Erie High’s tiger wrestler Rudy Lopez, senior, committed to the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) to continue his academic and wrestling career for the fall of 2021. 

Previously, Lopez triumphed over all other competitors in the state to win a state title in 4A, 113-pound weight class.

Lopez has been wrestling ever since the age of 8 years old and has been mentored from that point by his father. He has come a long way in his athletic career since then and hopes to go much further.

“I got to where I am by learning and improving from my mistakes. I also make it my goal to improve every day by believing in myself and making sacrifices,” Lopez reflected.

Lopez has this opportunity because of his successes wrestling in high school and being a top wrestler in the state year after year. While he has committed to college wrestling, he is yet to complete his last season of wrestling in high school. 

“It makes me more hungry to chase my future dreams and should not have any impact on my last year or wrestling at Erie” Lopez mentioned.

Lopez was able to first come into contact with UNC by wrestling in certain tournaments showcasing his ability and going to Regional Training Center (RTC) practices at the school. Beyond being a very talented athlete, he says that a reason UNC was the right school is that he was just able to really click with the coaching staff. 

“The coaching staff, the other teammates wrestling there, and just the environment is incredible,” Lopez states. 

Lopez is ready for the challenge of going head to head up against some of the other premier wrestlers in the nation and aims to win titles at the collegiate level.

While Lopez readies himself for another season or wrestling, he is ready to finally receive the gift from all of his hard work. The transition from being a champion tiger to a motivated bear is soon to come for our own Rudy Lopez.