MS wrestlers hit the mat

The middle school wrestlers saw their first tournament in Lovell on Saturday.

Coach Toby Emery said, “I knew going into this tournament it would be a valuable learning experience for the many young and inexperienced athletes we have. After visiting with many of the wrestlers on the way home from Lovell, I was very impressed with their reflection of the day.

“Some said they were surprised by the pace of the matches; it was fast and intense. Others said they need to be in better shape because they were very tired at the end of the match. I was most impressed when I asked them what they learned. Each one was able to point out mistakes they made and told me what they should have done instead.”

Overall, Emery was pretty impressed with the team’s performance. He said, “The boys worked hard and displayed what they have been learning in the practice room on the mat. Almost everyone came away with at least one win, which always helps with confidence. The boys had a lot of fun and gained some experience both on the mat and by watching other matches throughout the day. We have much to be proud of and much to work on for our next tournament.”

In A Division 70, Chris Bapst placed fourth and scored four team points. Bapst received a bye in the quarterfinal round, lost by forfeit to Gabe Cornell of Shoshoni in the semifinals, received a bye in the consolation semifinals and lost by a 15-second fall to Wyatt Dickerson of Worland in the third place match.

In A Division 84, Ty Peterson placed second and scored 13 team points. Peterson received a bye in Championship Round 1, then took a win by 7-2 decision over Ethan Crawford of Rocky Mountain in the quarterfinals and a win by 9-5 decision over Kale Mickelson of Cody in the semifinals, before losing by a 1:30 fall to Will Spann of Rocky Mountain in the first place match.

In A Division 110, Wyatt McDermott placed first and scored 20 team points. McDermott received a bye in the quarterfinals, then won by a 2-1 decision over Elijah Hernandez of Riverton in the semifinals and won by a 1:35 fall over Preston Nichols of Lovell in the first place match.

In A Division 115, Roedy Farrell placed second and scored 18 team points. Farrell won by a 32-second fall over Tyler Donnell of Riverton in the quarterfinals and a 45-second fall over Will Thomason of Cody in the semifinals, before losing by a 15-2 major decision to Brady Deming of Cody in the first place match.

In A Division 126, Matt Music placed fourth and scored seven team points. Music received a bye in the quarterfinals, and lost by 2-1 decision to Zane Collins of Lovell in the semifinals. He lost by a 2:26 fall to Ben Hawley of Lovell in the consolation semis, and by a 2:28 fall to Josh Rose of Worland in the third place match.

In A Division 138, Jarek Sorenson placed third and scored no team points. Sorenson lost by a nine-second fall to Tyler Grenz of Cody in Round 1, and by a 43-second fall to Duke Gibbel of Shoshoni in Round 2.

In A Division 155, Cole Christiansen placed second and scored 16 team points. Christiansen received a bye in the quarterfinals, then won by a 1:14 fall over Aden Nicholson in the semifinals before losing by a 7-5 decision to Toran Graham of Powell in the first place match.

In A Division 220, Austin Barral placed first and scored 20 team points. Barral received a bye in the quarterfinals, then won by a 2-0 decision over John Haley of Greybull/Cloud Peak in the semifinals and by a 3:58 fall over Danny Becker of Cody in the first place match.

In B Division 77, Dalton Price placed first and scored 24 team points. Price won by a 30-second fall over Marisol Duran of Shoshoni in the quarterfinals, by a 52-second fall over Ezra Hernandez of Riverton in the semifinals and by a 1:46 fall over Audie Woody of Shoshoni in the first place match.

In the same division, Seth Needham’s place was unknown and scored three team points. Needham lost by a 12-10 decision to David Long of Greybull/Cloud Peak in the quarterfinals, then won by a 1:15 fall over Scotty Reidinger of Powell in Consolation Round 1 and lost by a 36-second fall to Ezra Hernandez of Riverton in the consolation semifinals.

In B Division 84, Ethan Crow’s place was unknown and he scored five team points. Crow received a bye in Championship Round 1 and lost by a 3:05 fall to Klayton Baugh of Worland in the quarterfinals. Crow won by a 15-3 major decision over Ivan Thomas of Worland in Consolation Round 2 and by a 1:39 fall over JD Rodriquez of Lovell in Consolation Round 3, but lost by a 4-3 decision to Hayden Paxton of Greybull/Cloud Peak in the Consolation Semfinals.

In B Division 98, Charlie Sandberg’s place was unknown and he scored 10 team points. Sandberg won by a 3:00 fall over Owen Page of Worland in Championship Round 1 and lost by a 20-second fall to Ryan Cordes of Powell in the quarterfinals. He won by a 45-second fall over Owen Page of Worland in Consolation Round 2 and by a 48-second fall over Braylon Alberty of Shoshoni in Consolation Round 3, then lost by a 2:12 fall to Russell Crosby of Rocky Mountain in the Consolation Semifinals.

In B Division 105, Rayne Arends’s place was unknown and he scored four team points. Arends won by a 20-second fall over Frankie Brown of Lovell in Championship Round 1, then lost by a 12-second fall to Isac Rose of Worland in the quarterfinals and by a 7-4 decision to Cole Howard of Powell in Consolation Round 2.

In B Division 110, Ethan Music’s place was unknown and he scored three team points. Music lost by an 11-7 decision to Emeleigh Dalton of Cody in the quarterfinals, then won by a 38-second fall over Oliver McKim of Gerybull/Cloud Peak in Consolation Round 1 and lost by a 48-second fall to Adrian Groves of Riverton in the Consolation Semifinals.

In B Division 120, Mason Reese’s place was unknown and scored two team points. Reese received a bye in Championship Round 1 and lost by a 1:20 fall to Ryan Watson of Riverton in the quarterfinals. He won by a 12-2 major decision over Jack VanNorman of Powell in Consolation Round 2, and lost by a 12-11 decision to Jullian Cabello of Shoshoni.

In B Division 145, Clark Emmett placed fourth and scored four team points. Emmett received a bye in the quarterfinals and lost by an 11-second fall to Jace Grant of Cody in the semifinals. He received a bye in the Consolation Semifinals and lost by a 2:16 fall to Kylar Bennett of Riverton in the third place match.

In B Division 155, Jack Whittaker’s place was unknown and he scored no team points. Whittaker received a bye in the quarterfinals, then lost by a 37-second fall to Lannon Brazelton in the semifinals and by a 23-second fall to Parker DeVries of Riverton in the Consolation Semifinals.

Overall, Emery said, “We are excited to kick-off another season of wrestling.” This year the season is starting early to match up with the rest of the state’s wrestling season, and Oct. 17 through Dec. 9 is the timeframe.

“There are roughly 18 wrestlers participating, with quite a few first year wrestlers out. “Our older, more experienced wrestlers will have to step up and show off their leadership roles to help the lesser experienced boys out.”

The wrestlers’ next tournament is the Powell Invitational on Saturday, November 4.