Panther wrestlers face off with 3A & 4A schools at Ron Thon tourney

The Ron Thon wrestling tournament in Riverton was as tough as expected. Over forty schools and 1,000 wrestlers competed for the top spot at the podium, and Panther wrestling had a weekend highlighted by some ‘great wins and tough losses,’ according to head coach Rusty Arnold. Four wrestlers returned from injury to compete in the tournament, and were understandably not in top form. The majority of the competition were from 3A and 4A schools, which made the hill a harder than normal one to climb for the returning athletes. Tuker Carricato, wrestling at 132 pounds, lead the Panthers by placing fifth in the varsity tournament.

Ace Arnold started the varsity tournament for the Panthers at 106 pounds. He first beat Eldridge (Cheyenne East) and then had to face teammate Josiah Stockwell in round 2. Arnold won a close decision over Stockwell, winning 6 to 4. In the quarterfinals, Arnold had to face 3A’s number 1 ranked Hudson Baker. Baker continued his unbeaten season by beating Ace, who then lost his final skirmish to Smith (Cheyenne Central).

Josiah Stockwell dropped down to the 106 bracket this weekend and had to face teammate Ace Arnold in his first match, losing by decision. Stockwell then won versus Bustos (Cheyenne South) before dropping his final contest to Cyrus (Dubois).

Tuker Carricato started his march through the 132 pound bracket by beating Wilson (Evanston). Tuker then lost to Terry from Moorcroft in the quarterfinals before beating Price (Thermopolis) and Bailey (Thunder Basin). Carricato was beaten by Mackinnon from Green River in the consolation semifinals but won the 5^th place match by once again thumping Evanston’s Wilson.

Representing SMHS at 144, Allyster Ingraham lost his first match to Grant from Cody. Ingraham then won against Hamilton (East) and Sessions (Star Valley). In his final Ron Thon match last weekend, Ingraham succombed to Johnson (Campbell County).

Douglass Campbell made the move to 157 pounds this week and had two matches. He lost the first to Archuleta (Rawlins) and the second by decision to Ross from Kelly Walsh.

Five wrestlers competed in the JV tournament. The Panthers coaching staff places wrestlers in the JV for large tournaments such as Ron Thon in order for wrestlers to get more experience or to rehabilitate after returning from injury.

At 120 pounds, Anthony Campbell returned to the mat and was 3 – 2 for the weekend. He lost his first match to Carpenter from Lander. Campbell then won his next three contests against Cathcart (Burns), Morris (Sheridan), and Branson (Cheyenne East). His fifth outing was a last-second, sudden-victory overtime loss to Holloway from Lander.

In the 126 pound class, Ben Miller lost to Gonzales from Natrona and McGahan from Douglas.

Chase Brown competed at 132 pounds and faced stiff competition, bowing to McKinney from Laramie and then Wachob from Rocky Mountain.

Also competing at 132, Skyler Wood lost his first match to Kemp from Pinedale. He then made a deep run into the consolation bracket by pinning his next four opponents (Yates from Powell, Nielsen from Buffalo, McKinney from Laramie, and Zamarripa from Rawlins). Wood finally succumbed to Sorensen (LFL/SE) in consolation round six.

Wrestling at 215, Atom Linsey won his first two matches over Oliver (Evanston) and Keck (Kelly Walsh). Linsey then fell to Cowan from Douglas in the quarterfinals. Atom’s last tussle was a loss to McFarlin (LFL/SE).

Coach Rusty again emphasized that, ‘we have to minimize our mistakes and maintain good health.’ This week, the coaches will work on getting the injured teammates back in shape and perfecting takedown techniques. Arnold stressed that the boys need to ‘wrestle consistently match-to-match and be mentally prepared for each one.’ This weekend the Panthers travel to Greybull where the team will be wrestling in the varsity Greybull Memorial tournament.