POWELL — The WHSAA 4A West Regional girls wrestling tournament produced champions for both Sweetwater County programs, as Green River finished third as a team with 146.5 points and Rock Springs placed fourth in the final standings with 112.5.
Star Valley won the regional title with 208 team points, followed by Pinedale at 156.
Green River crowned one individual champion in 130 pounds, where Bianca Maez put together a dominant run through the bracket. Maez opened with falls over opponents from Kelly Walsh and Shoshoni before edging Rock Springs’ Paige Tongate 11-8 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Maez secured the title with a fall in 2:37 over Pinedale’s Kaylea Mortensen.
Rock Springs had two regional champions. At 105, Rylin Plant continued her standout season with a series of bonus-point wins. After a first-round bye, Plant recorded two falls and a technical fall to reach the finals, where she defeated Star Valley’s Carlee Angell 7-1 by decision to claim the championship.
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At 155, Sarah Eddy delivered a commanding performance. Eddy opened with a fall over Evanston’s Georgia Emmett, followed with a technical fall in the quarterfinals and another fall in the semifinals. She capped her tournament with a first-period fall in 1:42 over Elizabeth Holloway of Greybull/Riverside in the title match.
Behind Maez, Green River added four additional podium finishes. Kayleigh Johnson placed third at 110. Johnson reached the semifinals with three straight falls before dropping into the consolation bracket, where she rebounded with another fall and then defeated Evanston’s Shaelyn Larkin 10-6 in the third-place match.
Payton Shantz took third at 120. After a quarterfinal loss, Shantz won four straight matches in the consolation bracket, including a sudden victory win in the consolation semifinals, before earning a technical fall in the third-place match.
At 135, Jocelyn Shantz also placed third. She responded to an early loss with four consecutive consolation falls to secure a podium finish.
Raygen Bauers placed fourth at 125, reaching the semifinals before finishing fourth, while Izzabella Strumsky finished fourth at 170. Faith Still added a fourth-place finish at 235.
For Rock Springs, Tongate finished fourth at 130 after advancing to the semifinals before falling in the third-place match. Kaydence Sander rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to place third at 190, winning three straight consolation matches and earning a medical forfeit in the third-place bout.
Congratulations to the Lady Wolves and Lady Tigers who qualified for the state tournament, which starts on Thursday, February 26h:
100 – Erin McMullen – GR
105 – Rylin Plant – RS
110 – Kayleigh Johnson – GR
115 – Jasmin Hadden – RS
120 – Payton Shantz – GR
125 – Raygen Bauers – GR
130 – Bianca Maez – GR
130 – Paige Tongate – RS
135 – Jocelyn Shantz – GR
140 – Hailey Bennett – RS
155 – Sarah Eddy – RS
170 – Izzabella Strumsky – GR
190 – Kaydence Sander -RS
190 – Adia Price – GR
235 – Faith Still – GR
