekend. Though the elder Saba will miss Metros, Michael’s younger brother Dylan, expects to capture a championship at his first Metro tournament. Dylan, a freshman for the Kadets who is 25-4 and ranks No. 4 at 126 pounds, has won 10 consecutive matches ahead of the tournament with eight of those victories via major decision or tech fall.  “My hopes and expectation are to win,” Dylan said. “I believe I will win and I have confidence in myself. The goal is to not just win by one, but to go for a tech fall.”  On the road to the 126-pound title, Dylan could face Widefield’s Angel Fernandez, who ranks third at 126 and toppled the Air Academy freshman last month.  In December at the Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament, Fernandez defeated Dylan 9-3 in Greeley. It served as a bump in the road, but Dylan said he remains optimistic of his odds in Fountian. “I know my skill level and how good I am,” Dylan said. “I always have confidence in myself. I believe I can get this done.”  Lucero has watched that confidence radiate throughout his team this season. Along with their fourth-place finish at Metros last season, the Kadets placed seventh at state in 2025.  This year, the Kadets will contend for higher placement at both tournaments. That starts with Metros and Lucero said the off-the-mat behavior will help determine on-the-mat performances.  “I want to see the team support each other,” Lucero said. “Of course, we want to see each other in the finals, but I want to see them supporting one another and cheering each other on. I’m excited about what we have and I’m excited to see what they’re able to do and how they go about supporting one another.”   Pine Creek girls eye repeat The Pine Creek Eagles’ girls won the 2025 COS Metro Wrestling Championships and return a stacked team to the tournament. Nine of their competitors hold spots in Tom Blair’s Inside Colorado Wrestling ranks. As a team, the Eagles are No. 8 in 5A with Gia Gabel (110 pounds) and Melanie Marin Lopez (190 pounds) But Widefield, which is ahead of the Eagles at No. 7, narrowly missed the Metro title last season at 142.5-136 and placed second behind Pine Creek in team scoring. The Gladiators have two wrestlers ranked fourth or better: Amaya Hinojosa (third, 120 pounds) and Rilen-Rose Casares (fourth, 235 pounds). Lewis-Palmer and Sand Creek will also contend for the title as the pair of teams rank ninth and 11th respectively with several ranked competitors who will battle for titles.   ...read more read less