Sports

Mustangs competitive in season openers

Published by admin on Thu, 05/04/2023 - 3:41pm

The Lovell Mustangs American Legion A team kicked off the 2023 season over the weekend with a pair of doubleheaders in Cowley and Sheridan.

The Mustangs split a doubleheader with the Evanston Outlaws Saturday, winning the opener 7-6 and dropping the nightcap 13-11. Saturday across the mountain, the Mustangs fell to the Sheridan Jets 4-1 and 5-1.

With many athletes involved in track and field or other activities, the Mustangs are a bit shorthanded and were especially so on Sunday, manager Michael Jameson said.

For the most part, the Mustangs played well, Jameson said, with solid pitching and defense, but as expected, the team didn’t hit the ball consistently on the opening weekend.

“The pitchers threw well,” he said, “and our defense was solid for the most part, except for a few instances. We allowed one big inning against Evanston.

South Big Horn Little League chooses own path, adds senior team

Published by admin on Thu, 04/27/2023 - 9:12am

Practices have begun at the upper levels and all teams are scheduled to make their season debuts the second week in May as the South Big Horn Little League embarks on its first season as a fully chartered organization.

GBAC enjoys successful state tournament

Published by admin on Thu, 04/20/2023 - 1:40pm

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." 

Buffs make their 2023 debut

Published by admin on Thu, 04/06/2023 - 4:34pm

As unlikely as it may have seemed early Friday morning with several inches of fresh snow on the ground, a rapid warm-up and dry-out allowed the Bill Gerrard Memorial Invitational to proceed as planned Saturday.

"That was the accomplishment of the weekend for sure," said Nolan Tracy, head coach of the Buffs. "It sure didn't look too promising about 1 o'clock on Friday when there were 5 or 6 inches on the infield, but by 3:30, it was gone."

The meet was the season opener for nearly all the teams in attendance. The Riverside girls and the Lovell boys started strong, winning the team titles. The Buffs finished well back in both, with the girls placing eighth with 28 points and the boys claiming ninth with 23 points.

Thinclads fighting the weather as season nears

Published by admin on Thu, 03/30/2023 - 3:37pm

If the first couple weeks of practice are any indication of what's to come, the words "weather permitting" might be the most often used as area track and field athletes, coaches and fans navigate the traditional slate of meets leading up to regional and state competition in May.

Two meets have already been snowed out — the Wind River Invite on March 25, along with this Friday's Burlington Invite.  The Bill Gerrard Invite, which Greybull hosts every year, is a go for Saturday, April 1, but meet director Nolan Tracy acknowledged some concern about a spring storm in the forecast for today (Thursday, March 30). It's been that kind of start.

"The weather's been so bad, but honestly, we should feel lucky," said Tracy, who is also head coach of the Buffs. "Several schools haven't even been able to practice outside.  Big Piney has 3 feet of snow on its track.  Tongue River hasn't been outside — they got 8 more inches out of the last storm."

Buffs come up shot in bid for consolation crown

Published by admin on Thu, 03/09/2023 - 3:02pm

The only thing missing was a trophy.   The Greybull Buffs wrapped up the season last weekend in Casper, going 1-2 and finishing sixth at the State 2A Basketball Championships in Casper.  They finished 13-13. Their lone win, a 54-49 victory over Shoshoni, was their first in Casper since 2016, when they placed third in Jim Prather's final season.

"Making it to state was a good accomplishment," said Coach Logan Burningham. "We wanted to come back with a trophy or a plaque and were hoping for a couple more wins, but at the same time, I'm very proud of what the kids accomplished and how hard they fought.

"In the end, the experience, the enjoyment and the time the kids had together is what they'll remember for the rest of their lives."

Schlattmann paces G-R at State

Published by admin on Thu, 03/02/2023 - 2:05pm

Jake Schlattmann, Ty Strohschein, Loomis Alexander and Curtis Strohschein placed and several others won at least one match to power Greybull-Riverside to an 11th-place finish at last weekend's State 2A Wrestling Championships at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper.

G-R scored 3.5 more points than it did last year, but fell one spot in the final standings.  Kemmerer, with three champions, won the 2A crown this year, finishing with 218 points.  Moorcroft, with 171, and Big Piney, with 150, rounded out the top three, followed by Lovell, Cokeville, Thermopolis, Lingle-Fort Laramie, Shoshoni, Wind River and Saratoga.

Coach Rob Nuttall's team took just one senior, Schlattmann, to the culminating event.

Buffs clinch Northwest's No. 3 seed

Published by admin on Wed, 02/22/2023 - 2:00pm

The Greybull Buffs held off Shoshoni 64-59 Friday to sew up the Northwest Conference's third seed for this weekend's Class 2A West Regional. They'll face Big Piney in an opening-round matchup today (Thursday, Feb. 23) in Riverton.

Greybull finished the regular season at 10-9 overall, 2-4 in conference play.

Both league wins came at Shoshoni's expense, although the second came harder than the first.

"Shoshoni's a tough place to play with good atmosphere, so to get a win down there always feels pretty good," said Coach Logan Burningham.  "And we needed it. Going into the tournament, you definitely want a little momentum."

The Buffs led at every quarter stop, although Shoshoni certainly made it interesting.

"The key for us was our offense," said Burningham. "We executed so well. We didn't have many possessions that didn't end in a good shot. We ended up shooting 54% from the field, which is what you want. 

Buffs fall to 1-4 in conference play

Published by admin on Thu, 02/16/2023 - 3:53pm

If they ultimately fall short of qualifying for the state tournament, the Greybull Buffs may end up kicking themselves for the close games that slipped from their grasp during the regular season.

The Buffs dropped to 9-8 overall, 1-4 in conference play after a one-point loss to Rocky Mountain Friday night at Buff Gym and a two-point loss to Wind River Saturday afternoon in Pavilion.

Three of Greybull's four conference losses (and four of their eight total losses) have been by two points or less. 

"It's definitely disappointing because in those conference games we were right there at the end, but just couldn't pull them out," said Coach Logan Burningham.  "We still have a lot of things we need to smooth out."

Alexander, Rosales top placers at home tourney

Published by admin on Fri, 02/10/2023 - 10:29am

Freshman Loomis Alexander was the only Greybull-Riverside wrestler to reach finals while Caiden Sorenson, Jake Schlattmann, Erik Rosales and Curtis Strohschein joined him as placers at Saturday's Greybull Memorial Invitational at Buff Gym.

The tournament followed closely on the heels of a G-R dual win over Wright on Friday night.

Coach Rob Nuttall called it "a bit of an up and down" weekend for his team, which was lacking one of its top point scorers in 182-pounder Ty Strohschein.  The slightly-banged-up junior was held out as a precaution, with an eye on regionals coming up Feb. 17.

Friday night provided a highlight, as G-R rode contested-match wins by Schlattmann, Kevin Rosales and Alexander to a 42-28 win over Wright.