MITCHELL, Neb. – The Torrington Trailblazers had 16 wrestlers place in the top-four in their divisions and 10 athletes earn team points as the Blazers took first place in Mitchell, Neb. on Saturday.
“I thought it was a great tournament for us to step up and showcase our skills,” coach Doyle Meyer said. “We had seven kids in a finals match and it was really good to have the kids experience that.”
Torrington amassed 160.5 points at the Mitchell Invitational. Bridgeport, Neb. took second with 139 points.
Lane Johnson recorded the most points for the Blazers, with 26. In the quarterfinals of heavyweight bracket, Johnson won by pin over Hunter Woodruff (Southeast) in the first period. He got a pin in the second period of the semi-finals over Cade Payne (Hemingford) to advance to the championship match. In the first-place match, Johnson snagged a win over the top-ranked heavyweight in 3A, according to the WyoWrestling rankings, Cody Cagle (Wheatland) by decision, 7-2.
“It was a good win,” Meyer said. “It definitely builds confidence but I think Lane always had it in his mind that he could beat him.”
At 120 pounds, Trey Rodriguez also finished first. He opened the day with wins by major decision over Nathaniel VanAnne (Gering) and Ivan Gibbons (Minatare). The Blazer advanced to the semi-finals, winning by disqualification. Rodriguez went the distance in the finals, winning by a 7-3 decision.
Quentin Meyer also wrestled at 120 pounds, where he finished fourth. He lost his first match by pin, but went on to pick up three-straight wins. He won by decision, fall and then forfeit. In the third-place match, Holen Schleve (Morrill) pinned Meyer in the second period.
Matthew Garcia also took first. He got his first two wins of the day via pin in the first period over Jacob Stafford (Wheatland) and Enrique Saenz (Gering). In the first-place match at 145 pounds, Garcia won by medical forfeit to seal the win.
Austin Fox (132) picked up a first-place finish on Saturday. He started the day with a win over Southeast’s Elijah Boyd in sudden victory, 14-12. Fox then went on to pick up two wins via fall over Jerzie Menke (Bridgeport) and Carter Buchheit (Hemingford), one in the first period and the other in the second.
“The thing that impressed me the most was Austin Fox at 132 pounds,” Meyer said. “He put some good things together and had a breakout performance.”

Jacob Polkowske was the final varsity wrestler to finish first for Torrington. At 138 pounds, the Blazer started his day with three falls. He pinned Lucas Honstein (Hemingford), Brody Lockman (Wheatland) and Kestrel Medina (Burns), advancing him to the first-place match. To win the championship, Polkowske won by decision over Gering’s Andres Canales, 3-1.
Jakob Brott (195) reached the first-place match as well. He won by pin in his first two matches, placing him in the championship match. Marce Vasquez (Bridgeport) got the win over Brott by fall in the second period.
At 126 pounds, Tristan Kingsley finished second in Mitchell. He won by technical fall to open his day, 16-0. Kingsley won by decision, 9-3, to advance to the championship match, where he lost by a 9-0 major decision to Darryn Walters (Mitchell).
Also at 126 pounds, Gavin Garner finished third. He lost his opening match, before winning his final two matches of the day by fall to take third.
Brandon Bennick picked up a third-place finish at 220 pounds. He started the weekend with a win by pin in the first period, before being pinned in the second period in the semi-finals. Bennick went on to win his next two matches via pin, with the second coming over Mitchell’s Nicholas Coley in the second period to take third.
Chase Dominguez (160) finished fourth an earned four team points. Josh Kingsley went 2-2 at 170 pounds and earned six team points. Ryan Walson (182) and Nathan Davis (152) each went 1-2 on Saturday.
In the JV ranks, Torrington had six wrestlers place. Esequiel Rodriguez (126) and Pake Haun (132) both finished first. At 145 pounds, Braeden Claussen finished second, Brett Posten finished third and Carlos Fitzwater finished fifth. Shane Roberts (132) finished third.

Torrington 64, Gering, Neb. 15
The Blazers had their senior night on Thursday, where they suffered only three losses and beat Gering, Neb. 64-15.
Brandon Bennick (220) started the action off for the Blazers. He dominated for much of the first period over Quinton Onstott, but lost by decision, 12-7. In the heavyweight division, senior Lane Johnson picked up a win via forfeit.
Gering took the lead back from Torrington, after they picked up two wins via forfeit at 106 and 113 pounds. The Blazers faced a 15-6 deficit, but it was all Torrington for the rest of the night.
Senior Trey Rodriguez (120) picked up a win by fall in the second period over Kale Hamilton. The final senior to wrestle for Torrington was Gavin Garner, at 126 pounds. He pinned Connor Grant at the 32-second mark.
Austin Fox picked up a win at 132 pounds over Nathaniel VanAnne. Fox was in one of only two matches that went the distance, and he won by major decision, 12-2. Jacob Polkowske (138) was the final Blazer to pick up a win over an opponent, as he pinned Donovan De Los Santos in the second period.
Matthew Garcia (145), Nathan Davis (152), Chase Dominguez (160), Josh Kingsley (170), Ryan Walson (182) and Jakob Brott (195) all secured wins for Torrington via forfeit.
“The great thing about Thursday was to lose only one of the matches,” Meyer said. “Senior night is always great to have all the fans there.”
The Blazers wrestled against Alliance, Neb. on Tuesday after press deadline. Torrington returns to the mat on Friday and Saturday to compete in a in the Ron Thon Memorial Tournament in Riverton. The action starts at 9 a.m. on both days.
“We have the Ron Thon this weekend and it’s a very tough tournament,” Meyer said. “I think Trey and Lane will do well and we will see what other varsity guys can get a win or two.”