Bulldog wrestlers snag success at tournament

The Lovell Bulldog wrestling team had a successful weekend on the mats at a home triangular on Friday and the Greybull Memorial tournament on Saturday. 

The Bulldogs welcomed the Shoshoni Wranglers and Tongue River Eagles for a home triangular dual Friday night. The dual kicked off with a senior night, honoring senior wrestlers Dino De La Cruz, Kasey Jordan, Rudy Hall, Talon Burton, Danika Crumrine, Avery Layne, Maecie Joy, Mikkel Klepp, Sebastian Lefstein-Brown and Kyler Mickelson, and managers Brittni Aagard and Lily Hiser for their commitment to the sport.

The Bulldogs battled the Wranglers first and had a standout score of 42-24 to win the dual. De La Cruz, Jordan and Hall all contributed to the score against the Wranglers by defeating their opponents.

During the Shoshoni dual, De La Cruz secured his 100th career win by pinning his opponent to put six on the scoreboard for the Bulldogs.

“It is a big accomplishment for him to pick up his 100th win as a senior,” noted head coach Ty Hecker. “He had to work hard the last three years to pick up that prestigious win. With that win and his current record this year, Dino is sitting at third in the state at 132 pounds in 3A.”

The team welcomed Tongue River on the mat next for a dual. Hudsen Mickelson, De La Cruz, Mason Christenson, Burton, Hall and Jordan all put points on the scoreboard by defeating their opponents, But the Bulldogs ended up losing the dual by the close score of 34-32. 

“Being our senior night, the seniors that came out and wrestled looked good,” Hecker said. “We always seem to wrestle good in front of our home crowd. We feed off their energy, and I thought the team as a whole wrestled well, including some of the freshmen who had to step up and fill some roles.”

Greybull Memorial

The Bulldogs traveled to Greybull Saturday for a tournament, where they brought home an abundance of hardware on both the girls and boys team.

At the end of the tournament, the Lady Bulldogs ended up taking second place as a team, adding to their successful weekend.

“The girls came out battling. All five of our girls placed. They knew there was a trophy to be had, and they wanted it,” Hecker said. “I thought all the girls wrestled well and supported each other, which brings up the team as a whole.”

Senior Crumrine dominated on the mat this weekend in the 140-pound bracket. Crumrine plowed through her competition, pinning all of her opponents in the first period to snag first place. Pinning her first opponent in 18 seconds, Crumrine secured her 100th career win.

“It has been a long journey to get her 100th win,” Hecker said. “In her freshman year she mostly wrestled boys, and she needed those wins to reach her 100th.”

Crumrine’s successful day also rewarded her with the Most Outstanding Female Wrestler award for the tournament.

Layne took first place in the 155-pound weight class, going 2-0. 

Kaylynn Mickelson lost a tough first match in the 110-pound bracket but worked through the left side of the bracket to make a comeback and take third place.

Harley Tillett also ended up taking third place, contributing to the team’s overall points.

Joy competed in the 135-pound bracket and ended the tournament in fourth place. Joy stayed tough on the mat and held a 2-2 record.

Lovell boys

The boys team also kept the pace this weekend, ending the tournament with several placers and finishing third as team.

“We are still battling illness, but as a whole team we wrestled well. Right now, we are just trying to get healthy and feel good so we can make a run at Regionals and State,” Hecker said. 

Christenson competed in the 138-pound bracket Saturday and stood at the top of his bracket by the end of the tournament.

“Mason was our champion at 138. He wrestled tough and aggressive,” Hecker said. “He is excellent on his feet and is the aggressor in a match. He takes the most shots on the team, and he’s got a banged-up face to prove it.”

Christenson wrestled to a record of 4-0 and faced Camron Horm of Wind River in the finals. Wrestling into the second period, Christenson pinned Horn to reward himself with a gold medal.

Jordan wrestled tough to take first place in the 190-pound bracket. 

“Jordan won his first varsity tournament of his high school career,” Hecker said. “He is wrestling his best right now, which is setting him up well for State. He is ranked in his weight class and looking to place at State and succeed at his goals by the end of this season.”

Jordan had a clean record of 3-0 this weekend, wrestling Mack Buckner of Thermopolis in the finals. The match ended in a 5-3 decision with Jordan securing the win. 

De La Cruz placed second in the 132-pound bracket with a 2-1 record. He pinned his first two opponents to land him in the finals. 

Hall landed in the finals of the 175-pound bracket. He pinned Taj Prine of Lander Valley to land him in his finals match, where he ended up taking second place.

Zayden Stahl wrestled back from a loss in the 132-pound bracket to place fourth. Stahl held a 2-2 record and wrestled a tough final match to take fourth.

This week the team is gearing up to head into one last dual tournament before going into the postseason. This Friday, Feb. 14, the team will compete at the Buffalo Duals and get some matches against Buffalo, Burns and Wheatland to wrap up their final event of the regular season before progressing into the postseason of Regionals and State.