Young Grizzly grapplers get feet wet at Powell

The revamped Rocky Mountain High School wrestling program under new head coach Eddie Whiting got their first taste of competition at the highly competitive Powell Invitational Friday and Saturday.
In varsity pool wrestling Friday afternoon, Burlington junior Michael Bassett was pinned by Jameson Siemens of Casper Natrona in 45 seconds at 150A and Logan Knaub of Laurel in 2:25 but then pinned Rhys Bray of Powell in 1:01 to advance to bracket competition on Saturday. He fell to Knaub 17-1, pinned Wesley Walks of
Hardin in 2:10 and dropped the fifth-place match to Seth Needham of
Thermop by fall in 37 seconds to place sixth.
Sophomore Triffen Jolley went 1-2 at 150C Friday, pinned by Needham in 4:02 and Jeremy Harms of Powell in 2:41 before finishing the day by pinning Garrison Bertagnole of Casper Natrona in 2:06. He did not advance to wrestle on Saturday.
Sophomore Colten Bitton dropped three matches Friday at 132A to Sebastian Mogan of Laurel 7-1, Brody Ketterling of Lockwood by fall in 46 seconds and Parker Burton of Lander by fall in 1:27.
Senior Thomas Winters of Burlington went 0-4 in varsity wrestling at 138B, falling to Eli Broadbrooks of Huntley Project by fall in 1:15, Colter Price of Thermopolis by fall in 19 seconds, Kaleb Gleim of Dubois by fall in 2:46 and Edward Garduno of Gillette by fall in 26 seconds.
“Well, the Powell tournament is in the books,” coach Whiting said. “We had a slow start, but strange to say, it was still highly competitive and successful but a learning experience. We had quite a number of wrestlers stick out this weekend on positive results.
“My two placers in the varsity, Michael Bassett and Rebecca Herren, both placed sixth, but the one who sticks out to me more of the pair is Rebecca. She has a no-quit incentive, which is awesome to have. I think with a little more time to teach some control, she is going to be a threat. Michael came up with an impressive defensive pin, so some things are starting to click there. Triff (Jolley) fell short in the first round to a pin criteria but was still looking tough and solid.
“We are back at the drawing board to fix our mistakes and get ready for going to Worland this weekend.”
Junior varsity
The top finisher in junior varsity wrestling was freshman Sam Loyning, who placed fourth at 126 pounds with a 4-2 record. Loyning was undefeated in pool wrestling Friday, pinning three opponents in 57 seconds, 1:15 and 3:35. Saturday, he crushed Dillon Pitman of Huntley Project 15-3 and was pinned by Kort Sorenson of Cody in 2:58. Wrestling for third place, he lost by pin to Kolton Bonenberger of Lander in 1:13.
Junior Curtis Wachob went 2-2 at heavyweight. Friday, he pinned two opponents in 37 seconds and 39 seconds but lost by fall in 1:40. Saturday, he was pinned by Dalton McRae of Gillette in 1:26.
Other JV results were:
Dalan Wambeke, 126C, 1-2 with a pin over Brayden Miracle of Casper Natrona in 1:12; Jacoby Wachob, 132D, 0-4; Landon Pruett, 175C, 0-4; William Torres, 190C, 0-3; Wyatt Houchin, 215A, 0-4; and Mason Twomey, 215C, 1-2 with a pin over Kyler Mickelson of Lovell in 1:57.
“Our JV Wrestlers showed some real potential and heart,” JV coach Jesse Dewey said. “For being a young team, we were able to get two wrestlers to the second day of the tournament. Curtis W. fell short of medaling by one round, losing a hard-fought match. Sam L. was able to clinch a fourth-place finish, going undefeated on day one.
“Despite some injuries, all of our wrestlers had a good first tournament. We are working hard to refine our technique in order to be prepared for the Battle in the Big Horns.”
Girls tournament
Rocky Mountain had two competitors in the girls tournament in Powell. Junior Herren placed sixth at 135 pounds. Friday, she went 0-2 but advanced to bracket wrestling on Saturday and went 0-2 plus a bye.
Sophomore Emmilee Wambeke opened with a pin over Rosie Smith of Lander in 55 seconds at 125 pounds Friday, then dropped two matches on Friday and two more on Saturday.
Worland tourney
The Grizzlies will stay in the Big Horn Basin for the Battle in the Big Horns Tournament in Worland Friday and Saturday, a duals tournament for boys varsity teams and bracket matchups for girls and junior varsity competition. Action begins Friday at 12:30 p.m. and continues Saturday at 8:30 a.m.