Two years ago, Samuel Stockton sat in the underbelly of Ball Arena and cried after a state championship slipped through his fingertips. The Resurrection Christian wrestling star was ahead in triple overtime in the Class 3A 215-pound match as a sophomore, only to give up a takedown in the final secon ds to lose. But from that heartbreak, dominance emerged. Stockton didn’t lose in his final two high school seasons, and capped his run with an exclamation point on Saturday at Ball Arena via a third-period pin of Mullen’s Champion Dyes to claim a second consecutive Class 3A heavyweight title. “That day (in 2024) was defining for him in multiple ways,” Resurrection Christian head coach Brian Lemos said of Stockton’s last high school loss. “For him as a wrestler, but also spiritually, because we just really leaned into the fact that it wasn’t God’s plan for him that night. He was down. He was devastated. “But he grabbed onto that (pain) and didn’t stop working. He got after it in the summer: freestyle, greco, whatever he could take in. He got better through his club at GRIT, he went to (another club) at Bear Cave. That defeat was the fuel to his fire.” After going 29-0 as a junior, Stockton polished off a 35-0 season with his defeat of Dyes, a behemoth in his own right. Over the past two perfect seasons, only five of Stockon’s matches have gone to the third period, with Dyes (who also lost to Stockton at a dual meet last year) being two of those. Resurrection Christian’s Samuel Stockton pins Mullen’s Champion Dyes in the Class 3A 285-pound state championship match on the final day of the Colorado high school wrestling state tournament, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post) All the more impressive considering Stockton, who was about 175 pounds when started high school, didn’t even make varsity as a freshman. But since emerging in the Resurrection Christian lineup as a sophomore, Stockton has excelled while consistently wrestling above his weight. Stockton made the finals at 215 as a sophomore despite only being about 195, and this year, weighed around 240 pounds in the 285-pound weight class. Dyes, by comparison, tipped the scales 281 pounds on Saturday. But Stockton made up for the weight disparity while pinning his way through the state tournament for the second straight year. “He’s very athletic and very strong — deceitfully strong,” Lemos said. “He keeps good position, has great ties, understands leverage points, has really heavy hands. He can do it all.” Those traits were on full display against Dyes. Stockton took an early 3-0 lead in the first period after getting Dyes off-balance with a shot; Dyes attempted to leave the circle to quell Stockton’s momentum, but Stockton grabbed Dyes’ leg and pulled him back in to complete the takedown. Resurrection Christian’s Samuel Stockton celebrates after defeating Mullen’s Champion Dyes in the Class 3A 285-pound state championship match on the final day of the Colorado high school wrestling state tournament, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Rebecca Slezak/Special to The Denver Post) After Stockton registered an escape in the second period to extend the lead to 4-0, Dyes was on the brink of swinging the momentum of the match with about 90 seconds left. Dyes shot a double-leg takedown on Stockton and was about to bring him to the mat, but the nimble Stockton wiggled out and, in a blink, pinned Dyes for the win. “I was getting my feet back (after Dyes’ shot), used a cross-face, and was able to get a little bit of space,” Stockton said. “Then somehow I ended up under him. I was able to get enough room where I could get his leg, and then build up to my feet where I could turn him and get him to the mat and on his back.” Related Articles For Colorado state champion wrestlers, having dad as coach makes the feat even more golden Keeler: Brighton’s Matilda Hruby tops Pomona’s Timberly Martinez in Colorado state wrestling tournament’s marquee match Colorado state wrestling tournament 2026 results from Day 3 at Ball Arena Meet the two men who’ve seen more than a century’s worth of Colorado state wrestling tournaments Colorado youth wrestling is growing, and it’s showing at 2026 state tournament While Stockton is fielding interest from local colleges, including Northern Colorado and Western Colorado, Dyes will definitely be wrestling in college. The Mullen junior, who won the Class 3A heavyweight title as a freshman and then finished third in the weight class last year, is taking his first official visits this spring to Oregon State and North Carolina State. Dyes, who finished 38-5, kept his head up in defeat. He lamented that he should’ve gotten to his offense sooner in the match. “I knew that I was meant for this (wrestling lifestyle) and that I was going to be given this opportunity to go show what I’m made of from a young age,” Dyes said. “Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t. No matter what, you’ve got to keep your head up. “I can’t dwell on this loss. I have to bounce back, and I will by training harder than I ever have going into next season.” Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams. ...read more read less