Lovell Mustangs begin wrestling season with placers

Cracking into the first meet of the season, the Lovell Mustangs weighed in to wrestle some competition at the Powell Invitational Saturday, Oct. 21.

“As a team overall, we had 13 placers out of 31 wrestlers. I was pretty happy with the results of the first tournament,” head coach Joey Bassett said. 

Sixth grader Xaden Baxendale worked his way to the top of the 70-pound bracket in the B Division, pinning both of his opponents. He pinned Cohen Williams of Cody in 1:05 and Christopher Herald of Riverton in 2:44.

Eighth grader Jaxen Baxendale secured first place in the 115-pound B Division bracket, recording a 3-0 record by sweeping through his opponents in under a minute each. He pinned Xavier Phillips of Shoshoni in just 17 seconds, Ryan Kober of Laurel in 41 seconds and Xavier Hetland of Rocky Moutain in 22 seconds to claim his title. 

Other placers at the Powell Meet:

Second place: Anthony Garcia, Division A 132, 1-1 record; Wyatt Blank, Division B 84, 3-1 record; Vada Schmidt, Women’s Division 111-119, 1-1 record.

Third Place: Hunter Krei, Division A & B 138, 3-1 record; Taevyn Gruell, Division A & B 175, 2-1 record; Xavier Heater, Division B 84, 3-1 record; Monte Blank, 3-1 record; Alexander Mcillwaine, Division B 165, 0-2 record; Eliza Wagner, Women’s Division 115-124, 2-1 record.

Fourth place: Oscar Garcia, Division A & B 120, 2-2 record; Jerric McArthur, Division B 84, 2-2 record; Garrett Henley, Division B 105, 3-2 record.

“All the wrestlers performed very well,” Bassett said. “There were some great learning opportunities to bring into the next week’s practice.”

Home meet

On the following Saturday, Oct. 28, the Mustangs hosted a meet at the Johnny Winterholler Gymnasium.

“Overall, I think we did really well,” Coach Bassett said, noting that, due to the small number of wrestlers at the tournament, he decided to place all of the wrestlers into one division instead of splitting it up into the typical ‘A’ and ‘B’ brackets.

“With the ‘A’ kids wrestling the ‘B’ kids, they all did well. It was nice not having to classify the kids and let themselves figure out whether they were going to be an ‘A’ wrestler or a ‘B’ wrestler,” Bassett said.

Raking up the points with 19 placers, the Mustangs placed second as a team, trailing the Worland Warriors by just two points, 157-155.

Winning three consecutive matches in the 138-145-pound weight division, Hunter Krei stood at the top of his bracket after pinning opponent Edgar Fernandez of Worland Middle School in 20 seconds. Bassett pointed out Krei’s performance this weekend, stating, “Hunter turned it up this year. He’s in a heavier weight class now, but he’s showing he’s stronger and deserves to be there.” 

Assistant coach Skye Mickelson also was quick to comment on Krei, saying, “I look forward to seeing him wrestle in high school.”

Coming out of the Powell Tournament undefeated, Jaxen Baxendale claimed the 115-pound weight division after pinning all four of his opponents this weekend to remain undefeated on the season.

Pinning all three of his opponents, Monte Blank went undefeated and claimed first this tournament at 155 pounds.

Taevyn Gruell reigned over the 165-175-pound division after pinning each of his opponents in under a minute.

Bella Gallagher pinned her opponent, Naomi McCormick of Thermopolis, twice in under a minute, giving her first place in the 129-138-pound women’s division. 

Other placers at the Lovell Meet: 

Second place: Aaiden Walker, 120 pounds, 2-1 record; Anthony Garcia, 132 pounds, 2-1 record; Christian Garcia, 155, 2-1; Kaylynn Mickelson, Women’s 109-114-pound division, 1-1; Vada Schmidt, 114-118-pound women’s division, 2-1.

Third place: Garrett Henley, 105, 3-1 record; Issac Blau, 115, 2-1 record; Kierra Nuttall, Women’s 109-114-pound division, 0-2 record; Eliza Wagner, Women’s 114-118-pound division, 2-1; Christy Aagard, Women’s 122-132-pound division, 0-2. 

Fourth place: Joseph Durfee, 70-77, 2-2 record; Jerric McArthur, 84, 2-2 record; Degan Wilson, 91, 0-2; Oscar Garcia, 120, 1-2.

The Mustangs will wrestle Saturday at the Riverton Invitational, with face-off set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Lovell will wrestle at dual at Powell, starting at 5 p.m.