GREEN RIVER – Wrestlers from Sweetwater County delivered standout performances at the annual Thoman Soda Ash Memorial Tournament, with both boys and girls representing their schools in championship and placement rounds. Notable finishes and team achievements highlighted the competition, which drew top athletes from across the region.
Rock Springs High School sports coverage is brought to you by these amazing sponsors:
Boys Highlights
The Sweetwater County boys made their presence known, particularly in the dual meets and the prestigious “Best of the Best” round.
- Green River Wolves advanced to the tournament finals, finishing second overall behind Uintah. They accumulated 34 pins over a total time of 59 minutes, 49 seconds.
- Rock Springs Tigers took seventh place and had 30 pins during the tournament. The Tigers had notable individual performances across the competition, landing them three wrestlers in the Best of the Best dual.
In the Best of the Best dual:
- Bentley Johnson (GR, 106 lbs) dominated Tayson Moon (Evanston) with a technical fall (21-1).
- Samuel Thornhill (RS, 175 lbs) secured a decisive victory over Levi Jones (Mountain View) with a pin in 1:21.
- Tavin Vendetti (GR, 113 lbs) Santiago Cruz (RS, 126 lbs) Lincoln Young (RS, 132 lbs), and Logan Bauers (GR, 190 lbs) all made it to the best of the best but as well but came up just short and ended with a respectable second-place finishes.
Check out photos from the Best of the Best dual below.
The Green River Wolves began their campaign with commanding wins in pool play as they defeated Riverton (74-6), Mountain View (68-9), and Grantsville (59-20). In the quarterfinals, they edged Evanston (44-33) and then defeated Kemmerer (53-24) in the semifinals before falling to Uintah in the championship match (70-12).
Rock Springs earned victories in Pool D, defeating Lyman (59-21) and Laramie (64-17). They made it to the quarterfinals where they fell 46-35 to Kemmerer. Wrestlers Santiago Cruz (126 lbs) and Lincoln Young (132 lbs) stood out, each earning multiple falls leading to a chance to take first in the best of the best alongside Sam Thornhill (175 lbs).
Final Team Standings
- Uintah
- Green River
- Pinedale
- Kemmerer
- Evanston
- Riverton
- Rock Springs
- Laramie
Girls Highlights
The Green River Lady Wolves and Rock Springs Lady Tigers demonstrated strength on the mat, with six girls placing in the top five and four advancing to the championship round.
- Sarah Eddy (Rock Springs) claimed first place in the 155-pound weight class after a hard-fought 4-3 decision over Kaylie Julander of Kemmerer.
- Green River’s Kayleigh Johnson (110 lbs) and Bianca Maez (115 lbs) both earned second place, with Johnson falling to Caelia Moyer (Grantsville) by major decision (14-0) and Maez losing to Sophia Camargo (Grantsville) by fall at 4:22.
- Rock Springs’ Paige Tongate (140 lbs) also finished in second place, dropping a 12-3 major decision to Peyton Hadden of Lyman.
- Rylin Plant (Rock Springs) secured third place in the 105-pound placement round with a fall over Kemmerer’s Riley Meyer at 4:37.
- Green River’s Adia Price (155 lbs) took fifth place in her bracket, narrowly losing a 10-6 decision to Campbell County’s Haylee Blomberg.
Check out some photos from the girls championship and placement rounds below.