6 hours Ago By ADAM ENGEL [email protected]
GLENNS FERRY — Glenns Ferry senior Gabe Muilenburg didn’t know for certain. Neither did many Glenns Ferry faculty members. Glenns Ferry head wrestling coach Cody Fisher thought about it before he found the answer.
More than two decades marked the most recent time a Glenns Ferry wrestler signed with a collegiate program. That changed Thursday as two-time 2A (now 3A) state champion Muilenburg signed his National Letter of Intent with NCAA Division II Colorado State University Pueblo. “It is a big dream of mine,” Muilenburg told the Times-News .
“I have always wanted to go to the next level and wrestle so it is achieving something that I didn’t think was possible a couple years ago.” Muilenburg signed in front of the middle school and high school student body as part of the school’s monthly assembly. Orange, black, red and blue balloons — representing the school colors of GFHS and CSU Pueblo — adorned a small table.
Muilenburg marks the Pilots’ first college wrestling signee since two-time state champion Adam Mars signed with Adams State in 1999. Mars became the 2001 NCAA Division II 125-pound national champion. It’s the latest step in Muilenburg’s budding wrestling career, which started when he was 6 at the Mountain Man Wrestling Club in Mountain Home.
He saw the sport as something to “keep me busy” until he fully immersed himself in the sport in eighth grade, Muilenburg said. He conquered physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy as a toddler. He overcame constant bullying in school and a found success in the sport after a previous coach said wrestling wasn’t a sport for Muilenburg.
He wrestled for the Glenns Ferry Wrestling Club in eighth grade then fully moved to Glenns Ferry High School as a freshman because his parents work in the district. “I think a thing that is a separator for Gabe is his perseverance and his fight,” Fisher told the Times-News . “Gabe has struggled with wrestling over the years at times to where he has taken some really tough losses and has had lows.
It has happened in every season I have coached him. He has just persevered through that. He has stuck with the process and he has trusted and asked questions and wants to be coachable.
Wants to be coached and pushed.” Muilenburg always finds a way to wrestle in the season’s last match. He won the 2022 2A 98-pound state championship, the 2023 2A 106-pound state champion and the 2024 2A 120-pound runner-up.
Muilenburg, a three-time district champion, is projected to wrestle collegiately at 125-133 pounds. He could become the school’s first three-time state champion. “I try and clear my head before I get in the match so that way I am not in my head before the match,” he said.
“I don’t think about winning or losing. I just go out and wrestle. Try to do the best I can do against each opponent.
” Muilenburg plans to obtain his bachelor’s degree in construction management and master’s degree in business administration. The Thunderwolves compete in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and qualified one for the 2024 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships. The roster includes Wendell’s Remington Winmill.
“It doesn’t matter if you come from a small school,” Fisher said. “Big school. If you are willing to push and willing to work, you can achieve a lot.
” Your story lives in the Magic Valley, and our new mobile app is designed to make sure you don’t miss breaking news, the latest scores, the weather forecast and more. From easy navigation with the swipe of a finger to personalized content based on your preferences to customized text sizes, the Times-News app is built for you and your life. Don’t have the app? Download it today from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Adam Engel is the sports editor at the Times-News . He can be reached via phone at 208-735-3288, via Adam.Engel@magicvalley.
com or via X @AdamEngel9. Sent weekly directly to your inbox! Sports Editor {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items..
