GREEN RIVER — Several Green River High School (GRHS) basketball players, wrestlers, and cheerleaders were recognized for their athletic achievements during the Sweetwater County School District (SCSD) No. 2 school board meeting Tuesday night.

Many of the winters sports teams found great success this past season, and a few of the athletes who helped lead their teams were selected to receive All Conference and All State recognition.

Girls Basketball

Head coach for the GRHS girls basketball team Rick Carroll praised his team for their hard work throughout the season.

“I’m so proud of this Lady Wolves basketball team and the things that they did throughout the year, and that’s the entire team,” he said. 

He noted that the girls had a rough start but that they worked hard to improve as the season went on.

“I heard a lot of noise about how this team wasn’t going to be very good…,” Carroll said. “We ended up being first in our quadrant, ended up being second in the 4A West, and I think that’s just the commitment and how hard the girls worked for that. We made it to the regional championship and lost to the eventual champions who went 25-0 this year, and who possibly have a really great commitment to the weight room right now.” 

He said the one area that GRHS sports could improve in is work in the weight room. Carroll noted that the teams that are winning championships in Wyoming are the ones with great weight lifting programs.

“The one place we need to get better as an entire community is in the weight room. I would ask the parents, I would ask the school board, I would ask the administrators to support those efforts of anybody that’s trying to get their kids in there to work harder,” he said.

The All State and All Conference recipients are as follows:

Jayla Braden- All Conference and All State. She was the second leading assist person in the state, and second leading in steals.

Ella Stanton- All Conference and second team All State. She was the leading rebounder this year.

Addison Demaret- Second team All Conference. She was the leading shot blocker this year, and the sixth leading rebounder.

Isa Vasco- Second team All Conference. She ranked in the top 10 in assists, and top 10 for scoring, and was the leading scorer for the conference season. 

“If you look at these young ladies, they’re leaders in the classroom, they’re leaders in the activities they do, they’re leaders to other young ladies who are trying to do their very best, I think they’re great role models, and I think they did a great job throughout the course of this year,” Carroll said.

Boys Basketball

Assistant boys basketball coach Josh Lewis spoke about three of the Wolves basketball players who received honors for their effort on the court this year. He read comments given by head coach Laurie Ivie who could not attend the meeting.

He started with Theran Archibald who received first team All Conference honors and second team All State.

“T was an extremely intelligent basketball player, he is a tenacious competitor, he has a scorer’s mentality, he’s a phenomenal shooter, his work ethic and dedication to the game is unmatched,” Lewis said.

Archibald was tied for second in scoring in the conference, was fourth in the state for scoring, and led team in rebounding. He also had the highest scoring outputs for the year statewide.

Next up was Caleb Lake who ended the season second in the conference with assists, and third in the state. He was also third in the conference for steals, and sixth in the state. He received second team All Conference.

“Caleb has an undeniable passion for the game of basketball that is contagious to those around him. There was never a time he wasn’t willing to put it all on the line. He has a desire to win like no other, he’s a kid who can turn the entire gym around emotionally in a split second with just his positive energy and his confidence,” Lewis said. “Caleb did things on the court that focused on making his teammates better.” 

Lastly, Kason Ivie was recognized for his contributions this season. Ivie was ninth in the conference in assists and steals, and was chosen as second team All Conference.

“All season long, Kason set the standard in intensity, and absolutely refused to be outworked. Kason stepped into the gym every single night with the goal of making himself and his teammates better. He took pride that he could guard anyone in the gym. Not only is he feisty defensively, but Kason is a great shooter and an unselfish player. He was a vocal leader all season long and a great teammate,” Lewis said.

Lake and Ivie were the captains this season, and according to the coaching staff, they led the team with “grace”.

“They led with grace in the face of high expectations and adversity. They always put their teammates first and showed courageous leadership. Nobody better symbolized the best of what our basketball program stands for than these two,” Lewis said.

Girls Wrestling

While the GRHS girls wrestling team didn’t have any All State athletes, they did have three placers at the state competition.

“And I think it’s just kind of cool and historic to have the first ever Lady Wolves wrestling team at Green River High School,” head coach Josh Wisniewski said.

He said the girls only filled six weight classes and still placed in the top 10 in every tournament they went to.

“I just want to say how brave it is for these ladies to join the sport of wrestling. It’s not for everybody, right? But somehow we were able to talk six of them into joining and sticking around the whole year, and they just did a fantastic job buying into the wrestling culture, and getting into it at practice,” Wisniewski said.

Zella Maez placed third at state and placed at six tournaments. Maez will also be wrestling at college next year for Dickinson State University. Jayleigh Wright placed fourth at state, and placed at seven tournaments. Wisniewski said Wright will also be remembered for being the first person to win and get a pin in the Lady Wolves wrestling program.

Lily Harris placed sixth at state, and placed at seven tournaments. Brianna Uhrig placed at six tournaments, two of which she took first. Kylie Miller placed at four tournaments this year, and Mikayla Green placed at two.

“They’re setting the tone and culture for Lady Wolves wrestling from here on out,” Wisniewski said.

Cheerleading

The GRHS cheer team found a lot of success at state this year, defending their 2022 championship title.

“I am pleased to say we came out on top again this year, winning the 4A Co-Ed Division with a score of 87.4. We also took second place in the 4A Game Day Division with a score of 97.85, which was only a half-tenth away from first place,” head coach Mikayla Smart said.

The team’s state competition was postponed from January until March due to weather, which presented new challenges for the team. Smart said the team’s success is a product of their hard work.

“This team has faced many adversities this year and put in countless hours of handwork and dedication in and out of practice. They work unimaginably hard all year to spend just a few minutes out on the mat and leave everything up to a set of highly trained judges. They are not given another quarter or round or run on the field. They only get one shot to execute every skill to the highest of their ability and to prove they are the best in the state,” Smart said.

The team had six All State cheerleaders this year including Allysa Drinkle who is a three-time recipient, and Damien Holmes who is a two-year recipient. First-year recipients include Layne Fundell, Trey Finch, Audrey Ferrer, and Mikayla Dockter.

Other Business

The school board approved the district’s amended calendar, which has been adjusted for an additional make up day for the snow day on April 3.

Superintendent Craig Barringer said the school district will be making this day up on Tuesday, May 23, which will now be the district’s last day of school for the the 2022-23 year.

A previous snow day was already approved to be made up on May 22, with a staff development day on Friday, May 19. Barringer said this schedule is being proposed in hopes that at least 50 percent of the district’s students will attend school on those days. He said they believe more students will show up on Monday and Tuesday than they would on the Friday the week before.

“We have to have 50 percent attendance to get funded for the schools,” Barringer said.