Best in the Northwest
Lovell grapplers win 2A Northwest Quadrant Qualifier
By Sam Smith
In an anything but normal year, the Lovell Bulldog grapplers rose to the occasion, overcame adversity and came out on top at the 2A Northwest Quadrant Qualifier Saturday in Thermopolis.
The Bulldogs qualified 19 wrestlers for the state tournament.
The Bulldogs topped the five-team field with 209 points, 42.5 points ahead of Shoshoni with 166.5. In third was host team Thermopolis with 125 points. Coming in fourth was Rocky Mountain with 81 points, and in fifth was Greybull/Riverside with 74 points.
“I was really pleased with the way the team competed,” coach Nick DeWitt said. “Our energy was high, and it helped elevate the entire team. You could especially see it in our younger and inexperienced wrestlers. It was great to see a face-off at a regional tournament with Lovell filling a spot in 10 of the 14 weight classes.”
In individual results, senior Asher Nicholson won the 132-pound division and will go into State with a record of 25-2. Nicholson pinned his teammate, Jadyn Snyder, in 44 seconds and stuck Braeden Cash of Shoshoni in the championship match in 25 seconds.
Senior Myzek McArthur won the 170-pound division and will go into Casper with a 19-7 record. McArthur pinned Lee Grimm of Thermopolis in the semifinals in 1:32 and Aiden Henson of Rocky Mountain in the finals in 1:09.
Senior Cardon Mickelson won the 120-pound division and will go into State with a 15-6 record. Mickelson stuck Seth Needham of Thermopolis in 37 seconds and Malachi Lane of Shoshoni in the semifinals in 1:55. Mickelson pinned Dalton Price of Thermopolis in the championship match in 1:21.
Sophomore William Spann won the 113-pound division and will take a 17-5 record into the State tournament. Spann pinned his teammate, Jaydon Mickelson, in the semifinals in 3:28 and won by injury default over Nicky Knigge of Shoshoni in the finals.
Freshman Manning May picked up wins five and six at Regionals to win the 182-pound division. May pinned two Greybull/Riverside opponents to win the division.
May stuck Aiden Farrow in the semifinals in 1:06 and defeated Bryan Galvez 10-4 in the title match.
Sophomore Kathryn Mickelson placed second in Thermopolis at 106 pounds. Mickelson pinned Angel Barajas in the semifinals in 2:35, then was pinned by Ethan Tarango of Shoshoni in the finals in 3:47.
Senior Kyler Marchant placed second at 126 pounds. Marchant pinned Daniel Blair of Thermopolis in 12 seconds and Jessen Basse of Thermopolis in 1:28 before falling to Nathaniel Boreen of Rocky Mountain in the finals in 1:50.
Junior Casen Hiser placed second at 160 pounds. Hiser pinned his teammate Kaleb Leonhardt in the semifinals in 1:37 before falling to Tryston Truempler in the finals in 32 seconds.
Sophomore Zane Collins placed second at 195 pounds. Collins stuck Kellen Linnan of Shoshoni in the semis in 1:13, then was pinned by Logan Cole of Thermopolis in the championship match in 1:58. Collins goes into State with a 13-8 record.
Freshman Rosendo Garcia placed second at 220 pounds. Garcia stuck Julian Cabello of Shoshoni in 1:43 and won a no contest over his teammate, Marshall Mickelson, in the semis. Garcia fell to Tate Clutter of Greybull/Riverside in the finals in 2:17. Garcia will take a 15-4 record into the state tournament.
After falling to Spann, junior Jaydon Mickelson defeated Rianna Tidwell of Shoshoni 7-4 in the third-place match at 113 pounds.
Sophomore Ryan Nunn placed third at 170 pounds. After falling to Henson in the semis, Nunn defeated Grimm of Thermopolis 12-6 in the third-place match.
After falling to Greybull/Riverside’s Bryan Galvez in his opening match, sophomore Tayton Hodges pinned Farrow at 182 pounds to win the third-place match, and senior Marshall Mickelson defeated Jarek Sorensen 6-0 at 220 pounds to win the third-place match after his loss to Garcia.
Senior Cruz Garcia placed third at 285 pounds and will go into State with a 16-3 record. Garcia fell to Jonathan Hilder of Shoshoni in the semis in 2:46 but bounced back to pin Bobby White of Shoshoni in the third-place match in 19 seconds.
Sophomore Jadyn Snyder placed fourth at 132 pounds. Snyder defeated Jakob Hampton 7-4 before falling to his teammate, Asher Nicholson, in the semifinals. Snyder pinned Luke Dickey in the consolation semifinals in 1:41, then fell to Oscar Martinez of Greybull/Riverside in the third-place match in 1:16.
Junior Corbin Barry placed fourth at 145 pounds. Barry defeated Emma Crichton of Shoshoni 7-2 in the quarters, then fell to eventual champion Pehton Truempler of Shoshoni in the semis in 15 seconds. Barry pinned Kailey Allen of Thermopolis in the consolation semis in 1:36 before falling to Ty Strohschein of Greybull/Riverside in the third-place match in 38 seconds.
Junior Aden Nicholson placed fourth at 152 pounds. Nicholson pinned his teammate Luke White Buffalo in the consolation semis in 59 seconds, then fell to Jake Schlattmann of Greybull/Riverside in the third-place match in 45 seconds.
Freshman Kaleb Leonhardt placed fourth at 160 pounds. Leonhardt pinned Jeremy Holloway of Greybull/Riverside in 2:51, then fell to his teammate, Hiser, in the semis in 1:37. Leonhardt qualified for State by sticking Mason Reese of Thermopolis in 2:08 before falling to Kolby Broederlow of Rocky Mountain in the third-place match in 1:59.
The top four wrestlers in each weight class advanced to the 2A State Wrestling Tournament at the Ford Wyoming Center (formerly the Casper Events Center) today (Thursday).
“I’m happy that we have 19 of our wrestlers getting the opportunity to compete at State,” DeWitt said. “I know the other nine that won’t be attending will be hungry for next year.”
Other Bulldog grapplers competing in Thermopolis were freshmen JD Rodriguez and Carson Asay at 120 and 138 pounds, respectively, sophomores Quin and Cameron Carpenter at 126 and 138 pounds, respectively, junior Landon Marchant at 145 pounds and sophomore Luke White Buffalo at 152 pounds.
The Wyoming State Wrestling Tournament will be different than previous years with each school classification wrestling on different days during the three-day event. The 2A State Wrestling Tournament will begin today (Thursday) at 8:30 a.m. and will conclude with the championship matches beginning at 4:30 p.m. Class 3A will follow on Friday, 4A Saturday.
“I think the team to beat will be Wright with Shoshoni and Lingle-Ft. Laramie in the battle as well,” DeWitt said.
DeWitt said the team has to have a similar weekend to come out on top at State like they did in Thermopolis.
“We have to have every wrestler in every weight compete at their highest level and win the matches they should and win some matches they aren’t expected to,” DeWitt said. “Bonus points will come into play throughout the tournament. We need to get pins when we can and make sure we don’t give up pins to the other teams.”