Valley seniors each take down first

All of the Saratoga wrestlers qualified for state after the regional tournament over the weekend, with all three seniors taking first place in their weight classes.

Daynon Mowry, Bradley Bifano and Thatcher Spiering have secured titles for their region and have their eyes set on state titles before they graduate.

Head coach Jared Mason said the team came in confident and lived up to their own expectations. They wrestled stiff competition and most of the boys were dominant in each match.

After returning from a concussion, Mowry took the tournament, receiving byes up until the semifinal match, which he won by a pin in less than a minute. He secured his 132 pound title handily, winning 8-4. "He's sitting well going into state," Mason said, but added that it will still be tough making it to the finals.

Bifano dominated in his 145 pound weight class, Mason said. "It was really never in question that Bradley was going to lose a match," Mason added proudly, describing toppling victories, one won in 20 seconds and another by technical fall, which means that he beat his opponent by 15 points or more.

Spiering "walked through up until his finals match," said Mason. Spiering's final competitor is hard to pin, Mason said, but Spiering won 7-1, a substantial victory.

Bifano and Spiering had relatively easy regional weight classes for a skilled wrestler, Mason said. They will have to work hard at state next weekend because their tougher opponents aren't in the 2A east region.

Jaxon King took second in the 120 pound weight class via a questionable call. The match was very close, however it was won by a call that was made and then later retracted. "We aren't dwelling on that," Mason said, though King is definitely disappointed. Now, it's about moving forward.

Thomas Ingraham took third in the 138 pound class after wrestling strong against a tough weight class, with Mason saying that all of the toughest competition at that weight was at regionals. Mason expects that Ingraham should grab a medal at state. "It's just the breaks of the regionals," Mason said.

Trezdon Martinez took his first varsity medal of the season at the regional meet, placing fourth in the 113 weight class. Mason said he is seeing improvement in the freshman wrestler. The Saratoga team took second behind Moorcroft for the 2A East Regional Competition.

In general, the path to state looks good. Injuries and illnesses have subsided and all of the varsity boys proved themselves at regionals. They know exactly who they will face, and the next step of the training process is to study those opponents and their tendencies to make sure they have a plan for the key matches.

The Saratoga grapplers are off to state in Casper this weekend, beginning on Friday and finishing on Saturday.