Eight Blazers bound for state

Andrew Towne
Posted 2/24/21

WHEATLAND – The Torrington High School wrestling team qualified eight of the team’s 10 wrestlers for this week’s Wyoming Class 3A State Wrestling Tournament in Casper.

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Eight Blazers bound for state

Posted

WHEATLAND – The Torrington High School wrestling team qualified eight of the team’s 10 wrestlers for this week’s Wyoming Class 3A State Wrestling Tournament in Casper.

The top four wrestlers in each weight class qualified for this year’s state tournament.

Reece Grubbs (113 pounds), Michael Sandusky (132), Bryce Hager (145), Marcos Martinez (152), Logan Sandusky (160), Rhiley Grubbs (195), Sam Birdsall (195) and Sam Sorenson (220) will see their seasons extended by one more week.

The Blazers had two Southeast Quadrant Qualifier champions in senior Rhiley Grubbs and sophomore Sam Sorenson on Friday afternoon at Wheatland High School.

Both individuals went 2-0 on the afternoon.

Rhiley Grubbs defeated Burns/Pine Bluffs’ Bryce Humphrey 19-3 in the semifinal and defeated Burns/Pine Bluffs’ Colter Haws in a 5-3 decision to win the 195-pound qualifier. Grubbs heads to the state tournament with a 19-3 record.

Meanwhile Sorenson remains undefeated with a 27-0 record after picking up a pair of pins en route to the 220-pound qualifier. Sorenson defeated Burns/Pine Bluffs in 1 minute, 29 seconds in the semifinal, and in the championship, Sorenson pinned Rawlins’ Garrett Parker early in the third period in 4:32.

Reece Grubbs finished third with a 1-1 record at 113 pounds. Grubbs led the match 18-7 in the third set but was pinned at the 4:47 mark. He picked up a bye in the third-place match for the win.

At 132 pounds, it came down to a pair of Blazers in the consolation semifinal with the winner advancing to the state tournament. Michael Sandusky defeated Rhiley Duffield in the match to advance to third-place match. Sandusky went on to pin Burns/Pine Bluffs’ DC Cathcart in the final match of the day.

In the 145 pounds bracket, Hager split his two matches to finish third. Hager lost in the first match by fall, but the freshman defeated Clay James of Burns/Pine Bluffs by fall in 5:11.

At 195 pounds, Birdsall finished third with a 1-1 day. After losing by fall in the opening round, the sophomore bounced back with a second period fall over Bryce Humphrey by fall to place third.

At 152 pounds, Martinez was forced to come through the consolation bracket after a loss in the semifinal round to reach the third-place match. Ultimately, Martinez lost by fall to finish fourth.

Logan Sandusky went 0-2, losing by fall in both matches but finished fourth at 160 pounds.

As a team, the Blazers finished fourth with 82 points. Burns/Pine Bluffs won the team title with 178 points, while Wheatland was second with 144. Rawlins was third with 127.

This year’s state tournament will be a one-day event held on Friday, Feb. 26. Action gets underway at 8:30 a.m. with the championships scheduled for 4:30 p.m. at the Ford Wyoming Center.