Now in his 41st season as a wrestling coach and an official, Colorado’s Bill Barron serves as Head Official for all 18 Rocky Mountain National Events. Bill's favorite part about RMN Events is "the camaraderie and connections we make with wrestlers, coaches, parents through the extended RMN wrestling family."

Hold a mirror to yourself on the wrestling mat and you will see a reflection of the person you are. How you wrestle is directly related to how you live your life. How often have you aspired to live the unlived life, to carry out an unfulfilled journey, or to complete the half-finished takedown or escape? Life seesaws between unresolved doubt and unrealized potential. Which side of the balance carries your weight in life, and on the mat, is determined by five essential principles: 1) invite challenge; 2) accept no compromise of your best; 3) believe in your best; 4) embrace your authentic voice; 5) express your relentless spirit. --bxb

A 20-year veteran official from the Western Slope of Colorado, Ben Keefer has officiated ten High School Nationals in Virginia Beach, where he has twice been rated as the #1 official and served as Head Official in 2016. In addition to refereeing 14 Colorado state championships, he has worked the Beast of the East (co-head official), Super 32, RMN National Championships, Top of the Rockies, Reno Tournament of Champions, and the Rocky Mountain Rumble. And that’s just Ben’s high school resume … he has also officiated the NWCA National Championships, NCAA Division II Super Regional, NJCAA Regionals. Recently, he has expanded his repertoire to include freestyle and Greco. Ben states: “The reason I look forward to RMN tournaments is that they always draw some of the best wrestling talent in the region.”

I wrestled out of La Junta High School, qualifying 3 times for Colorado State, and placing twice: 5th in 2005 and 6th in 2004. Went on to play baseball in college. Attended the University of Northern Colorado while obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Science with an emphasis in K-12.

I have been coaching wrestling since 2006 between club teams and middle school teams. Assistant coach at Northridge High School for 2 years and head middle school coach at Brush Middle School for 3 years where I coached 3 middle school state champs and 7 placers and over 30 qualifiers. Currently the assistant coach at Wiggins High School.

I have been officiating for the last 12 years. I have officiated 6 high school regionals. I have been with RMN events for 8 years now. Officiating wrestling allows me to fill the void of competing by keeping myself engulfed in the sport. I love seeing the natural progression of athletes from one year to the next. It has also allowed me to travel the country to officiate high-level wrestling.

I wrestled for 9 years, coached Fort Lupton Metro for 7 years, and officiated as I coached. Really enjoyed officiating, so I certified as a Colorado official with CWOA in 2001. Have been working with all age groups ever since and have had the privilege of working with a lot of great officials. I have had the opportunity to work out of state and see the best and most committed wrestlers. For eleven years, I have officiated RMN wrestling tournaments, allowing for a great place to grow together with the athletes, while being part of awesome competition. Thank you for the great opportunities!

High school coach for 12 years.

CWOA (Colorado high school) official for 9 years, having worked 5 state regional tournaments.

NCAA college official for 4 years, having worked events in CO, WY, NE, KS, and Iowa.

My philosophy of officiating, if you want to call it that, is simply that I am there to provide the safest and fairest opportunity for the athletes who compete. The biggest lesson that I have learned from wrestling, from competing to coaching and now officiating, is that hard work and determination are keys to success in everything in which you apply yourself.

I have been involved in the sport of wrestling since the age of 4. From the ages of 7-18, I competed in the Rocky Mountain National tournaments. The sport of wrestling and the RMN tournaments have helped me develop a strong passion for wrestling and also helped me become the person that I am today.

I attended high school at Northridge in Greeley, Colorado where I was a four-time state place winner in the Class 4A division (4th,3rd,5th,1st). In 2008, I was class 4A Colorado State Champion at 140 pounds. My team also won the Class 4A Team State Title in 2008.

I have been coaching at the youth and high school level for the past 7 years. I have 2 years of experience as an assistant coach at Northridge High School in Greeley from 2013-2015. I also have 2 years of head coaching experience at University High School in Greeley from 2016-2018. I am currently the head coach at Wiggins High School in Wiggins, CO.

I have been an active member of the Colorado Wrestling Officials Association (CWOA) for the past 3 years. Officiating has allowed me to stay active and involved in the always evolving sport of wrestling. I enjoy giving back and providing young athletes with guidance, knowledge, and structure.

Like so many others, the sport of Wrestling is near and dear to my heart, and has shaped so much of who I am. I have been a Folkstyle official for the better half of a decade now and have been a part of nearly every RMN event there is. I also officiate Freestyle and Greco for USA wrestling and represent the USA on the National and International wrestling scene. Recently my brother and I were selected to officiate the Women's Collegiate Nationals (freestyle). I have received several awards and recognitions for my officiating, as well as CO USA official of the year in 2016. I desire to promote the growth of the sport in every facet that I can and shall work for its benefits until I can no longer blow a whistle.

I have been around wrestling for about half my life now and enjoy every moment there is. I grew up in Texas; I wrestled in high school and tried it in college as well. Began officiating in the Texas Panhandle area. I have been a high school official for CWOA now for 4 years. Wrestling is a great life lesson, not only on the mat, but also in life. Having worked almost every single event RMN has to offer, I enjoy working for RMN because of the friendship you make with other officials and the wrestling community!

I began wrestling for my local school club, Johnson City Wrestling, in upstate New York at the age of 7. I was a Tulsa National Champ in 1988 and a finalist in 1989. I was a Cadet Greco All-American and I was the first 3x Section 4 Champion and 3x state place-winner for Johnson City High School. I wrestled for the University of Virginia from 1997-2002. When I arrived in Colorado, I coached wrestling for a few years before becoming an official. I have been officiating since 2011 and love the opportunity of staying involved in the toughest sport there is. I am grateful for finding RMN and officiating in many of their events.

I have been an RMN official since 2001. Eric Mendoza, Dino Argon, and Bill Barron have been my teachers. They have all taught me respect. RMN is an all-age tournament. Either you are reffing age 6, 16, or 26: you have to respect that match. I enjoy Pina Coladas and long walks on the beach or in the rain!

Laura has been officiating Freestyle/Greco for the last four years and is on her second folkstyle season. She loves still being involved in the sport in any way and looks forward to any opportunity to help the sport grow and keep wrestlers safe and love the sport while doing it.

Looking forward to working with RMN and some of the greatest officials! Have worked several events in the Metro Youth, RMN, Middle School, and High School programs since 1995. Some of the greatest moments are learning about the sport of wrestling from the wrestlers, coaches, officials, and the Tournament Directors. My objective is to provide the best officiating and to be fair to all involved with the sport.

I started wrestling at the age of 6 years old, continuing through youth and high school. In 2005, I became the 12th Colorado High School four-time wrestling champion (112 lbs., 119 lbs., 130 lbs., 140 lbs.). I had a 165-9 career record for Nucla High School (CO) while wrestling under the guidance of my father Freddie Smith. In 2013, I decided to join the Colorado Wrestling Officials Association. I have worked 4 State Regional Wrestling Tournaments. I was a 2017 Colorado State Official and was selected as the 2017 National Wrestling Hall of Fame – CO Chapter Official of the Year.

Why I do this: "One of the most important lessons I have ever learned is that wrestlers, coaches, and referees are all human. Errors happen, but we try to avoid it, accept it, or correct it. This teaches us to take personal responsibility in making those decisions." In terms of experience, RMN Events provide an important opportunity which will allow me as an official to develop thicker skin, a sense of humor, the capability to absorb criticism, and the ability to function when all chaos reigns.

Morgan Thompson is from Monte Vista, Colorado, and has been involved with this great sport for over 42 years as a competitor, coach, mentor, and official. He has had the honor to wrestle against, coach, and officiate some of the finest athletes (male and female) this country has produced. Involved with Rocky Mountain Nationals since 2004, he’s had the pleasure to work with some of Colorado's and our nation’s finest officials. Having been able to see this sport from all sides, he looks forward to many years more with this wonderful sport and the RMN events crew.

I have officiated high school wrestling for 22 years with CWOA, serving as a CWOA Area Director for the last 10 years. In that time, I have worked 18 state regional tournaments, 10 Colorado state tournaments. I've worked Rocky Mountain Nationals, RMN’s Monster Match, 5 NHSCA Virginia Beach National Wrestling Championships, Reno Tournament of Champions, the Beast of the East Championships, the Virginia Battle of the Beaches, and the Desert Duals. For the past 10 years, I have also officiated NCAA college wrestling. In the near future, I look forward to officiating freestyle and Greco.

I first started wresting in 1972 as a freshman at Temperance Bedford High school in Michigan. I was undefeated my first year at the freshmen level. This was when freshmen students were not allowed to compete at the high school level. In high school I was a 3X league champion, 2X district champion, 2X Regional champion, 2X state place-winner, and a 1X undefeated Michigan state champion with a 44-0 record in 1976. I was also the first captain of the first State Championship team at my high school. At the next level, I placed third in the nation my freshmen year at Junior College level making me an All-American; I also competed at the NCAA level for Toledo University, and Grand Valley State. Injuries stopped me from qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

My coaching career began under my high school coach for five years after college who is a Hall of Fame Coach. I also coached wrestling at Palmer High School in Colorado Springs in late 80’s and early 90’s. Later I was the middle school wrestling coach for Castle Rock Middle School and assistant coach at Chaparral High School in Parker, CO.

My career as an official for wrestling began after my son graduated from Chaparral HS in 2003. I have officiated two Regional Tournaments and many, many high school, middle school, and youth level matches and tournaments. I have been officiating Rocky Mountain National tournaments for at least 12 years. This organization has not only helped improve the sport of wrestling in many states, but it also has high Christian standards of ethics and morals that continue to improve every year I have been involved as an official. I love the dedication to fair sport, patriotism and respect for young wrestlers, parents, coaches and referees. The officiating quality has improved dramatically since Bill Barron has taken over the leadership of the officials.

G’Angelo began wrestling relatively late at age eleven; in his first season of middle school, he fractured his growth plate. But the coach kept him as part of the team, his first experience of wrestling as family. Just two years later, G’Angelo was holding up a first-place trophy representative of finishing on top of the RMN-sponsored Colorado Middle School State Championship. Already big for his age, G’Angelo put on more muscle while acquiring the skill which earned him 4th and 3rd place at his 195-pound junior high weight in the 2012 and 2013 state high school championships.

“While growing up, Rocky Mountain National Events was the place to be, the big thing to win,“ says G’Angelo. “Not only was RMN where I could get a huge trophy, but it also prepared me for the big stage. I thank RMN for the opportunity to grow as a person. RMN taught me to have a champion mindset, for which I am forever grateful. Ultimately, I believe that the sport of wrestling helps you grow as an individual, boy or girl. RMN provided me with that chance.”

On the national stage, G’Angelo has earned three U.S. junior titles along with two at the senior level. Now 20, G’Angelo has traveled the world on three junior national teams, earning a 96 kg world bronze medal in 2016; in 2017, he had the unique privilege of competing for his country on the junior and senior national squads as well as winning 3 of 4 championships as heavyweight for the United States U-23 team. His motto for success on this tour was “step and regret.” It helped him offset the weight difference with finesse. G’Angelo cites aspirations to “be best in the world. The more I wrestle, the more I fall in love with the sport. I willingly commit my all to it, to train to be the best on the planet. Wrestling has been my life and always will be.”

It is my opinion that Wrestling is a sport unlike any other out there. Participating in this sport teaches young individuals so many valuable lessons; doing things that are hard and sticking with it to the end, being comfortable feeling uncomfortable, persevering thru discomfort and sometimes...even pain. I want to be a part of helping to develop that, and the best way I know how to do that for me...is to Officiate. I have been a Folkstyle official since 2011, and during those years have happily served as an RMN official at events in state and out.

I love the opportunity RMN gives kids, the excitement it brings to the sport, and the way it celebrates the hard work of the young person with its grand medals and trophies. I also officiate Freestyle and Greco for USA wrestling and represent the USA on the National and International level. Recently my brother and I were selected to officiate the Women's Collegiate Nationals (freestyle). I have received many compliments and even some awards and recognitions for my officiating, a couple among these being Youth Official of the Year for both 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. It is my desire to promote and grow the sport in every way that I can; it is my dream that I shall referee this great sport, until I am so old and weak I can no longer raise the hand of a victorious wrestler.

Chris came to Colorado 4 years ago with extensive varsity officiating experience in California. If you happen to have a conversation with him, you will realize that he is a true fan of the sport, staying up to date on high school, college and international wrestling. Chris can tend to be very verbal because he believes that education at all levels is paramount to the success of the sport. His philosophy while officiating is to reward action and penalize negative wrestling or stalling. As a person, Chris tries to stay very active. Snowboarding, hiking, camping or volunteering with youth clubs, Chris is always on the move.