AFTON — The Green River Wolves and Rock Springs Tigers showcased strong performances at the WHSAA 4A West Regional Wrestling Tournament in Star Valley, with multiple athletes securing podium finishes. Green River claimed third place in the team standings with 208 points, while Rock Springs finished sixth with 119 points.
Green River Results
At 106 pounds, Brekkun Eslick placed third and earned 13 points for Green River by defeating Hayden Bohannon of Natrona County in the third-place match with a 10-1 major decision. Teammate Darris Todd also competed at 106 pounds, finishing in eighth place after falling to Eslick in the consolation semifinals by a 3-1 decision.
Tavin Vendetti took first place at 113 pounds, scoring 27 team points with a dominant 10-0 major decision victory over Maverick Gallup of Kelly Walsh in the championship match. Oliver Wisniewski placed eighth in the same weight class.
In the 120-pound division, Kaleb Gunter secured third place by pinning Keith Shelton of Evanston in 2:45, contributing 20 points to the Wolves’ total. Robert McMullan also placed, finishing fifth in the weight class.
Jeramiah Musbach earned second place at 126 pounds, falling to Santiago Cruz of Rock Springs in the championship match by a 12-6 decision. Bentley Johnson placed fourth in the same division.
Weston Green took fourth at 132 pounds, while Brayden McMullan and Kendal Porter finished sixth and seventh, respectively, at 138 pounds.
Zachary Dalton placed seventh at 144 pounds, contributing 7.5 team points.
At 157 pounds, Maddux Hintz finished second, losing in the title bout to Kooper Burk of Star Valley by an 8-0 major decision. Orion Balizan secured fifth place in the same class.
Jaydon Walther earned a runner-up finish at 165 pounds but fell to Ethan Hague of Kelly Walsh in the championship by technical fall. Andy Weipert placed seventh in the same weight class.
Timothy Robinson finished fourth at 175 pounds, while teammate Jayce Stewart took sixth.
At 190 pounds, Logan Bauers claimed second place, losing by fall to Mekhi Bovee of Kelly Walsh in the championship match.
Kaleb Clark placed eighth at 215 pounds, and at 285 pounds, Jakob Lloyd secured second place, falling to Grant Thomson of Star Valley in the title match.
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Rock Springs Results
For Rock Springs, Kaijun Powell finished in seventh place at 113 pounds, earning 6.0 team points. Powell faced a tough battle in the consolation semifinals, where he was narrowly defeated by Nolan Hyde of Star Valley in a 14-11 decision.
At 120 pounds, Kirklin Hay secured seventh place and contributed 5.0 team points. Hay’s run ended in the consolation semifinals when he was pinned by Keith Shelton of Evanston at 2:02. In the same weight class, Michael Stromberg finished in sixth place. Stromberg faced Dane Samson of Kelly Walsh in the third consolation round, where he was defeated by a 5-1 decision.
The 126-pound bracket featured two standout performances from the Tigers. Dane Arnoldi fought his way to a third-place finish, securing his spot with a victory by fall over Bentley Johnson of Green River at 4:16. Meanwhile, Santiago Cruz dominated his weight class, earning first place and scoring 24.0 team points. Cruz claimed the championship with a 12-6 decision over Jeramiah Musbach of Green River.
In the 132-pound category, Lincoln Young continued his impressive season by taking first place and contributing 25.0 team points to the team’s total. Young won his title match with a hard-fought 5-3 decision over Tyson Kendall of Jackson Hole.
At 175 pounds, Sam Thornhill delivered a commanding performance, finishing first and earning 26.0 team points. Thornhill secured his championship by pinning Damien Burgess of Star Valley at 5:40.
In the 190-pound division, Declan Henderson placed sixth and scored 7.0 team points. Henderson’s tournament run ended in the third consolation round, where he was pinned by Jace Lijewski of Kelly Walsh at 4:00.
Jernee Padilla competed in the 215-pound weight class and finished in fourth place, adding 10.0 team points to Rock Springs’ score. Padilla fell to Taiton Mills of Evanston by a 16-3 major decision in the 3rd place match.
The Tigers had two wrestlers in the 285-pound category who placed. Miles Doporto placed seventh, scoring 5.0 team points. Doporto was pinned by Jayce Spears of Natrona County at 4:20 in the consolation semifinals. William Bybee took 5th place, ultimately facing his teammate, Doporto, in the third consolation round, where Doporto secured victory by fall at 0:52.
In the 106 Extras division, Brayton Boylen placed second, earning 4.0 team points. Boylen made a strong impression by pinning Liam Winters of Riverton at 4:38 in the second round.
Team Standings
- Star Valley – 239.0 points
- Kelly Walsh – 233.5 points
- Green River – 208.0 points
- Natrona County – 165.5 points
- Evanston – 144.5 points
- Rock Springs – 119.0 points
- Riverton – 81.5 points
- Jackson Hole – 53.0 points
Girls Wrestling Update
While the boys competed in Star Valley, the Green River and Rock Springs girls wrestlers are still competing in Evanston. Bianca Maez, Lily Harris, and Adia Price from Green River and Rylin Plant, Paige Tongate, and Sarah Eddy from Rock Springs have advanced to the championship semifinals.
The girls’ competition will conclude on Saturday.
