Stroshschein brings home the gold

G-R notches best state finish since 2020

Senior Ty Strohschein won the 175-pound title and Greybull-Riverside produced its best finish in the team standings since 2020 at last weekend’s State 2A Wrestling Championships in Casper.

The Hound Dogs, as they’ve come to be known, took only 11 qualifiers — eight boys and three girls — to the three-day culminating event, but four of them placed.

With Strohschein leading the charge, the G-R boys finished eighth with 74 points. Last year, they took 11th, and in the two years prior to that, they were 10th and 16th, respectively. You have to go back to 2020 to find the last time they finished securely inside the top 10 — and they were eighth that year, too.

“That was one of my big goals,” Coach Rob Nuttall said of the top-10 finish. “If we’d have wrestled a little better, we could have maybe snuck out another place higher, but a couple of the teams ahead of us performed much better than I anticipated.”

When the dust settled, everyone in the 2A ranks was looking up at Moorcroft and its 236 points. Kemmerer placed with 203,
followed by Lingle-Fort Laramie with 174.

On the girls’ side, G-R tied with Jackson Hole for 21st, each with 30 points. The tournament didn’t use classifications, which pit small schoolers against big schoolers across all 14 brackets. Star Valley rose to the top with 163 points, with Pinedale and Sheridan rounding out the top three.

Strohschein provided the highlight for G-R, winning four straight to claim the gold at 175 pounds. He’d entered as the top seed from the West and won his first three by pin before taking down Braxton Pope of Kemmerer, 9-5, in the final. 

“We knew going in that we’d have a good shot and that it would come down to us doing what we do well and sticking to that,” said Nuttall. “He did a wonderful job of being who he is as a wrestler, dominating his matches.”

Strohschein became G-R’s first state champion since Felipe Gaytan’s win back in 2020.

“Nice to end a four-year drought and bring home another banner to hang in the room,” said Nuttall.

A senior, Strohschein finished 34-6. For his career, he won 105 matches.

“He’s always been a physically and athletically gifted kid, but for him, the biggest thing was what he did for himself mentally,” said Nuttall. “He had a tough start to the season and ran into tough matches here and there, but he never took himself out mentally, which was a huge point of growth for him.”

Curtis Strohschein and Loomis Alexander were G-R’s other placers in the boys division.

Strohschein went 4-1 and placed third at heavyweight. His only loss, by a 9-2 score, was to the unbeaten 2A East champ, Christian Reilly of Hulett. We hit him the last two years in the quarters and he pinned us both times,” said Nuttall. “This year Curtis gave him a really good match.” Strohschein didn’t let the loss get him down, however. He won his next two, each of them by pin, to finish 34-12.

“Curtis had a really good tournament,” said Nuttall. “The last two years, he didn’t feel as if he performed as well as he could have -- put it this way: He
felt he had more to prove at the state level.

“When you look at how he’s matured, he’s just done a tremendous job.”

Alexander finished fifth at 138 pounds, going 3-2 with three pins. His only losses were to Moorcroft wrestlers — first in the semis to the eventual champion, Trenton Sheehan, by an 8-3 score, then to Wyatt Cook, 5-2. In the latter, Alexander led 2-0 in the third before surrendering reversal and near fall points.

Nuttall called it, “a good learning situation” for the sophomore adding,
“It’ll no doubt continue to fuel the fire.”

While none of G-R’s other qualifiers placed, Nuttall said the quintet of 126-pounders Bennett Sanford and Jesse Brown, 144-pounder Loomis Alexander, 150-pounder Caiden Sorensen and 157-pounder Garrett Wiggins gained valuable experience.

Sanford went 2-2 in a weight class that “from top to bottom in 2A, was probably the toughest weight to crack.” Sanford dropped a competitive 10-5 decision in the quarters to the eventual champion, Wyatt Sylvester of Lingle-Fort Laramie. He also closed the gap on Zavier Clifford of Big Piney.

Whisenant also won a match, going 1-2, but Brown, Sorenson and Wiggins all went two-and-out.

“I’m super proud of all those young guys,” said Nuttall. “To come out and compete as hard as they did is a great thing.”

Girls results

Gabby Dowling finished the season on a high note, going 4-1 and placing third at 135 pounds. She lost to Paityn Covolo of Sheridan, the eventual champion, in the semis, but in her other four matches, she notched pins.

While Dowling was hoping for a win, Nuttall said she handled herself well. “She’s very coachable, she listens and she never gets rattled,” he said. “She was poised through the whole process and even in the match she lost, she gave herself a chance to win.”

Dowling finished 30-5.

Tawny Bertolini, a freshman, went 2-2 at 130, bowing out in the third round of wrestlebacks but wrestling one of her best matches of the year along the way.

Bertolini finished 23-10.

Ellie Holloway, also scored points for G-R, going 1-2 at 140 pounds. Nuttall credited her just for qualifying, citing a rash of late-season injuries that cost her about a month of competition. “It didn’t work out the way we wanted it to, but she won a match, she battled. I’m very proud of her all three of those girls for how they progressed. They’ll be dang tough next year.”