Lovell wrestlers embark on their new season as they move to 3A
The Lovell High School wrestling team has been working hard in the practice room as they prepare for their 2024-25 season. The Wyoming High School Activities Association has made several changes for the upcoming season that will affect the Bulldogs.
One major change is that the team will be moving up from the 2A classification to the 3A classification.
“I’m excited for the upcoming season,” said Lovell head coach Ty Hecker. “I know it’ll be a big challenge now that we are moving up to 3A as our team is a third of the size compared to most 3A teams.” Regardless of the intimidating shift in classes, Hecker added, “I know we have kids that can compete at any level. It’s just a matter of getting the most potential out of them.”
A total of 28 wrestlers are stepping onto the mat this year, seven of them being girls. On top of that, the Bulldogs are bringing back several state placers into the wrestling room despite losing a few of their hammers from last season due to graduation.
“We’re bringing good leadership and tough wrestlers back into the room this season,” Hecker said.
Incoming juniors Kalell Gruell and Mason Christenson were the top returning placers from the state tournament last year. Gruell placed fourth in the 215-pound class, and Christenson placed fourth in the 132-pound weight class. Juniors Gruell, Christenson and Zayden Stahl were wrestlers that coach Hecker saw as leaders within the room, which he all predicted would be chasing titles this upcoming season.
Dino DeLaCruz ended his season last year by placing fifth at State in the 106-pound weight class. Returning seniors DeLaCruz, Rudy Hall and Kasey Jordan were all recognized by Coach Hecker as leaders in the wrestling room, as well.
Hecker specifically highlighted Hall, saying, “Hall will be a surprise to people. He has a good chance at placing well in the 3A competition.”
Seven girl wrestlers have stepped into the wrestling room this season, three of which are returning seniors: Danika Crumrine, Maecie Joy and Avery Layne. Crumrine placed fifth at state last year in the 135-pound female weight class. Welcoming four newer female wrestlers onto the team, Hecker sees the returning female seniors as the leaders to the younger girls this upcoming season.
Coach Hecker’s outlook for this season includes some goals for his young team.
“I would like to see my team progress and form a tough, hard-nosed wrestling team with a lot of confidence,” he said. “Through hard work, I hope my wrestlers will find success on the mat and in their eternal life.”
Moving up to 3A isn’t the only change the WHSAA has made this season though. The state has made a change to their new points system. Takedowns are now worth three points, a near fall can reach up to four points and wrestlers only require one point of contact to be considered in bounds.
There has also been discussion of the future of girls wrestling and the separation of some larger tournaments.
The first tournament of the season for the Bulldogs will kick off in Powell on Friday, Dec. 13, at noon and carry over to Saturday at 9 a.m. Originally, the girls wrestled alongside the varsity boys in the main gym. However, bringing together 24 Wyoming and Montanan varsity, JV and girls teams has posed as a challenge due to capacity and time.
This year a separate tournament is scheduled to run in Cody at the Sweitzer Gymnasium for the girls while the boys wrestle in Powell. While this sounds like an easy solution, there are pros and cons to this change, Hecker said.
“I believe tournaments will run in a timelier matter,” he said. “Female wrestling is its own entity now, and it’s here to stay.” However, separating tournaments is tough for smaller teams like Lovell who only have two coaches: Coach Hecker for the varsity team and assistant coach Skye Mickelson for the JV team. “The separate tournaments are great for bigger schools with more coaches, but it is tougher for us two coaches to juggle between the varsity, JV and girls locations,” Hecker said.
The girls tournament begins at 12:30 p.m. Friday and continues at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Powell isn’t the only hosting school that has planned to split their tournament this season. A few other larger tournaments are also planning to place the girls at a separate location to wrestle in their own tournaments. This also affects Regionals, in which the boys will be competing in Pinedale while the girls will be two hours away competing in Afton.
“We would definitely need to hire another coach to make the separation work out for us,” Hecker said.
Despite all of these new changes, Hecker still has a positive outlook on the upcoming season. He has observed how hard the team has been working since the start of practice.
“We have a young team,” he said, “but they seem to work hard, which I know will translate into success throughout the season.”