Young wrestlers find success at Powell tournament

Seven wrestlers earned their first wins of the season at last Saturday’s tournament in Powell. The team celebrated seven first-place finishes, said G-R wrestling coach Tim Eardley.

Among the standout performances was sixth-grader Jesse Reber, who earned his first middle school first-place finish. Eardley, who has coached Reber since he was in club wrestling, called it “the best tournament of his life. He found new motivation and looked like a whole new kid out there on the mat,” Eardley said. “Jesse wrestled great.”

Eighth-grader Jason Torres also impressed the coach, showing more aggression and a positive attitude on the mat. “I saw big things from him,” Eardley said. Torres placed third at the meet. 

First-place finishers included repeats from last week in that of Sawyer Triplett and Haakon Craft in the A division and Delta Craft for the girls. Joining them with first place finishes in Powell were Trinity Link for the girls along with Eardley, Reber, and Jayden Waddell in the boys B division. 

The team’s focus is on giving each wrestler opportunities to compete and improve, rather than tracking team scores. That approach continued at the Basin triangular Tuesday, Nov. 3, where Eardley said the goal was to get each wrestler a couple of matches and work on their skills. No results were kept at the meet. 

G-R is looking ahead to a large tournament in Riverton on Saturday, Nov. 7. The event uses seven mats and draws teams from across the region, including schools from Casper, Green River and Rawlins. Eardley estimated last year’s tournament had about 1,000 wrestlers and described it as a long day for participants.

The tournament’s size can create challenges for spectators, too. Eardley recalled that the gym was so crowded last year that team camps and wrestlers were moved into a common area to make room for fans.

“It’s our biggest tournament of the year, which is great to see new competition. I want our kids to wrestle hard and hunt for pins,” said Eardley.

At the recent Powell tournament, technical problems led to frustration regarding team overall scores. The coach said the individual performances mattered more than the scoring error. 

TOP PLACERS

GIRLS

Trinity Link went 2-0 placing first at 77 pounds. 

Tatum Triplett went 2-2 placing third at 84 pounds. 

Ryan Whisenant went 3-1 placing third at 110 pounds.

Delta Craft went 2-0 placing first at 120 pounds. 

BOYS A DIVISION

Trenton Lowe went 1-1 placing second at 98 pounds.

Haakon Craft went 2-0 placing first at 138 pounds.

Quaide Houchin went 1-1 placing second at 145 pounds.

Sawyer Triplett went 3-0 placing first at 155 pounds. 

BOYS B DIVISION

Evan Winkler went 1-1 placing second at 54-73 pounds.

Warren Eardley went 3-0 placing first at 72-77 pounds.

William Livezey went 1-2 placing third at 78-81 pounds. 

Kai Landers went 2-1 placing second at 82-84 pounds. 

James Cauffman went 1-2 placing third at 98-105 pounds. 

Jesse Reber went 3-0 placing first at 107-111 pounds. 

Buxston Shipley went 1-2 placing second at 124-128 pounds.

Jayden Waddell went 3-0 placing first at 127-130 pounds. 

Kaiser Eichelberger went 2-1 placing second at 127-130 pounds.

Jason Torres went 1-2 placing third at 128-137 pounds. 

Nash Thiel went 1-2 placing third at 148-159 pounds.