It took some help from a teammate, but after that, Scott Garoutte had little trouble in his attempt for a second-consecutive state championship.

“When Korey won it took away my butterflies,” he said. “I was nervous for him and nervous for me, but when he won it went away and I was ready.”

The 215-pound Moffat County senior watched junior Korey Kostur win 4-1 against Fort Lupton’s Corey Swanson in the 140-pound championship. He congratulated Kostur in a tunnel of the Pepsi Center. Then he went off to be by himself.

“I had an envelope from my family,” he said. “It had pictures from last year, a prayer…and a saying, “If you believe it, you’ll achieve it.”

If Garoutte never believed that at the state tournament he was good enough to become Moffat County’s third two-time champion, his actions didn’t show it.

The senior pinned his way into the finals. His longest match before Saturday night’s final lasted 1 minute, 15 seconds.

To Garoutte’s surprise, and mostly everybody else’s, Rifle’s Jeff Zimmerman made it into the final.

“I expected to wrestle (Pueblo South’s Jake) Valdez,” he said. “Jeff improved a lot throughout the season, and he continued it through the state tournament.”

Zimmerman, a senior, hadn’t wrestled since his freshman year.

Garoutte had pinned him twice during the regular season.

“I didn’t think about that because it was the state tournament,” he said. “Champions can get beat.”

Garoutte dominated immediately with a single-leg takedown in the first 15 seconds. During the first period’s final 20 seconds, Garoutte earned five back points for a 7-0 lead.

In the second period, Garoutte started on top in the referee’s position. He was all over Zimmerman early and earned three more back points. Thirty seconds into the period, Garoutte locked a cradle tight and rolled Zimmerman for the last time.

“He worked me harder this time,” Garoutte said after the match in between breaths. “But once he got gassed, he was the same as the first two times.”

The Bulldog’s second state title was official with 1:19 left on the clock in the second period.

“It’s kinda sad that it is my last match,” he said. “But I went out with my arm up and a champion.”

He signed a letter of intent to play football at Mesa State College two weeks ago.

“There are some guys there to wrestle around with,” he said, citing Palisade’s Kyle Britton, Tyler Barnes and James Harris.

He said that even after winning two state titles, had no regrets about his decision.

“Football all the way,” he said.

On Saturday, it was Garoutte all the way. He spent less time on the mats during the 2005 tournament (5:44) than it takes to wrestle three complete periods. He finished the past two seasons with 7 pins in his 8-0 record at state.

“I’ll remember everything,” he said.

Being only the third, two-time champion in Moffat County’s storied history, it’s safe to say he’ll be remembered as well.