It simply pains Morgan Johnson to say she won’t have her arm raised in victory for the foreseeable future, as the Loveland girls wrestling team’s star is out of action for a while because of injury.
However, the probability of her still being able to chase a regional championship, and then possibly a third consecutive sanctioned wrestling title, is high. And as long as she has that in her future, she still has dreams to achieve.
For now, Johnson is just getting back to live wrestling in the room at LHS and helping her teammates grow and be better.
“I feel really good, and (on Dec. 8) I actually wrestled live for the first time since my injuries, so in like eight months, and I felt really good,” Johnson said recently. “I cannot wait.
“I’ve gone to every dual and every tournament we’ve had so far and I keep telling myself, ‘I really just want to be part of it.’ But I still love going and supporting the team and being with them, even if I can’t wrestle. I’m still warming up with them and everything, but every tournament that passes by makes we want to wrestle even more. So, I cannot wait.”
With girls wrestling now well established in Colorado, there’s no more talk of pioneering the sport, but Johnson will most definitely leave the prep scene having put her stamp on the initial seasons of CHSAA competition.
History can still be part of her legacy, though, and she definitely wants to go out on top with a chance of finishing her career unblemished. She enters the 2022-23 season with a 60-0 career record.
She would have liked to add more numbers to that win total this season. As Loveland gets set to compete at the Jimmy John’s Northern Colorado Christmas Tournament in Greeley this weekend, she has to sit idle. Injuries to her wrist — which required surgery — and a concussion have forced her off the mats for way too long, and even though she pleads that she is ready to wrestle, there’s no clearance yet.
She remains headstrong. Head coach Naomi Chavez recently praised her for continuing her journey in a practical sense, going to practices and leading by example as a senior for what has become a little bit larger a group of Thompson School District student-athletes participating on the Loveland team.
“A lot of her teammates look up to her, especially being a senior and with all the experience and success that she’s had, a lot of them look up to her as an inspirational type person,” Chavez said. “She’s doing everything she can do (for the team) outside of actually being on the mat.”
Added Johnson, who is No. 1 at 110 pounds in Tom Blair’s Inside Colorado Wrestling rankings and who committed to Lindenwood University to continue her sport: “This year, we have a lot of sophomores and it might be their first year wrestling and it’s kind of fun being the person they look up to. I’m the one kind of teaching them how to cut weight, what to eat before a tournament, what to get … I’m the one taking them to the gas station to grab some food or whatever before duals. It’s fun to be that person to help.”
This season there are around 90 girls programs. Regional competition is set for February 10-11, with the state finals at Ball Arena February 16-18.