LHS names Senior Athletes of the Year

Recently graduated seniors Davin Crosby and Danika Crumrine have been named Lovell High School’s senior athletes of the year for the 2024-25 school year. One male and one female senior athlete is chosen for this honor each year.

Crumrine had a stellar high school wrestling career, despite battling a shoulder injury for most of the time. She also participated in volleyball and cross country.

During her freshman season, she didn’t come out for wrestling until halfway through the season because high school girls wrestling was not yet sanctioned and she would have to compete against male athletes.

“Danika won a varsity spot her freshman year in the male division and did win a few varsity matches that year in 2A boys,” coach Ty Hecker said. “Then her sophomore year, the state recognized female wrestling, and she really excelled.

Crumrine earned all-state honors that year, along with making the finals at State and finishing runner-up at the Ron Thon, losing to the same girl in both events.

“She was the second-best girl wrestler in the whole state at her weight class,” Hecker said. “Then, her junior year, injury struck, and her shoulder would dislocate often. It got so bad it would dislocate three or four times a week.”

Hecker credited her competitive nature and determination to fight through the pain.

“She’s tough as nails and battled through it the best she could,” he said.

She didn’t perform as well as she would have hoped in her junior season but still earned all-conference recognition after having surgery.

Crumrine entered national tournaments in Fargo, North Dakota, and wrestled for Team Wyoming in Iowa and won matches against nationally ranked opponents. She also took second in a tournament in Denver at the Rocky Mountain Nationals the summer between her junior and senior year.

“Her senior year, we had to change her strategy to protect her shoulder,” Hecker said. “She barely had any upper body strength, and we had to rely on shooting and footwork, which was new to her.”

She ended up getting back to the Ron Thon finals her senior year and came up just short, and she found herself in the place she wanted to be in heading into her final state tournament.

“She wrestled so tough but came up short in the semi-finals,” Hecker said. “It broke her heart, but she battled back and got third.”

Hecker credited her work ethic and motivation to succeed as her key qualities to earn her this award, like going to extra tournaments, eating properly and going to camps. She has been a team captain since her sophomore season and always looked for opportunities to help her teammates.

“She has the integrity and drive and that flowed over into her academics, and she does the right things to be successful in sports and in life,” Hecker concluded.

In her high school career, Crumrine achieved more than 100 wins and 100 by way of pin.

CROSBY

Crosby also had an exceptional high school athletic career, primarily in football and basketball. He was the starting quarterback for all four years on the Bulldog football team and was a key player on the state championship basketball team this year.

In his first two football seasons, he helped lead the Bulldogs to the 2A state title games but fell just short of the victories in heartbreaking losses. He earned honorable mention all-conference for his sophomore season’s efforts. Entering his junior season, his throwing game really emerged compared to the more run heavy style in previous years.

“He really had to learn to manage games,” head coach and father Nicc Crosby said. “We began getting a little bit aggressive with the pass, and he handled that really well.”

Crosby received both all-conference and all-state honors his junior season.

Going into his senior year, he became an integral part of the team’s defense, as well. 

“Even with his limited time on defense, he had five interceptions and two pick sixes and was one of our team leaders in tackles,” Coach Crosby said. “And offensively, he had a great year with 27 touchdowns and only four interceptions.”

He led Class 2A in passing yards per game and ran 37.8 yards per game on 102 carries and scored eight touchdowns. He collected 76 tackles and scored two defensive touchdowns.

Those efforts earned him all-conference, all-state, a spot on the Casper Star Tribune’s all-class Super 25 team and a selection to the Shrine Bowl.

In basketball, Crosby earned all-conference his junior year, and in his senior season was selected as the 3A West defensive player of the year and to the all-defensive team, along with honorable mention all-conference and was finally able to hoist a state championship trophy.

“He has had some great coaches and assistant coaches over the years that have motivated him along the way,” Coach Crosby said. “Davin has shown great leadership and was always one of the hardest workers and most dedicated players. It has been hard work and commitment and working together with his teammates and coaches that really made him into a great athlete for the Bulldogs.”