Crumrine and De La Cruz qualify for opportunity at Junior State

Lovell Bulldog wrestlers Danika Crumrine and Dino De La Cruz attended the 2025 WAWA Junior and Female Junior State Championship in Riverton on March 8. Representing the North Big Horn Rams wrestling team, the two wrestlers managed to place themselves high in their respective freestyle brackets.

De La Cruz wrestled the 132-pound freestyle bracket and only lost one match that weekend. He tech-felled his way into his finals match, winning his first match 12-0 and his second match 17-7. Facing Jerimiah Musbach of Green River in the finals, De La Cruz fought tough into the second period but ultimately ended the tournament in second place.

“Dino wrestled lights out. He had confidence this weekend and was winning his finals match when he went for the win but slipped, costing him the match,” said wrestling coach Ty Hecker.

Crumrine also fared well at the tournament, placing third in the 145-pound female freestyle bracket. Crumrine beat her semi-final opponent by a 12-2 tech fall to land her into her finals match against a Moorcroft opponent.

“Danika made it to the finals and went big on points, but injury ended up costing her,” Hecker said. Losing to her opponent, Crumrine was knocked into a second-chance match against Kallie Bauer of Natrona County, where she ended the tournament taking third place.

“Danika was off her game this weekend. She always wrestles tough, but battling through sickness and injury cost her some matches,” Hecker noted. 

After a long day of wrestling, the two Bulldog wrestlers opened the door to opportunity in their wrestling careers. By placing in the top three, De La Cruz and Crumrine have qualified to attend the Junior & 16U Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, this July. The Fargo tournament is a massive tournament where wrestlers from all over the nation come together to wrestle for a national title. 

On another note, Crumrine’s second-place finish at Ron Thon back in January qualified her to represent Team Wyoming on a dual team in Iowa. The Heartland Duals brings together skilled wrestling teams from across the U.S. to face off in a dual tournament. The event will take place March 28-30 in Council Bluffs, Iowa.