GBAC enjoys successful state tournament

Twelve members of the Greybull-Basin Athletic Club reaped the rewards of the hard work they invested at last weekend's Wyoming Amateur Wrestling Association (WAWA) state tournament in Casper.

The tournament featured three different styles of wrestling — Greco, freestyle and folkstyle — and one GBAC grappler, Tawny Bertolini, accomplished the rare feat of winning her weight class in all three to become a Triple Crown winner.

Ellie Holloway came close, winning freestyle and folkstyle titles while earning runner-up in Greco.

"We knew those two would do good things as they'd been consistently wrestling through the middle school season and into their national tournament," said Rob Nuttall, who served as one of the team's head coaches this season. "Those two have put a ton of work in and there have been a ton of coaches supporting them -- Nicki (Bertolini), Mark (Sanford) and Nate Hetzel — and their parents deserve a lot of credit for their success too." 

"Neither of them had a lot of experience with freestyle or Greco, so their goal was to learn a few new styles and have fun.  They really did a nice job."

Zack Kuntz accounted for GBAC's other titles. Like Holloway, he left town with two golds (folkstyle and Greco) and a silver (freestyle).  An eighth grader, he finished the weekend with six wins and just a single loss.

"Zack's done a nice job staying with it and is finding his stride and loving the sport," said Nuttall. "He's a hard worker and we're really excited about what will be his freshman season for us."

They weren't the only standouts for GBAC.

Braxdon Patterson placed fifth in freestyle and fourth in Greco.  The latter earned him a spot on the Wyoming team that will compete at a national tournament in Fargo this summer. "That's been a really big goal of his," said Nuttall. "Anytime you can send a wrestler to a national tournament, it's exciting."

The coach added, "Some get more publicity than others, but as a unit to go down there to a big, overwhelming tournament like and wrestle the way we did was encouraging, especially consider a number were experiencing it for the first time."

Sawyer Hetzel got his first taste, winning freestyle and folkstyle matches in the 8-and-under boys division.  Ditto Quaide Houchin in the 10-and-under division. 

"Noah Blakley was fifth in freestyle — he's been going for a number of years and this was the first year he was able to place, which is great," said Nuttall. 

"Some of those weights are meatgrinders, dogfights match in and match out.  The Nyberg kids (Kaysen and Kaislee), Marshall Brown, they did a great job.  Same with the Thacker boys (Cormick and Colby), who are great kids and a ton of fun to coach.

"It was fun seeing all of our kids down there, experiencing that atmosphere and finding a little success."

The tournament capped a youth season that saw nearly 60 kids participate in the GBAC program.

"Looking at the season as a whole, where they started and where they finished, they made a lot of progress as wrestlers. But even more important than that, I think they really enjoyed it."

GRECO RESULTS

10 AND UNDER BOYS — Kaysen Nyberg did not place at 63; Kaislee Nyberg did not place at 77.

14 AND UNDER BOYS — Zack Kuntz placed first at 165.

16 AND UNDER — Braxdon Patterson placed fourth at 152.

10 AND UNDER GIRLS — Kaislee Nyberg placed fourth at 70-80.

14 AND UNDER GIRLS — Tawny Bertolini placed first at 127.

JUNIOR GIRLS — Ellie Holloway placed second at 132-138.

FREESTYLE RESULTS

8 AND UNDER BOYS — Sawyer Hetzel did not place at 49.

10 AND UNDER BOYS — Cormick Thacker did not place at 63, Kaisen Nyberg did not place at 63, Quaide Houchin did not place at 77, Kaislee Nyberg did not place at 77.  

12 AND UNDER BOYS — Marshall Brown did not place at 63, Colby Thacker did not place at 86, Noah Blakley placed sixth at 108.

14 AND UNDER BOYS — Zack Kuntz placed second at 165.

16 AND UNDER BOYS — Braxdon Patterson placed fifth at 152.

10 AND UNDER GIRLS — Kaislee Nyberg placed third at 75-80.

14 AND UNDER GIRLS — Tawny Bertolini placed first at 127.

16 AND UNDER GIRLS — Ellie Holloway placed first at 138.

FOLKSTYLE RESULTS

8 AND UNDER BOYS — Sawyer Hetzel did not place at 49.

10 AND UNDER BOYS — Cormick Thacker did not place at 63, Kaysen Nyberg did not place at 63, Kaislee Nyberg did not place at 77, Quaide Houchin did not place at 77.

12 AND UNDER BOYS — Marshall Brown did not place at 63, Colby Thacker did not place at 86, Noah Blakley did not place at 108.

14 AND UNDER BOYS — Zack Kuntz placed first at 165.

16 AND UNDER BOYS — Braxdon Patterson did not place at 145.

10 AND UNDER GIRLS — Kaislee Nyberg placed first at 80-90.

14 AND UNDER GIRLS — Tawny Bertolini placed first at 119-127, Ellie Holloway placed first at 138.