AURORA — Kids like Drake VomBaur don’t come around very often.
And Severance High School wrestling coach Sam Dare is thrilled to have him in his program.
“If I had 14 Drakes on the team…That kid encompasses everything you’d ever want in a young man,” Dare said. “His work ethic, his grind in the classroom, his community outreach and his coaching ability with the youth. The effort that kid puts in the classroom, in the weight room and in the wrestling room is second to none. I’ve never had a kid like that.”
VomBaur was appreciative of Dare’s praise, and his faith is what drives him on and off the mat.
“I just try to be the best I can be in everything,” VomBaur said. “A big part of it comes from faith for me. One of my favorite quotes is the famous quote attributed to Olympic runner and missionary Eric LiddellEric : ‘I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure.’
“I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me tough. I want to excel at everything. I don’t want to look back years from now and think I gave half effort in anything, not just wrestling. That would be a big regret for me. I just think God wants me to be the best at everything I do.”
VomBaur, a junior, has been exceptional on the mat.
His first two seasons in prep wrestling culminated with him capturing Class 4A state titles at 106 and 113 pounds, respectively. He posted a 41-0 record as a freshman and was 39-5 last season.
He’ll be among the wrestlers to watch at the State Wrestling Championships, Feb. 19 through 21 at Ball Arena. Regionals are Feb. 13 and 14.
VomBaur has continued to keep his foot on the gas pedal this season as he is the Class 4A No. 1 wrestler by “On The Mat” Rankings at 120 pounds. But VomBaur isn’t caught up in his accolades.
“I want to win every tournament, but the bigger deal to me is being in those tight ones, those contested matches, because that just proves at least to me that I’ve gotten better and I can do hard things,” VomBaur said.
VomBaur was at his best at the prestigious Top of the Rockies tournament at Centaurus High School, which concluded Jan. 17. VomBaur won the tourney for the third year in a row – consecutively at 106, 113 and 120 pounds.
“It was good for me to win that again,” VomBaur said. “I was coming off some tough matches (at the Doc Buchanan Invitational, Jan. 9-10 in Clovis, Calif.), so it was nice to see that I’m still good (at the Top of the Rockies). It just good seeing that I’d grown throughout the season.”
What Dare really respects about VomBaur is that he welcomes any challengers.
“I don’t think that I’ve found anybody that can keep Drake’s pace in a match,” Dare said. “He’s a really good technician. He’s just a good wrestler all the way around, but he has pace with it that I’ve never seen in a high school kid. He wants to wrestle the best and he wants to beat the best. He doesn’t worry about wins and losses. He wants to face the best competition.”
VomBaur has a chance to make school history this season. Severance High School has only been open since the fall of 2019, and has only one other wrestler – Colby Runner (2022 and 2023) – who has won two state championships like VomBaur.
VomBaur understands what another state title would mean, but to him it is just part of being the best wrestler he can be.
“I think sometimes it’s overrated by how many state championships you win because really there’s a lot of luck to it,” VomBaur said. “I’m excited and I’m grateful and I do want to win state four times and that’s what I’m planning on doing. I’m very confident I’m going to win this year and I’m going to go out there and battle either way.”
As good as VomBaur is on the mat, he wasn’t a natural at the sport.
“There was some pressure (for me to wrestle), though my parents never, ever put any pressure on me,” he said. “I felt pressure to do it because it’s what everyone else (in my family) had done. But then my parents said I could choose my sport. I tried my hand in tennis and in soccer. I was dreadful at tennis, and I was OK at soccer.
“Then, in middle school, I tried wrestling because I loved that you had to work hard in the sport. That became my identity, not as a wrestler, but the hard work. Later in middle school, in eighth grade, I fell in love with the sport and I have been in love with it ever since.”
Drake’s father, Ben was a two-time All-American wrestler at Boise State. The oldest son, Will, was a three-time state champion at Windsor High School and wrestled at Air Force and Utah Valley. The middle son, Vance, was a two-time state champion for Windsor and is now at the University of Minnesota, where he is a two-time All-American.
Drake will follow in Vance’s footsteps as he has committed to Minnesota.
All three sons were molded by workouts with their dad at Bear Cave – a prominent wrestling club in Greeley that Ben has run since 2012.
“Oh, yeah, absolutely I want to wrestle in college, and I want to be the best wrestler out there,” Drake said.
To some that may seem unrealistic but that seems within reach for Drake.
“There are no expectations for Drake because he brings no expectation,” Dare said. “We know what he’s going to do. I firmly believe that he could win the state title at 113s, 120s or 126s in Colorado this year.”