Sanford, Strohschein, Alexander and Bertolini win Don Runner titles

Greybull-Riverside claimed four individual titles at a condensed version of the annual Don Runner Memorial Invitational in Pavillion.

Normally a two-day event, it was condensed into a single day of competition after Buffalo, Big Piney and Glenrock bowed out due to concerns about the weather, which wrought havoc on the statewide sports schedule.

G-R wrestlers responded well to the challenge, as freshman 126-pounder Bennett Sanford, sophomore 138-pounder Loomis Alexander and senior 175-pounder Ty Strohschein claimed weight titles on the boys side and freshman 130-pounder Tawny Bertolini took first place in the girls division.

“The thing that stood out to me was, top to bottom, how much better we got from the weekend before,” said Coach Rob Nuttall.  “Kudos to the whole crew, boys and girls. There were things we struggled with that we spent a lot of time practicing and correcting last week.”

The areas of emphasis included “taking better shots on our feet, getting off the bottom, continuously moving and never stopping, developing the mindset that nobody is going to hold us down and really wanting to take guys into the third period where we feel we will have the advantage due to our conditioning,” he said.

“They obviously took it to heart, because in those areas, they performed much better (in Pavillion).”

G-R placed fourth in the boys division, scoring 121 points. Lovell won it with 168.5, followed by Riverton with 161 and Thermopolis with 158.5.  Lander Valley was the only other school that topped 100 points, finishing with 113.5.

Sanford continued to impress, going 3-0 to claim the 126-pound crown. His path to the title included 3-1 quarterfinal win over Ethan Crow, a ranked wrestler from Thermopolis, and a first-period pin of a Lander wrestler.

“He’s doing a great job,” said Nuttall.

Alexander went 4-0, decisioning a wrestler from Wind River who he’d pinned the week before and winning by major decision over Wind River’s Aidan Ruby, a state placer a year ago. 

“We knew it would be a big day for him because rosters have shifted a little bit and teams are setting into where they’re going to be the rest of the way,” said Nuttall. “It was a good showing for us.”

Strohschein also went 4-0. “What stood out with Ty was his mindset,” said Nuttall.  His most satisfying win came in the final, where he pinned Mason Reese of Thermopolis — the same Mason Reese who beat him in his first match of the season.

Nuttall also heaped praise on several other G-R wrestlers.

Reece Whisenant fought through illness, winning three of five matches and placing fourth at 144 pounds.

Caiden Sorenson placed second at 150 pounds, earning a couple of very important head-to-head wins along the way.  The biggest was an 8-6 semifinal win over  Shoshoni’s Wiley Philleo, the No. 3 ranked wrestler in 2A.  “What a great tournament he had,” said Nuttall.

Curtis Strohschein went 1-2 and placed fourth in a loaded heavyweight division. He dropped a 5-3 decision to a reigning 2A champion in Rosendo Garcia of Lovell and lost by just two points, 3-1, to Riverton’s Zaryc Prosser, who is top ranked in 3A.  “Being fourth at that tournament wasn’t too bad,” Nuttall said.

G-R wrestlers who competed but did not place included Braxdon Patterson, 1-2 at 132; Jesse Brown, 0-2 at 132; Ethan Preetorius, 0-2 at 138; Carter Peasley, 1-2 at 138, and Camden Schriner, 9-2 at 190.  Nuttall was most impressed with Patterson, who “is wrestling awesome for us right now” and “is going to do some great things for us down the stretch.”

Girls division

G-R placed fifth in the girls division with 37 points.  Wind River won it with 64, followed by Thermop with 62 and Shoshoni with 57.   

Bertolini went 3-0 en route to the 130-pound crown.

Due to the low number of participants, Elizabeth Holloway and Gabby Dowling were placed in the same 140-pound division. Holloway went 3-1 and placed third while Dowling, who usually wrestles at 135, went 0-2 and did not place.

This week

G-R travels to Fremont County this weekend for the Lander Invitational, which is expected to attract several 3A teams along with 2A rivals Wind River, Big Piney and Kemmerer. 

“This will probably be our only shot to see Kemmerer outside of the Ron Thon,” he said. “We’re hoping to hit a couple of head to heads — especially with Kemmerer, since we haven’t seen them yet.  But the main thing we’re going to be looking for, at a tournament this big, is for kids to come out and compete.

“It’s going to be a good indicator of what the Ron Thon could look like, minus the 4A schools, and a good opportunity to push ourselves and get better.”