Wrestlers earn rare dual win in Powell

No matter how this season ends, this year’s Greybull-Riverside wrestling team will be able to say something that previous squads could not.

They beat Powell in a dual.

“It’s been awhile — in fact, I don’t know that I ever have,” said Coach Mark Sanford, when asked about the significance of Friday night’s win in the home lair of the Panthers.

The ingredients for an upset were in place.  Last year, the Panthers captured their seventh 3A title since 2000. But that team was led by 14 seniors who have since moved on.

Sanford described this year’s Powell team as “young,” having “reloaded with a bunch of freshmen.” 

G-R capitalized on that youth, winning the dual 47-36 thanks to wins by Braxten Link, Bennett Sanford, Garrett Wiggins, Loomis Alexander, Caiden Sorenson, Nikoah Sorensen, Zack Kuntz and Camden Schriner.

G-R was open at three weights (113, 126, 132), which gave Powell 18 of its 36 points.  The rest came via pin — at the expense of Carlin Mulley, Levi Cochrane and Phillip Thomas.

The G-R girls also beat Powell, 42-36.

Melanie Powell, Rhianna Gaytan, Emily Foote, Tawni Bertolini, Ellie Holloway and Ashlyn Chacon all either won by pin or forfeit for G-R.

Worland dual

Thursday night, G-R was in Worland for a showdown with the Warriors.  The boys again came out on top, 48-36, but the girls lost 30-24.

Sanford said G-R gave up more forfeit points (12) than it gained (six), but “had enough pins and other things go well” to emerge with the win.

“The key matches for us were Levi getting a pin at 144, Wiggins winning his match 8-7 and Camden getting a pin,” Sanford said.

Sanford, Alexander, Sorenson and Kuntz also notched wins for G-R.

On the girls side, G-R scored points on forfeit or pinfall wins by Perez, Gaytan, Bertolini and Holloway.

Up next

While the dual wins were nice, they were just warm-ups for the 2A competition that lies ahead. G-R will get a good taste of it later this week, squaring off with Lovell and Rocky Mountain Thursday in the annual Big Horn County Dual Championships before traveling to Shoshoni this weekend for the Clash at the Crossroads.

G-R won the dual championships last year, but Sanford said, “I think it’s going to be tough” to repeat. “We’re going to need guys to come through like they did against Powell and Worland.

“This weekend will be a good 2A showdown,” he said, with that Cokeville, Big Piney, Moorcroft and Upton expected to be in the field.

Adding to the intrigue, this is the tournament that awards spartan helmets to individual champions.  Alexander was one of three G-R grapplers to win one last year.