Fort Lupton’s D’mitri Garza-Alarcon is taking his championship pedigree — four state wrestling titles — to a junior college in Wyoming with a championship resume of its own.
The college of choice is Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyoming. According to its web page, the Mustangs won the National Junior College Athletic Association national title in 2023.
Eight wrestlers earned All-American honors, too. Western Wyoming won its sixth straight regional title. Five of the All-Americans returned this season. But that wasn’t the main reason Garza-Alarcon opted for the Mustangs.
“I chose Western Wyoming because of the love that they show and how nice the people are,” Garza-Alarcon said. “Yes, there were a lot of other schools interested. I took a campus tour, but wrestling was the deal-breaker.”
Garza-Alarcon was a First-Team, All-State honoree through voting done by CHSAANow.com and MaxPreps. He was one of four wrestlers to earn his fourth state championship this winter. Other winners included the first pair of four-time champs in the girls’ ranks.
“There’s a couple of three-timers that we have,” Garza-Alarcon told CHSAANow.com in February. “But what I wanted to do when I came in was to make history, and that’s what I did.”
Garza-Alarcon wants to study business and then transfer to an NCAA Division I program. After that, he plans to study construction management.
“My plan is to go for a year and then transfer out and continue my journey at a bigger college,” he said. “After that, I’m going to start a business using my hands.”
Garza-Alarcon won his first state title at 126 pounds. The rest were at 138 pounds. He finished his senior season with a dominant record of 44-4.
“I was scared, but I have to realize that it’s just the beginning of a new chapter,” he said. “The opportunity came to go to the best JUCO two-time champions and going for their third next year. I said to myself, ‘Might as well.’ If it’s going to get me to the next level, then I’m all for it.
“High school showed me what I can do in college, and it showed me I needed to grow up,” he added. “I want to say thank you to God for making my life this amazing.”
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