Twomey, Jolley place at State for Grizzlies

The Rocky Mountain High School wrestling team brought home two medals from the state wrestling tournament last week, holding their heads high among top competition.

Sophomore Masen Twomey placed third at 215 pounds, and junior Triffen Jolley finished fifth at 165.

The tournament started out great. The coaches were motivating, and the wrestlers were ready; all their hard work was showcased at state.

“Just like that, the 2024-25 Grizzlies wrestling season is done, but it was a fun and awesome season for us, I believe,” head coach Eddie Whiting said. “We ended the season with multiple state qualifiers and two state placers.”

Twomey received a first-round bye, then won his first match against DeAngelo Gann from Lingle-Fort Laramie by fall 1:42. He fell to Oliver Gorsuch of Moorcroft by fall in 1:05, then pinned Haeden Blair from Thermopolis in 4:57. During his third/fourth-place match he accidentally broke Emmet Coxbill of Lingle’s arm and ended up winning the match by injury default in 1:18, placing third and scoring 20 team points.

“I believe every one of our athletes performed to the best of their abilities, so I see room for improvement, absolutely,” Whiting said. “And do I see that in myself? Yes, but we all grow and learn. Let’s start out with Masen Twomey taking third. This young man wrestled great, and it was hard to achieve this. He was injured and out last year but this year came through with a fire and determination to get where he is. It was a great year, and I can’t wait to see what he does next year.”

Jolley won his first match against Jacob Anderson from Moorcroft by fall in 25 seconds, then fell to Louden Bremer from Lingle-Fort Laramie by major decision, 9-1. He won his third match against Paxton Janks from Wind River by technical fall in 1:34 (16-0) and then followed with a win against Gallaway Oleary from Saratoga by fall 1:49. He fell to Brady Garoutte from Moorcroft 5-0 and won his fifth/sixth place match against Anderson of Moorcroft by fall in 25 seconds again, scoring 16.5 team points.

“Triffen is an amazing young man,” Whiting said. “He could have gone down to the 157, where it was a little easier but instead took on four other athletes who were also good wrestlers, so it was anyone’s game. I can’t wait to see where he goes and how he improves.”

Senior Hayden Wambeke lost his first match at 190 pounds against Owen Barton from Kemmerer by fall in 55 seconds, then pinned Erik Morgensen from Shoshoni in 56 seconds. He lost his third match against Nate Ridgway from Tongue River by fall in 1:31, putting him out of the tournament.

 “I thought we wrestled great this weekend. It was a good year with this team, and I saw a lot of improvement out of everyone. I can’t wait to see what next year has in store for this group of kids,” assistant coach Travis Lytle noted.

Junior Colten Bitton won his first match at 138 pounds by decision, 10-8, against Camron Horn from Wind River and lost his second match against Trey Breen from Tongue River by fall in 1:32. He then won his third match against Jesse Brown from Greybull by decision, 4-2, and lost to Lance Axtel from Thermop by fall in 2:01.

Sophomore Sam Loyning lost his first match at 126 pounds at against Austin Ruvalcaba from Kemmerer by major decision, 11-0, and lost his second match against Marchant from Sundance by sudden victory in overtime, 17-14, putting him out of the tournament.

Sophomore William Torres (215) lost his first match to Siler Hess from Dubois by fall in 47 seconds, then received a bye. He won his third match against Colter Krell from Kemmerer by disqualification and fell to DeAngelo Gann from Lingle-Fort Laramie by fall in 0:31. 

Freshman heavyweight Alex Walker won his first match against Woody Springfield from Tongue River by fall in 31 seconds, fell to Zef Zuniga from Big Piney, 11-4, then lost to Colter McFarlin from Lingle-Fort Laramie by fall in 4:11.

Freshman Zach Unruh (144) lost his first match to Braxton Winfrey from Tongue River by fall in 4:29, then pinned Ben Snyder from Wind River in 1:49. He defeated Michael Symons from Kemmerer by injury default in 3:19, then lost to Skylar Wood from Saratoga by fall in 1:25, putting him out of the tournament.

“I thought that the kids showed up and wrestled well. I’m proud of all of them,” assistant coach Jake Jolley said.

Lady Grizz

Sophomore Charlee Anderson lost her first match at 190 pounds to Joci Davis from Cheyenne East by fall in 0:27 and pinned Tempest Bezerium from Casper Natrona in 1:23. She lost her third match against Kamia Runyan from Big Piney by fall in 1:46.

Senior Rebecca Herren came and supported her team as a manager and a warm-up partner.

“As a team captain this year, it has been a lot different from last year with more responsibility, but it made my season so much better being able to connect with everyone on the team,” Herren said. “Since I am a senior this year I am leaving the team behind, and I will miss every one of my teammates.”

“We, as a group, I believe peaked out as we climbed up, and we always try to peak here,” Whiting noted. “Sometimes we peak early in the year, but it happens. So now it’s back to the drawing board for next season and how to keep them going and keep young ones coming in as we grow. 

“I just want to say that I am proud of them, and they did an awesome job. Champions are made in the offseason by getting mindsets, going to camps and staying consistent with their goals. Thanks to all those that supported us this season, and thanks to God for letting us just wrestle.”