VERNAL — Sweetwater County wrestlers made their mark at the Tournament of Champions over the weekend, led by a championship run from Rock Springs’ Sarah Eddy and runner-up finishes from Rylin Plant and Izzy Cruz, while Green River added multiple top-three placers against deep, multi-state fields.
In the boys Tournament of Champions, Green River placed third overall with 157.5 team points, well ahead of Rock Springs, which finished 27th with 39.5 points. The Wolves were paced by a pair of third-place finishers, as Tavin Vendetti placed third at 120 pounds and Maddux Hintz earned third at 157.
Vendetti battled back through the consolation bracket after a narrow quarterfinal loss, closing his tournament with a 3-0 decision in the third-place match. Hintz followed a similar path, rebounding from a semifinal loss with two wins, including a technical fall in the third-place bout.
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Green River also added a fifth-place finish from Bentley Johnson at 113 pounds and another fifth from Timothy Robinson at 190, giving the Wolves four top-five placers in the boys division.
Rock Springs’ highlight on the boys side came from freshman Izzy Cruz, who advanced to the championship match at 98 pounds before finishing second. Cruz reached the final with a semifinal 10-6 decision win before falling by pin in the title bout.
On the girls side at the Girls Tournament of Champions, Green River again finished higher in the team standings, placing ninth with 97 points. Rock Springs finished 15th with 76 points, but the Tigers produced the top individual performance of the weekend.
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Sarah Eddy captured the 155-pound championship for Rock Springs, winning all four of her matches by fall, including a pin in the finals to secure the lone individual title for Sweetwater County. Rylin Plant added a second-place finish at 100 pounds, advancing to the championship match off a major decision win in the semi-finals before placing runner-up.
Green River’s girls were led by Adia Price, who finished fourth at 190 pounds, and Faith Still, who took fifth at 235.
Across both tournaments, nine wrestlers from Sweetwater County finished in the top five. While Green River’s depth translated into stronger team finishes, Rock Springs’ podium appearances, highlighted by Eddy’s championship and second-place efforts from Plant and Cruz, underscored a strong showing at the season’s premier midwinter test.
Next week, both teams will compete at the Thoman in Green River.
