Wrestlers prepare for upcoming regionals

The Green River High School wrestlers are still getting into shape for the upcoming regional tournament.

A win against Evanston and strong showings at the Ron Thon tournament encourage head coach Marshall Rhodes.

“Some of (the wrestlers) are getting better and will be ready to enter the regional tournament in a couple weeks,” Rhodes said.

Competing against Evanston Feb. 1, Green River won the dual 45-23. At the Ron Thon, the junior varsity squad finished 13th with a third-place finish from Jacob Weipert at 120 pounds and a sixth-place finish from Garrett Harris at 138 pounds.

The varisty group took second with 139 points, coming up short against Star Valley’s 169.5 points.

Gage Byers took first in his weight class and was voted outstanding wrestler of the tournament. Cyro Montoya finished third, as did Jordan Tucker and Kaycee Cochrane in their respective weight classes. Blake Waite took fifth while Eric Clingenpeel finished sixth in the tournament.

Others competing were Kade Knezovich, Justin Fores, Tanner Adam, Zack Orr, Chance Anderson, Payton Tucker, Justin Rubalcaba, Gabe Bunderman, Cody Price, Nathan Campos, Trevor Scicluna, Devon VanValkenburg, Anthony Wood, Tayler Jensen, Brett McKeehan, Russell Ferrell, Dallas Wadsworth, Seddon Sanders, and John Makie

“This was the first time we were able to see some of the other good 4A teams in the state like Gillette and Laramie and I think we competed fairly well against them,” Rhodes said. “Some of our wrestlers were very good this weekend and some struggled a bit. If we want to compete for a title in a few weeks we have to have every wrestler at their best.”

Rhodes said the team will work hard during the next three weeks on their technique, as well as fix mistakes he’s noticing in competition.

The team will wrestle in Green River against the Rock Springs Tigers Friday, with action beginning at 5 p.m. This competition will serve as the team’s senior night.

A dual scheduled against Natrona County Saturday was cancelled, according to information from the school’s athletics director, Tony Beardsley.