Rocky wrestlers place well in the last meet before Conference

The Rocky Mountain Middle School wrestling team had another busy week with two very different meets. The first, held Thursday in Lovell, was more of a controlled scrimmage, with no team or individual scores kept. The pace changed on Friday when the team traveled to Shoshoni for their final regular season competition before next week’s conference tournament.

Friday’s meet in Shoshoni brought together small-school teams from across the state. Wrestlers from Arapaho Charter, Dubois, Fort Washakie, Glenrock, Greybull, Rocky Mountain, Shoshoni, Thermopolis and Wyoming Indian all filled the gym for one of the biggest meets of the season.

Rocky Mountain brought 16 boys to the tournament, and 10 of them placed in the top four. Jacob Undem, Kody Kougl, Tagg Harris and Wyatt Blank all placed second, with Barry Jolley, Gus Loyning and Hudson Moore earning third-place finishes. Jason Unruh and Spence Winterholler finished fourth in their respective brackets. Jason Demers also came away with an important win for the team.

Both Lady Grizz wrestlers earned spots on the podium, as well. Harper Griffin finished third, and Kinli Bitton took home a strong second-place medal.

For those who enjoy a bit of historical context, this is only the third year middle school girls have had their own separate wrestling brackets. At last week’s meet in Shoshoni, 181 boys and 43 girls competed. Only two schools, host Shoshoni and Dubois, did not have any girls on the mat. Thermopolis led the way with 12 female wrestlers. For perspective, last year’s numbers across the Big Horn Basin were roughly half of what we’re seeing now, showing just how quickly girls wrestling is growing across the Big Horn Basin and across the country.

The Grizz are taking the Thanksgiving week off without a competition and will be well rested for their conference tournament, featuring teams from across the northwest part of the state, including larger schools such as Cody, Riverton, Powell and Lander to be held on Saturday, Dec. 6, in Thermopolis.