Blazers snag seventh in Lander

Erick Starkey
Posted 1/24/18

Five Torrington Trailblazer wrestlers placed over the weekend at the Lander Valley Invitational as the Blazers racked up 103.5 points to finish seventh.

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Blazers snag seventh in Lander

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LANDER – Five Torrington Trailblazer wrestlers placed over the weekend at the Lander Valley Invitational as the Blazers racked up 103.5 points to finish seventh.

At 152 pounds, Casey Britton had the best finish among the Blazers, snagging second. After an opening round bye, he won in sudden victory over Adam Willoughby (Big Piney). In the quarterfinals, Britton won by a 17-2 technical fall over Laramie’s Ethan Short, followed by a pin over Kylar Hamilton (Mountain View) in the second period. In the first-place match, the Blazer lost via a 10-2 major decision against Star Valley’s Kodi Burk.

Jacob Polkowske had a strong weekend, taking third at 145 pounds. He won his first match by pin over Douglas’ Cody Blair, followed by a 7-0 decision win over Riverton’s Peyton Rees. Polkowske continued his winning with a 13-2 major decision win over Koy Meyers (Thermopolis), before being pinned by Buffalo’s Jake Waterson in the first period. In the lower bracket, Polkowske squared off against Rees again, winning by an 11-9 sudden victory. In the third-place match, Polkowske went the distance, beating Luke Goncalves (Worland) by a 9-2 decision.

Heavyweight Jacob Wamboldt took fourth in his weight class. After an opening round by, Wamboldt went the distance against Powell’s Brandon Thompson, coming out on the losing end of a 5-4 decision.

In the lower bracket, Wamboldt went on a winning spree, recoding five-straight pins, beating Keedan Boling (Wheatland), Parker Merritt (Star Valley) and Dallas Wik (Douglas) in the first period, along with pins over Cutter Foster (Rawlins) and Brandon Thompson (Powell) in the second. In the third-place match, Wamboldt was pinned late in the first period against Asencion Pelham (Big Piney).

Chase Dominguez (160) turned in a sixth-place finish for the Blazers, starting his weekend with a 9-6 decision win over Tristan Mikesell (Rawlins). In the quarterfinal, Dominguez lost in a 7-5 sudden victory against Star Valley’s Koa DeLong.

After his loss, Dominguez rattled off two wins in a row, pinning Skyler Hargrove (Big Piney) and Lane McBee (Worland), both in the second period. Douglas’ Dax Reed got the better of Dominguez in the consolation semi-finals in a 7-3 decision, sending the Blazer to the fifth-place match. Dominguez won fifth over Dan Beaudrie (Cody) by forfeit.

Quentin Meyer was the final Blazer to place, securing sixth at 120 pounds. He lost his opening match by pin in the second period against Dawson Schramm (Kemmerer). After a bye in the lower bracket, Meyer pinned Thermopolis’ Blake Williams late in the first period, followed by a 5-1 decision win over Adam Bankert (Worland). Schramm replicated results again, pinning Meyer in the consolation semis in the second. In the fifth-place match, the Blazer went the distance but lost in a 3-2 decision against Buffalo’s Dallas Lopez.

Tristen Kingsley picked up the next highest number of wins, going 2-2 at 138 pounds. He had an opening round by, followed by an 8-5 decision win over Rawlins’ Jacob Dworek. In the quarterfinal, Kingsley was pinned in the second period by Hunter Elmer (Buffalo). Kingsley picked up a win in the lower bracket via a 9-2 decision against Worland’s Hayden Johnston. In the fifth round of the consolation bracket, Kingsley was pinned by Trayton Hyatt (Riverton) in the third period.

A group of Blazers posted a 1-2 record on the weekend. Starting with 106-pounder Nycholas Melchor, he had an opening round bye, before losing in the quarterfinal by a 12-3 major decision against Keegan Gehlhausen (Pinedale). In the lower bracket, Melchor pinned Powell’s Emma Karhu at the 4:23-mark, followed by a 5-2 decision loss against Star Valley’s Haze Child.

Pake Haun (126), who had an opening round bye, also went 1-2. He was pinned in his first match in the second period against Kemmerer’s Colter Julian. Haun had another bye in the lower bracket before pinning Rawlins’ Dakota Bennett late in the first period. Dustin Simmons (Glenrock) ended Haun’s weekend with a pin in the second period.

Josh Kingsley competed at 170 pounds for the Blazers. He had an opening round bye and lost his first match via pin in the second against Bo Dearcorn (Powell). Kingsley went the distance in his next two matches, beating Morgan Felbeck (Buffalo) by a 4-1 decision and losing to Charlie Beaudrie in a 5-4 decision.

Brandon Bennick (220) started his weekend with a bye and was the final Blazer to win a match in Lander. He lost his first match by pin in the second against Pinedale’s Kolby Carson, before rallying to pin Duy Linh Hoang (Powell) at the 3:42-mark. In his final match, Bennick lost by an 8-2 decision against Mountain View’s Tyson Condos.

Jakob Brott (182) was the final Blazer to take the mat in Lander, suffering two losses. He was pinned in the first period by Worland’s Isaac Goncalves, before losing a 6-4 decision against Justin Seeman (Big Piney).

The Blazers took seventh in the team standings with 103.5 points, just behind Glenrock’s 108 points. Star Valley ran away with the competition with 257.5 team points. Worland (141.5) and Lander (124) rounded out the top three teams.

The JV Blazers took the mat in Lingle for the Dogger Invite, taking seventh. Five JV wrestlers placed, including Gabe Mitchell (third), Cody Pierce (fourth), Nicholas Sherbeyn (fifth), Riley Grubbs (fifth) and Brett Posten (sixth).

The varsity Blazers return to the mat for the Ron Thon this weekend in Riverton. The JV squad hits the road Saturday to compete at the Mitchell, Neb. Invitational.