Epic finals win gives Holloway Ron Thon title

If Ellie Holloway’s name wasn’t familiar to followers of the sport or the 23 other wrestlers in her weight class, including the two state finalists from a year ago, it most certainly is now.

The Greybull-Riverside junior met every challenge last weekend in Riverton, becoming the program’s second female wrestler to win a title at the prestigious Ron Thon Memorial Invitational. 

Gabby Dowling was the first, accomplishing the feat in 2024.

The tournament attracts the best of the best and, in the girls division which isn’t split in classes, it serves as a preview of the state tournament.

Sarah Eddy of Rock Springs and Alix Sorensen of Thermop were the last two standing last spring in Casper, with Sorensen winning via DQ, and entered the Ron Thon as the top two seeds at 155.

Holloway spoiled their party, pinning Dakota Trees of Lyman and  Lainah Lindbloom of Thunder Basin to reach the semis, where she faced Pinedale’s Trinity Brannan, an upset winner over Sorensen.

Holloway pinned her, too, but it didn’t come until the 5:55 mark of the match.  She led wire to wire, avenging a loss to Brannan in the third-place match at the Lander Invitational.

That set up an epic showdown in the finals with Eddy, a girl who has “wrestled all over ... and not used to losing,” said Coach Mark Sanford.  Eddy was 31-0 going in, beating Holloway twice along the way.

“Sarah just did an unbelievable job,” Sanford said. “Both time she beat us, she pinned us. She dictated what went on.  But this time, we kept wrestling with her. We didn’t let her dictate.”

After a scoreless first period, Holloway registered the crucial first takedown in the second. Sanford called it “a huge confidence boost,” that changed the complexion of the match.  Trailing for the first time and hunting for a pin, Eddy got out of position and Holloway capitalized, bulldozing her into the mat and eventually recording a pin at 3:52.

Her face bloodied from the final intense skirmish, Holloway rose from the mat and celebrated with her coaches and teammates.  Before cleaning her up, Sanford made Holloway pause for a photo, saying he wanted to capture “the face of a champion.”

“(Eddy) is the number one girl in the state, so that was huge,” Sanford said. “But with that being said, the next time we see her, we know she’s going to come with a level of intensity she probably didn’t think she needed for us.

“The next time could be at regionals. We’ll have to strap it up and be   ready.  But as far as Ellie’s concerned, I’ve been waiting for this kid since junior high. She used to wrestle this way, loose and with reckless abandon, but still with enough control to keep going.”

Holloway wasn’t the only G-R standout at the Ron Thon.  Nearly every wrestler won at least one match.

Loomis Alexander was the only other varsity, taking fourth at 157 pounds.  He went 4-2, losing only to wrestlers from Glenrock (Kelton Stewart) and Cheyenne Central (Tripp Vigil).  The latter was via injury default, as at the urging of his coaches, Alexander chose to be cautious with an injury sustained earlier in the day.

Bennett Sanford went 4-2 — losing to wrestlers from Kelly Walsh (Christopher Diaz) and Cheyenne Central (Kaden Kimzey).  One of his wins was over Lovell’s Mason Christenson, a 2A rival.

Garrett Wiggins went 1-2 at 150 pounds.

Caiden Sorenson went 3-2 at 165 pounds.

Zack Kuntz went 3-2 at 190 pounds.

Camden Schriner went 1-2 at 215 pounds.

Sanford, Sorenson and Kuntz all bowed out in the “blood” round, just outside of placing.

Given the level of competition, placing wasn’t an easy thing to do. But Sanford said he liked what he saw, noting that nearly everyone won at least one match.

In the varsity girls’ division, Melanie Perez-Cabrera went 3-2 at 115; Rhianna Gaytan went 2-2 at 130; Kadence Powell went 1-2 at 140, Ashlyn Chacon went 1-2 at 115 and Adeline Kunkel went 0-2 at 110.

Nikoah Sorensen was the only G-R placer in the JV boys. He went 4-3 and placed sixth at 175 pounds, demonstrating “grit and heart” along the way.  “He’s a kid who will give you everything he’s got — we felt really good about his tournament,” Sanford said.

In other JV action, Hayuden Jensen went 2-2 at 144, Corbyn Godfrey went 1-2 at 190, Riley Wiggins went 1-2 at 138 and Ben Mendenhall went 0-2 at 157.

G-R will spend this weekend at home, hosting duals Friday night starting at 5 p.m. and its annual tournament Saturday starting at 10 a.m.  Plans for Friday night were evolving earlier this week. At the time, the plan was for Rocky Mountain and Moorcroft to square off first, followed by senior night and a Greybull versus Moorcroft showdown, likely around 6 p.m.

Saturday’s tournament will be bigger than it has been in the past, with 14 teams including Buffalo, which hasn’t attended in the past.