History was made over the weekend in Denver when not one but two girls stood proudly on the podium at the Colorado state high school wrestling tournament for the first time ever. Angel Rios, a junior from Valley High, finished fourth, while senior Jaslynn Gallegos of Skyview High was fifth in the Class 3A 106-pound weight class.

They were there in part because a boy forfeited to them rather than compete against them. Senior Brendan Johnston of The Classical Academy declined to wrestle Gallegos in the tournament’s first round, then did the same when he faced Rios in the third round of consolation matches.

“I’m not really comfortable with a couple of things with wrestling a girl,” Johnston told Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “The physical contact, there’s a lot of it in wrestling. And I guess the physical aggression, too. I don’t want to treat a young lady like that on the mat. Or off the mat. And not to disrespect the heart or the effort that she’s put in. That’s not what I want to do, either.”

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While Johnston avoided competing against both girls, Weld Central freshman Robert Estrada took on each one, winning tough matches both times to finish third overall.