Five of nine grapplers place at Evanston

After a good start at last weekend's Evanston Invitational, the Saratoga High School wrestling team is ready for more tough action on the mat.

Earning a total of 15 points, the nine competing Panthers placed 23rd out of 27 teams at the invitational, which took place in Evanston last Friday and Saturday. With second place in the 120 lb weight division, Bradley Bifano received the highest individual ranking out of the five Saratoga wrestlers who placed.

For the other four, Jacob Wells placed sixth in the 285 lb weight division, Daynon Mowry placed fourth in the 120 lb weight division, Chaze Wiant placed fifth in the 126 lb weight division and Thomas Ingleby placed fifth in the 132 lb weight division.

"We placed five of the nine who wrestled in various divisions against stiff competition, and Bradley Bifano was our wrestler of the week for his second place finish in the junior varsity division at 120 pounds," said coach Jared Mason. "It was also exciting to see freshman Thomas Ingleby place fifth in his first ever high school tournament, and Jacob Wells competed tough to claim a sixth place medal in the varsity division at heavyweight. I was quite pleased with what I saw to start the year, and I'm encouraged with the attitudes and effort I'm getting in practice, as all of the wrestlers definitely are working hard to improve. That's the most important thing at this point, as it is all practice right now."

Wells, along with Tate Stinson, are the two returning seniors on the team for 2013-14. After placing 11th as a team at state and earning five individual state medals last season, Mason, who will be coaching his 11th season this year, said he hopes his Panthers can repeat similar success this time around.

"This year I expect hard work and improvement, and from my seniors I expect that as well as leadership," he said. "We also have a few new faces for a total of 13 total wrestlers and I'm looking forward to individual growth, team bonds and success on and off the mat. The season is long, but otherwise this is an exciting time filled with anticipation and confidence. I hope all of them stand out and do great things, or really show improvement this year."

In addition to the seniors, Bradley Bifano, Daynon Mowry, Chaze Wiant, Thatcher Spiering, and Hunter Mason are the returning letter winners from last season. Other team wrestlers for this year include Kyle Bartlett, Trey Ingleby, Morgan Rempel, Jacob Sturgis and Cameron Lehr.

To avoid not competing at a full potential, Mason said his boys should go into each meet without being afraid or arrogant against their competition.

"You should never fear your opponent or overlook anyone," he said. "There will be tough competition out there for sure, but we will have the mindset of being tough as well. They are all stars in my opinion, because anyone willing to put in the sacrifice and compete in a sport that is one-on-one with no place to hide is tops in my book."

Mason said he would like to see the Panthers improve each day at practice and not just during competition.

"I'd like to see them compete with confidence, improve daily, believe in one another, and push each other to dig deep and overcome doubts," he said. "We will work daily to become better in all aspects of wrestling; drilling technique on our feet, top and bottom positions, along with developing physical and mental preparation. I'm excited about the competition and the hard work paying off at state."

With 20 years of coaching under his belt, Mason said he enjoys the team camaraderie, individual growth, success and character building that he experiences as a coach. He hopes his wrestlers can place in the top 10 as a team at state, and with that include several individual medalists.

"We haven't won a state team title, but we have had several individuals place at state before," Mason said. "Additionally, we've helped develop character in many quality young men."

For success after high school, Mason said he wants the boys to learn that wrestling is also a teacher of life lessons, and not just a great athletic experience.

"Wrestlers will experience success and failure and exhaustion and euphoria, and they will deal with physical and mental struggles," he said. "I hope they develop the dedication, drive, and determination to achieve success that may seem unattainable at times. Ultimately, I want these young men to leave with memorable experiences and the confidence to be successful in whatever they pursue in life."

The Panthers' next meet is the Soroco Invite, which starts at 9 a.m. Saturday at Soroco, Colo.

Evanston

Invitational Results for Saratoga

Varsity 126 - Hunter Mason

Championship Round One - Hunter Mason (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Championship Round Two - Hunter Mason (Saratoga) won by major decision over Kyle Bonner (Mountain View) (Major decision 10-1)

Quarterfinal- Stanton Wiser (Weber) won by decision over Hunter Mason (Saratoga) (Decision 3-1)

Consolation Round Four - Chad Collard (Rock Springs) won by decision over Hunter Mason (Saratoga) (Decision 11-7)

Varsity 285 - Jacob Wells, Sixth Place

Championship

Round One - Randhu Zavala (Ben Lomond) won by pin over Jacob Wells (Saratoga) (Pin 3:58)

Consolation Round One - Jacob Wells (Saratoga) won by pin over Cason Bennett (Morgan) (Pin 0:36)

Consolation Round Two - Jacob Wells (Saratoga) won by fall over Michael Shmidl (Wheatland) (Pin 4:25)

Consolation Round Three - Jacob Wells (Saratoga) won by decision over Kyle Stapley (Morgan) (Decision 5-1)

Consolation Semifinal - Brett Schaeffer (Cheyenne East) won by decision over Jacob Wells (Saratoga) (Decision 1-0)

Fifth Place Match - Joseph Orizaba (Murray) won by decision over Jacob Wells (Saratoga) (Decision 5-4)

Junior Varsity 120 - Daynon Mowry, Fourth Place

Championship Round One - Daynon Mowry (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Championship Round Two - Daynon Mowry (Saratoga) won by fall over Dakota Welty (Jackson) (Pin 3:21)

Quarterfinal - Daynon Mowry (Saratoga) won by fall over Malek Wagstaff (Evanston) (Pin 3:49)

Semifinal - Carlos Nava (Morgan) won by pin over Daynon Mowry (Saratoga) (Pin 2:34)

Consolation Semifinal - Daynon Mowry (Saratoga) won by pin over Dalton Aullman (Star Valley) (Pin 4:43)

Third Place Match - Malek Wagstaff (Evanston) won by pin over Daynon Mowry (Saratoga) (Fall 3:50)

Junior Varsity 120 - Bradley Bifano, Second Place

Championship Round One - Bradley Bifano (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Championship Round Two - Bradley Bifano (Saratoga) won by pin over Andy Heffner (Big Piney) (Pin 3:42)

Quarterfinal - Bradley Bifano (Saratoga) won by pin over Hunter Anderson (Grantsville) (Pin 5:23)

Semifinal - Bradley Bifano (Saratoga) won by a pin over Derek Tarufelli (Rock Springs) (Pin 1:29)

First Place Match - Carlos Nava (Morgan) won by major decision over Bradley Bifano (Saratoga) (Major decision 14-1)

Junior Varsity 126 - Trey Ingleby

Championship Round One - Trey Ingleby (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Championship Round Two - Chavo Little (Wheatland) won by decision over Trey Ingleby (Saratoga) (Decision 1-0)

Consolation Round Two - Trey Ingleby (Saratoga) won by pin over Moroni Jones (Sky View) (Pin 0:37)

Consolation Round Three - Austin Halbert (Weber) won by decision over Trey Ingleby (Saratoga) (Decision 2-1)

Junior Varsity 126 - Chaze Wiant, Fifth Place

Championship Round One - Chaze Wiant (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Championship Round Two - Chaze Wiant (Saratoga) won by pin over Mitchell Wanfalt (Pinedale) (Pin 0:16)

Quarterfinal - Chaze Wiant (Saratoga) won by pin over Rudy Barker (Rich County) (Pin 3:31)

Semifinal - Lucio Rodriguez (South Summit) won by technical fall over Chaze Wiant (Saratoga) (Technical Fall 23-7)

Consolation Semifinal - Ty Thornton (South Summit) won by decision over Chaze Wiant (Saratoga) (Decision 9-2)

Fifth Place Match - Chaze Wiant (Saratoga) won by pin over Walker Moudy (Star Valley) (Pin 2:48)

Junior Varsity 138 - Kyle Bartlett

Championship Round One - Christian Neuenschwander (South Summit) won by pin over Kyle Bartlett (Saratoga) (Pin 0:55)

Consolation Round One - Kyle Bartlett (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Consolation Round Two - Kyle Bartlett (Saratoga) won by decision over Cameron Christensen (Bear River) (Decision 9-3)

Consolation Round Three - Leonel Garcia (Jackson) won by pin over Kyle Bartlett (Saratoga) (Pin 1:55)

Freshman 126 - Morgan Rempel

Championship Round One - Morgan Rempel (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Quarterfinal - Vaihoi Lutui (Union) won by pin over Morgan Rempel (Saratoga) (Pin 3:31)

Consolation Round Two - Morgan Rempel (Saratoga) won by pin over Tyler Nichol (Rich County) (Pin 1:55)

Consolation Round Three - Chase George (Jackson) won by decision over Morgan Rempel (Saratoga) (Dec 8-3)

Freshman 132 - Thomas Ingleby, Fifth Place

Championship Round One - Thomas Ingleby (Saratoga) received a bye (Bye)

Championship Round Two - Thomas Ingleby (Saratoga) won by pin over Ty Paisley (Wheatland) (Pin 3:42)

Quarterfinal - Thomas Ingleby (Saratoga) won by decision over Alex Fabricus (Riverton) (Decision 5-2)

Semifinal - Kendall Dick (South Summit) won by decision over Thomas Ingleby (Saratoga) (Decision 7-6)

Consolation Semifinal - Payson Hallam (Lyman) won by decision over Thomas Ingleby (Saratoga) (Decision 10-4)

Fifth Place Match - Thomas Ingleby (Saratoga) won by forfeit over Zach Orr (Green River) (Forfeit)