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Steamboat, Soroco, Hayden grapplers shine

Joel Reichenberger

— Soroco High School wrestler Schuyler Carlson didn’t have a perfect day. He lost twice, actually.

The 195-pound junior still did enough to leave coach Jay Whaley grinning afterward, however. It was his first high school wrestling meet in his first season on the team, and he came away with a third-place finish in his bracket.

“One of those guys, he’d have had him on his back if he’d have known what to do,” Whaley said. “He’s just green. The other one — the next time he sees him — he’ll beat him, I’m sure. He made some mistakes he knows about now.”



Schuyler was one of three wrestlers to place high for the Rams, and one of half a dozen to make waves for local Routt County wrestling teams.

Steamboat, which finished third as a team in the event, had three champions. Hayden and Soroco each had one.



For the Rams, sophomore Jace Logan, at 152 pounds, ran through his bracket undefeated, earning a pin at each match. He finished the day 3-0.

“He didn’t wrestle very long,” Whaley said. “He pinned everybody pretty quick. His shots improved as the day went along, but he’s no different from everyone else. There’s still stuff we’ll work on. He had some mistakes.”

Lane Martindale also placed, finishing second at 145 pounds. He won with pins in his first two matches before running into Steamboat’s Lance Bryant, who won the championship match with a pin.

“He wrestled great,” Whaley said of Martindale. “That was a great match. Bryant caught him with a funky little move.”

Elsewhere for the Rams, Kane Williams went 1-2 at 138 pounds, Jesse Amrein went 1-2 and Tristan Singer went 0-2 at 182 pounds.

Soroco is now preparing for a weekend of home wrestling. The squad will compete at 6 p.m. Friday against Hayden and Saratoga, Wyoming, in a home triangular. It then plays host to other teams from the region Saturday morning in its annual home tournament.

Sailors rock at 126

Steamboat Springs’ Dakota Thvedt made clear he was the best 126-pound wrestler Saturday at the Middle Park Invitational.

Thvedt ran through his bracket to win it with a perfect 3-0 record.

Steamboat may have fielded the second-best 126 pounder at the meet, too. Thvedt beat teammate Spencer Mader, a freshman, in the second-round of the tournament 14-5. Mader then went on to win back-to-back consolation bracket matches, getting a pin in each, to finish third in the event.

“Spencer showed he can hang with the big guys,” coach Travis Bryant said, “and Dakota, he’s got a fire in his eye and he wants that (state) podium bad this year. He’s going to work hard to get there.”

That was just one bracket of highlights for the Sailors, who racked up points at the event and went on to finish in third place as a team. It was a winning weekend for the team as it also picked up wins in two duals Friday evening, beating Summit 42-36 and Battle Mountain 42-24.

On Saturday, the squad also got a bracket championship from Hayden Johnson at 170 pounds, who pinned all four of his opponents.

“He wrestled like a champ,” Bryant said.

Lance Bryant, a junior, also won his division, going 4-0 at 145.

“It was good to have him back on the mat,” Travis Bryant said of his son, who missed last season with an injury. “He did really well and pinned his way to the finals, even getting some tough opponents.”

Colton Pasternak finished 1-1 and was second at 113 pounds, though he sustained a knee injury. Zach Roach was 1-1 in the 132-pound bracket. Kyle Spognardi, also wrestling at 132, went 2-2. John Slowey then went 1-2 at 182 pounds. Colton Crawford, meanwhile, was second at 138, going 3-1 with three pins

Crawford nearly won that championship match, throwing his opponent to his back. He couldn’t quite finish off the pin, however.

“Colton’s really made some strides,” Bryant said. “That was an exciting match. Just a little bit more and we would have had him.”

Next up for the Sailors is a 5:30 p.m. date Tuesday at Moffat County High School where they’ll wrestle the Bulldogs and Coal Ridge.

Carson dominates at 220 for Hayden

Hayden High School senior Christian Carson only wrestled twice Saturday in Middle Park and even then didn’t complete a full match. He made the most of his time on the mat, winning in the 220-pound bracket and leading the Tigers on the day.

Carson had a first-round bye in the seven-wrestler bracket then won his second-round match with a first-period pin. He advanced to the championship where he got the pin early in the third period.

Senior Devlyn Mossman also made a strong run to the championship match, winning his first two showdowns with pins at 120 pounds. He lost in the championship, however, with a second-round pin.

Lebo Armendarez also placed second in his bracket, the 285-pound division. He went 2-2.

Hayden got another win from Jake Planansky at 138 pounds, who won his first-round match. He was pinned in the second round.

Taylor Powell also picked up a win at 120 pounds, going 1-2.

Wade Hendricks, 0-2 at 126 pounds, Garrett Murphy, 0-1 at 132, Thalia Carbajal, 0-2, at 132, and Hunter Hatcher, 0-2 at 182, also wrestled for the Tigers.

To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 970-871-4253, email jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @JReich9


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