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Casper Kelly Walsh's Jesse Hillhouse maintains control as Campbell County's Burke Burgess attempts an escape during their quarterfinal bout in the 125 pound division of the Wyoming State Wrestling Championships Friday afternoon in Casper, Wyo. Hillhouse, a defending state champion, advanced after a 13-4 major decision. AAron Ontiveroz/staff

this is one of my favorite shots from state wrestling 2009. the photo is of central’s jesse hillhouse as he cruises to a major decision against gillette’s burke burgess during the quarterfinals. hillhouse, a defending state champion finished third after losing a 1-0 double overtime match in the semifinals against central sophomore leandro arias.

this shot is of central’s austin vye wrestling kelly walsh’s josh hillhouse. i saw vye go up into the air and i zoomed my camera out a bit to give space to the collision between his head and the mat. it worked out well, albeit not for the freshman 103-pounder as he lost 9-3.

Central's Austin Vye is dropped on his head by Kelly Walsh's Josh Hillhouse. AAron Ontiveroz/staff

this was a pretty easy event to photograph, though access was limited. the “event photographers” claimed the space between facing mats as their turf and the wyoming high school activities association backed this claim by telling all photojournalists to remain on the edges. this made it very difficult to shoot multiple matches at once. despite missing a fair share of matches i was supposed to shoot due to restrictions imposed by event sponsorship, the weekend worked out. it’s tough to miss good shots when the volume of good content flows like this. of all high school sports, this is by far the most plentiful event for capturing emotion, confrontation and climax — essentials in sports photography.

on the lighter side of things… in my youth, i wrestled and i can honestly say that i do not miss these compromising positions. it’s a lot of fun to photograph, but, to me, less fun to participate… spandex is making a long overdue return to the world of fashion, so maybe i’ll dust off the old singlet in time for state wrestling 2010.

-aaron