Five grapplers place at Don Runner invite

Jaxon King took first place in the 120-pound class at the Don Runner Wrestling Invitational last weekend, with four more Panthers placing as well.

Saratoga wrestling head coach Jared Mason called the invite another good weekend, adding that it was beneficial for the team to wrestle opponents that they will face later on in the season at state competitions. Saratoga took fifth place overall.

King secured the championship by winning a close match against a ranked wrestler from Greybull-in fact, Mason said, all of the five boys that placed were subjected to tough, close matches. Bradley Bifano, who took second place at 138, lost his final match by a few points. Thomas Ingraham, who won third place at 145, faced a similar situation. Thatcher Spiering, placing third at 152, lost by a difference of one takedown. Mason insists that at this kind of competition, the grapplers have nothing to hang their heads about and spirits remain high.

"I think some of the guys might have been disappointed, which is good," Mason laughed, adding that many of the grapplers have first place in mind.

While the highlight of the weekend was that nearly the whole team placed at the tournament, Daynon Mowry, placing second at 126, joined his fellow seniors Spiering and Bifano at 100 victories in his high school career, which Mason says is no small task. In order to receive that number of wins, the wrestler must work hard competing week in and week out.

Some of the matches seen last weekend will repeat themselves later in the season as state placing matches, Mason said, and he was pleased with how well many of them did.

As the team looks to this weekend, they face a generally new situation in Moorcroft, where Mason says they have never been. There, they will face new competition from out-of-state as well as see Moorcroft, which Mason describes as the top team that they will see at state. The experience should be good, as Mason looks forward to wrestling teams that he doesn't already know about.

The team is holding their own against some of the toughest competition they'll see this season, so Mason is optimistic about where they stand right now. "We're right in there with all the kids that won," Mason said. However, he did add that if their goal is to be state champs, they still have a lot of work and practice ahead of them.

The wrestlers will face off in Moorcroft on Friday and Saturday this week.