by nathan oster
In the 2A ranks, there’s no longer any disputing that Greybull-Riverside is the “best of the west.”
Not after the Buffs overcame a sluggish start to run away from the 11-team pack that assembled for the Class 2A West Regional Friday and Saturday at Buff Gym.
With three champions and a dozen others who placed among the top six in their respective weight classes, G-R racked up 214.5 points, 41 more than their closest pursuers from Cokeville and 80 more than third-place Lovell.
G-R put six wrestlers in the finals, with 130-pounder Nathan Hetzel, 171-pounder Clay Cundall and 215-pounder Wes Ridgway walking away with region titles.
Nathan Gossens (125), Luke Zeller (135) and Chayce Goton (160) were beaten in the finals and settled for second, while the trio of Blaine Gossens (119), Ben Anson (145) and Bob Anderson (189) each won their final match to capture third.
Other placers for the Buffs included Rob Nuttall, fourth at 140; Matt Grovenstein, fourth at 112; Payton Vigil, fifth at 140; Levi Kelly, fifth at 103; Jeff Iglehart, sixth at 145; and Randall Johns, sixth at 171.
Coach Mark Sanford came away pleased with the regional title, but admitted that he had some anxious moments on Friday, when his wrestlers, after a great week of practice, came out “flat” for day one.
Kelly and Blaine Gossens lost early, and after Ben Anson, Payton Vigil and Bob Anderson dropped “winnable” matches in the semifinals, Sanford called his troops into the locker room for a pep talk.
The team was leading at the time and would have six going in the finals the next day, but Sanford wasn’t satisfied.  “I thought we could be doing better,” he said.
In the room, he tried settling them down.
“I told them, ‘You are in great shape, you are ready to go, we had a great week of practice … and I think you tightened up today. Tomorrow I want each of you to go in with a new attitude. Have fun. Wrestle hard. Push people. And just let it happen.’
“They didn’t need to be scolded … they just needed to relax.”
After an early-morning workout Saturday, the Buffs came out a determined bunch, and by day’s end, had extended their lead over Cokeville, the reigning 2A champions.
The three champions shined brightest for G-R.
Hetzel had a tough semifinal opponent in Joe Bartlett of Dubois. The two faced off earlier in the season, and Hetzel won it – but it required a big comeback in the waning seconds to get it done.
The rematch started in similar fashion, with Bartlett leading by two early on when Sanford, in an attempt to loosen up his 130-pound contender, yelled out, “You’ve got him right where you want him.”
Hetzel chuckled – and proceeded to turn the match around, eventually winning by fall.
In the final, he decisioned Corson Kerbs of Saratoga.
“He wrestled well and put himself where he needs to be heading into state,” Sanford said.
Cundall was dominant at 171. The top seed going in, he wasn’t tested, winning his first match by pin, his second by technical fall, and his finals match, against Ryley Giacometto of Saratoga, by major decision.
Sanford said Cundall “did a nice job” and that he’s well-positioned for the state meet, on the opposite side of the bracket from Hulett’s Baier.
Ridgway had three matches, and none of them were close – although he once again got a scare from Jared Asay of Lovell. The two have met numerous times this season, with Ridgway winning each time. The last couple times, it’s been interesting.
In Saturday’s final, Asay put Ridgway on his back, only to see the Greybull junior slip from his grasp. The final was 19-11, and while Ridgway, like the other champs, is well positioned for state, “he absolutely cannot look past anyone” to Hulett’s Leland Pfeifer, the state’s top 215-pounder and only wrestler who defeated Ridgway at last year’s state meet.
Though he didn’t win, Nate Gossens had a strong weekend for G-R, avenging an earlier loss to Eddie Collins of Dubois with a 3-2 decision in the semifinals and then going three overtimes before losing the final, 8-3, to Kemmerer’s Dustin Kruckenberg.
Sanford said Gossens wrestled “a good smart match” against Collins, and was right there throughout with Kruckenberg, who entered as the No. 1 ranked 125-pounder in the state.
“It was a great match, and very similar to the first time we wrestled him,” said Sanford.
Zeller came on strong at 135, easily winning his first two matches to earn a date in the final with Chance Maddock, the Cokeville junior and reigning state champion who entered the match a 48-4 record.
Zeller was competitive throughout, and after one led 3-2. Maddock reasserted himself in the second and third periods, ultimately winning 6-3 over the Greybull freshman.
After barely breaking a sweat in his first two matches, Goton ran into his old nemesis, Rocky Mountain’s Kaleb Hoyt, in the final.  Again, it was Hoyt who broke on top early – and again, Goton was unable to close the gap, losing 5-4 to finish second.
“We were wrestling good, we just got a little sloppy a couple of times,” Sanford said of the two takedowns scored by Hoyt. “You just cannot give up points on him because he’s so hard to score on.”
Hoyt and Goton could meet again in Casper, although each of them will be tested from wrestlers from the east, with R.J. Olson being on Goton’s side of the bracket and Jesse Duncan being on Hoyt’s side.
While those six finalists led the way, the Buffs wouldn’t have won the region title without the depth points scored by their nine other placers.
Kelly “did a great job coming back after a poor first round” to capture fifth at 103 pounds, according to Sanford.
Grovenstein, at 112, lost early to the eventual champion in Jesse Bassett of Lovell, but finished with a flourish, winning his next two matches and wrestling Cokeville’s Kalen Hill – the No. 1 seed going in – tough before losing 9-6 in the third-place match.
Blaine Gossens’ opening-round loss to Nathan Grant was “a disappointment,” Sanford said, but the Greybull senior then reeled off four straight wins to place third – ahead of even Grant, who ended up in sixth.
Vigil settled for fifth after a near miss against Cokeville’s Bronson Teichert. The two faced off in the consolation semifinals, and Teichert was up big when Vigil put him on his back and appeared to have him pinned but did not get the call. 
Nuttall finished a spot above Vigil. He lost early to Jacob Beck of Lovell, but battled his way through the wrestlebacks, eventually meeting Teichert and losing 8-5 in the third-place match.
After losing in the semis to Cokeville’s Chandler Harris, Anson battled back, winning his next two to capture third. The loss to Harris “will hurt us at state,” Sanford said. “But Ben battled his way back pretty nicely.”
Jeff Iglehart, who recently joined the team, picked up his first win and placed sixth in 145.
Jesse Chestnut went two-and-out at 152, losing his first match to Guy Jones of Rocky Mountain, who will also be his first opponent at the state meet.
Johns started well at 171, outpointing Hayden Ott of Rocky Mountain to make semifinals, but lost there to Ryley Giacometto of Saratoga. He injury defaulted the rest of the way, finishing sixth.
Anderson lost only one match, falling to Cokeville’s McKay Tonga on a 10-8 decision in the semis, and ended up taking third. “Bob was frustrated; he wanted to be in the finals match,” said Sanford. “We just made ourselves a bigger mountain to climb at state,” where there are “about five guys” who will be in the mix to win it, including Anderson.

State preview
The 15 placers and the two others who went two-and-out at the regional but still finished among the top eight, 152-pounder Jesse Chestnut and 135-pounder Matt Hetzel, will lead G-R into the Casper Events Center this week.
Cokeville has won the last four 2A titles, but with its depth, G-R is poised to end that streak.
Wrestling begins Friday at 9 a.m.  Championship semifinals will be from 7 to 9 p.m.  Looking ahead to Saturday, third- and fifth-place matches are set to begin at 3:15, with the finals to go at 6:30 p.m.