Drake VomBaur said he knew he was going to win a state wrestling title as a freshman at Severance High School.
This year, VomBaur wasn’t so sure of a win. He was scared. An athlete with an 80-5 scholastic record in two varsity seasons was scared about the challenge in front of him.
“There was a good guy in my bracket, and I thought I could lose,” said VomBaur, a 16-year-old sophomore. “Then, how will people look at me?”
VomBaur beat his fears with help from his father, Ben. The younger VomBaur, the last of the Greeley wrestling family, then defeated Pueblo East’s Manuel Amaro 4-1 for the Class 4A 113-pound title Feb. 15 at Ball Arena in Denver.
VomBaur was a state champ at 106 pounds a year ago. His older brothers, Will and Vance, won three and two state titles, respectively, for Windsor High School.
Will wrestled at the Air Force Academy and at Utah Valley. Vance is a redshirt junior at Minnesota. He finished eighth at NCAAs a season ago to earn All-American honors for the first time.
Vance is ranked an All-American in 2024. He is ranked eighth at 141 pounds nationally, according to March 3 rankings on the website FloWrestling.
University of Minnesota wrestler Vance VomBaur, left, competes against Indiana’s Danny Fongaro at the NCAA championships Thursday, March 21, 2024 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. VomBaur, a redshirt sophomore from Windsor, earned All-American status with an eighth-place finish at 141 pounds. He was a two-time state champion at Windsor High School. (Courtesy/Brad Rempel, University of Minnesota).Ben VomBaur, who founded and runs Bear Cave Wrestling Club in Greeley, was undefeated and a three-time state champ in his three varsity seasons at Evergreen High School in Vancouver, Washington. He was an All-American at Boise State.
Drake attends Severance High because of redrawn school boundaries in the Weld RE-4 School District.
He said his fears leading into the state tournament this year came from believing others see him and identify him as a wrestler and a state champion. A loss risked spoiling that vision in his eyes.
Drake said his father told him not to worry about losing. Ben encouraged Drake to assume the attitude of a hunter instead of a prey, and the advice changed Drake’s perspective.
“I’m not running from this guy,” Drake said. “I’m coming for him.”
VomBaur now has his sights on more wins. Bigger and better wins.
There is a prestigious annual high school tournament in California every January called the Doc Buchanan Wresting Invitational. The Doc B, as it’s known, has been held for 47 years.
VomBaur finished sixth at the Doc B this year. He said he wants a title there. He wants a national championship and to move on to a Division I program. College coaches may begin to contact VomBaur this summer.
VomBaur’s focus this offseason is to gain weight. He said he’ll need to be bigger and stronger for college wrestling. He wants to get into the range of 120 to 130 pounds.
Severance’s Drake VomBaur, right, lifts La Junta’s Joseph Gamez off the mat during the semifinals of the 106-pound match at Ball Arena in Denver on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. VomBaur won the match to advance to the championships.(Jim Rydbom/Greeley Tribune file photo)“He’ll be in the weight room as much as he needs to put on muscle mass,” Severance coach Sam Dare said.
Dare said he’s never seen an athlete of VomBaur’s age as driven as Drake. VomBaur goes to Severance High early at times to work out before the school day.
Dare said what separates VomBaur from other athletes is his belief in himself.
“He believe in himself so deeply to the core that he out-trains everybody every day so that he’s true to himself,” Dare said.
VomBaur said he thinks highly of a state championship until he wins. Then, he’s on to another goal.
Dare said he doesn’t think VomBaur is concerned with being a four-time state high school champion, a celebrated scholastic milestone. The coach said VomBaur trains and works to be a champion in the future, at other levels as he continues to compete.
“I’m just seeking the next thing,” VomBaur said. “I just want bigger and better. I’ll never be satisfied.”
He said he didn’t care for wrestling when he started in the sport about 10 years ago. VomBaur said he “didn’t like doing hard things” back then and wrestling is hard. His attitude has changed.
Wrestling is a physically and mentally demanding sport. VomBaur wasn’t interested. But, he liked sports and didn’t have a talent for other winter sports, so he stayed with wrestling. He said he clicked with wrestling as a middle schooler, and he began to see himself differently.
VomBaur said he realized he enjoyed the hard work and training. Wrestling was perfect for him all along.
“I just think of myself as somebody who can do hard things, and that’s why I love wrestling because it’s hard,” he said.
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