Bulldog wrestlers snag first at Don Runner Memorial Tournament

Last Friday, the Lovell Bulldogs traveled to Pavillion to compete in the Don Runner Memorial Tournament. By the end of the tournament, the boys team came in first with the most points, finishing in front of Riverton by 6.5 points -- 168.5-162.

“I was very pleased with how far the team has come along since returning back after the holidays,” said head wrestling coach Ty Hecker. “We only lost one dual in Shoshoni last week, and now we’ve won the Don Runner Tournament.”

Several wrestlers contributed to the team score this weekend after sealing a place in their respective weight brackets. 

Dino Delacruz, competing in the 106-pound weight class, reigned over his bracket after beating the top two ranked 2A kids in the state. Facing off against top ranked opponent Sammie Cyrus of Dubois, Delacruz controlled the mat and won by an 18-1 tech fall.

“Dino battles every day, and it is paying off,” Hecker said. “He is sitting at the top of his weight class, being ranked number one in the state.”

Kalell Gruell took first in the 215-pound weight class, going 4-0 and pinning all his opponents in the first period.

“Gruell is becoming the wrestler I knew he can be,” Hecker said. “He managed to beat the number three-ranked wrestler in 3A.” 

James Love finished first in the 285-pound weight class after pinning teammate Rosendo Garcia. Currently going 15-2 this season, Hecker mentioned that Love managed to avenge his only two losses after taking out the top ranked wrestler in 3A, Zaryc Prosser of Riverton. 

Carson Asay landed in the finals in the 165-pound weight class after defeating Billy Velarde of the Lander Valley Tigers by a 3-1 decision. Hecker highlighted Asay’s performance, saying, “Asay was on a nine-match winning streak when he made it into the finals. Although he came up short with second, he wrestled very well.”

Mason Christenson also wrestled tough, but a major decision sent him to wrestle back for third place.

“Mason had a rough draw,” Hecker noted, “but he battled back to get third and he showed a lot of heart and grit this weekend.” Going 5 – 1 at the tournament, Christenson defeated Colter Price of Thermopolis by pin for third place in the 132-pound weight class.

Zayden Stahl faced tough competition in the first round of the 120-pound bracket but managed to turn it around and wrestle back for third with a 3-1 record. 

In the 157-pound weight class, Michael Harris managed to go 3-1 and take third place. 

Rudy Hall took fourth in the 190-pound weight class, going 2-2.

“Hall is a completely different wrestler this year,” Hecker said. “He is looking to become a ranked wrestler, and he performed very well this weekend.”

On the girls side of the tournament, Maecie Joy placed fourth after going 2-2 in the 145-pound weight class.

Danika Crumrine also took fourth in the 140-pound weight class.

“Our team feeds off each other’s energy,” explained Hecker. “This really helped elevate our success as a whole this weekend.”

Looking forward to the next couple of weeks, Hecker described the upcoming tournaments as the two toughest meets of the season.

First, the Bulldogs will travel to Moorcroft to compete in the Dylan Humes Memorial Tournament this weekend. The teams will face 2A, 3A, 4A, and out-of-state competition at this meet. The following weekend will be the Ron Thon, a tournament in Riverton that mixes all classes together to see who will claim the title of “best of the best” in the entire state. 

Coach Hecker expects to see the team wrestle tough and pick up some big wins in hard fought matches in the upcoming meets.

“I want to keep our momentum up,” he said. “I expect to keep moving forward and to never take a step back as a team.”