With one individual champion, one runner-up, two third-place finishers and 17 total placers, the Evanston High School wrestling team placed fifth as a team at the 4A West Regional Tournament Friday at Star Valley High School.

“We competed well,” said EHS head coach Garth Wagstaff. “I think we kind of wrestled where we were seeded – if you look at where we were seeded going in, that’s kind of where we finished with the kids.”

Star Valley finished in the top spot with 239 points, followed by Kelly Walsh with 233.5 points. Green River wrestled its way to third with 208 points, while Natrona County and Evanston rounded out the top five with 165.5 and 144.5 points, respectively. A total of 17 Red Devils placed in the top eight of their respective classes, earning them a spot at this weekend’s 3A State Wrestling Tournament in Casper.

Two Red Devils advanced to the championship finals in their respective weight classes, with sophomore Tayson Moon winning the championship at 106 pounds. Kolby Hamilton at 138 pounds finished as runner-up.

Competing at the 4A West Regional Tournament in their home gym, the Lady Devils also wrestled well, placing sixth out of 24 teams, with one champion and three total placers.

“The girls also wrestled well,” Wagstaff said. “They qualified five girls, and Marty [Dick] won her weight class, so it was a good weekend.”

Star Valley finished in the top spot with 227 points, followed by Pinedale in second with 131 points and Kemmerer in third, with 107.5 points. Lyman and Natrona County rounded out the Top 5, with 92 and 86 points, respectively. The Lady Devils were sixth, with a score of 84.5 points.

On the girls’ side, one Lady Devil earned a spot in the championship match, with Marty Dick winning the championship at 190 pounds. Sidney Liechty finished third at 110 pounds, while Charli Bybee placed fourth at 120 pounds.

The EHS wrestling teams will head to Casper this week for the 4A State Wrestling Tournament; matches begin Thursday at the Ford Wyoming Center. Asked his expectations for the two teams, Wagstaff said they’ll just go, score points and see how everything shakes out.

“We try to downplay it as much as we can, but, you know, kids aren’t dumb,” he said. “They know it’s the state tournament. But when we talk about it, we talk about it’s just you and one other person, and your goal is to go out and score more points than the other person. Don’t leave any points on the mat, and if there’s a chance to score points, score points – if you can finish the period on top, finish the period on top. Most importantly, just represent yourself, your team and your community the way we want to be represented.”

“Wrestling’s tough,” Wagstaff added. “That’s what’s great about the sport – we go and wrestle for a reason. Nothing is given, so we’re going to go out and get after it.”

Red Devils

Tayson Moon went 4-0 for the tournament, winning his first three matches by pin; he pinned Evan Propes (Kelly Walsh) in the finals to claim the 4A WestA West Championship

“Tayson is wrestling really solid right now in all phases – on his feet, then on the mat,” Wagstaff said. “What’s really nice about him is he’s finally actually 106 pounds – last year he competed well, but he was still tiny. He’s matured, and now he’s wrestling, guys his size. He came in and really just took care of business in every match – did what he had to do, and was pretty dominating.”

At 138 pounds, Kolby Hamilton won by tech fall over Chris Barrett (Natrona County) in the quarterfinals, and won a 20-12 major decision over Caisen Miserany (Star Valley) in the semifinals to advance to the championship match; he lost in the finals to Tel Parry (Star Valley).

“That kid from Star Valley is tough, and when Kolby dueled him [earlier in the season] we actually wrestled him probably a little bit tougher than what we did,” Wagstaff explained. “We have some things we can work on and do – we feel like the match has got to be on our feet, and that’s where we kind of went with him when we dueled the week before. A lot of his time in this match was on the mat, so we just couldn’t ever really get going. Hopefully it’s a kid that we’ll see again, and put in our favor, for sure.”

Finishing third for the Red Devils were Caden Marler at 132 pounds and Taiton Mills at 215 pounds. After winning by a 14-2 major decision over Maxwell Jirak (Star Valley) in the consolation semifinals, Marler pinned Weston Green (Green River) in the first round of the third-place match.

“Caden dropped down to 132 for us this year, and he’s just done really well, he’s been really consistent in that weight,” Wagstaff explained. “He’s just starting to really figure it out, and he’s wrestling well with what he’s doing – he has a few tricks that he can catch anybody, so he’s another one that I think – much like our whole team, actually – that is really fun to watch.”

Mills won by medical forfeit over Kaleb Clark (Green River) consolation semifinals, then squared off against Jernee Padilla (Rock Springs) in the 3rd-place match. Wrestling above his normal weight at 215, Mills won a 16-3 major decision to earn the bronze.

“‘Mills – he’s not even 190 pounds, and he’s wrestling up there at 215,” Wagstaff said. “We bumped him up for some of our duels, and he started having success with 215, so he ended up staying there. It’s just fun to watch, because he’s so undersized, but he’s figured it out.”

Keith Shelton at 120 pounds and Grey Hamilton at 144 pounds both finished fourth in their respective classes. Shelton pinned Kirklin Hay (Rock Springs) in the consolation semis to earn a spot in the 3rd-place match, though he couldn’t find an answer for Kaleb Gunter (Green River), losing by pin to finish fourth.

Hamilton pinned Zachary Dalton (Green River) in the consolation semis, but stumbled in the 3rd-place match, losing by pin to Ty Thompson (Star Valley) to finish fourth.

“Grey is the real deal – he doesn’t wrestle like a typical freshman,” Wagstaff said. “He’s won some big matches for us, and he definitely gets after it.”

Also placing in the top eight and earning a trip to state were: Emery Kohler at 106 pounds (5th place), Garret Horton at 150 pounds (5th place), Zachary Welling at 165 pounds (5th place), David McCoy at 175 pounds (5th place), Daniel Watson at 190 pounds (5th place), Zander Tippetts at 113 pounds (6th place), Timber Fitch at 132 pounds (8th place), Colton Marler at 138 pounds (8th place), Karter Moore at 150 pounds (8th place), Bridger Roberts at 157 pounds (8th place) and Quade Peterson at 285 pounds (8th place).

“Karter Moore has been doing a nice job for us – he has that senior leadership going, and he’s been a great leader for the younger kids. Xander Tippetts at 113 pounds – he’s had some injuries, but he was able to get back in the lineup for us, and now he’s qualified for state. We have a lot of sophomores going, which is great. You want to see them get that state tournament experience. They’re starting to figure things out, so it’s been exciting.”

Lady Devils

Five of the 12 Lady Devils who competed in Evanston over the weekend earned a spot on the podium of their respective weight classes, led by a first-place finish by Marty Dick at 190 pounds.

“It’s been exciting to see Marty have that kind of success,” Wagstaff said. “She just goes out, and she scraps, and makes things happen.She has amazing mat awareness and body awareness. There are times when she’s in a less-than-ideal predicament, and, all of a sudden, she pops out on top.”

Sidney Liechty finished third at 115 pounds, while Charli Bybee finished fourth at 125 pounds.

Harlee MacDonald (5th/6th at 155 pounds) and Shaelyn Larkin (5th/6th at 115 pounds) rounded out the Lady Devils’ placers.

After winning by medical forfeit over Tempest Bezirium (Natrona County) in the 190-pound quarterfinals, Dick pinned Adia Price (Green River) in the semis to earn her spot in the championship match. Squaring off against a familiar foe in Kamia Runyan (Big Piney), Dick became the Lady Devils’ second ever regional champ, pinning Runyan in the second round.

At 110 pounds, Liechty opened the tournament with back-to-back pins over Kaebri Yorgason (Riverton) and Jocelyn Burgess (Star Valley). Liechty stumbled a bit in the quarterfinals, falling to Allison LeBlanc (Powell) to drop to the consolation rounds; there, she rattled off three straight pins – over Millee Ellis (Kemmerer), Candace Cary (Big Piney) and Hallie Robertson (Star Valley) – to advance to the 3rd-place match. Squaring off against LaBlanc in a rematch of the quarterfinals, Liechty flipped the script, winning a 7-3 decision.

“Sydney’s just a workhorse – she just gives it everything she has,” Wagstaff said. “She always gives great effort in practice – she loves the sport, and is always trying to do everything she can to get better at it. She’s grown tremendously in this sport, and always has a great attitude. She’s a great teammate, as well – she’s definitely a team leader, and a good example to look up to.”

Bybee posted a 4-2 record for the tournament, pinning her first three opponents before losing to Lilly Quintanilla (Thermopolis) in the semifinals. Bybee won a 9-4 decision over Allison Kissack (Kelly Walsh) in the consolation semis to advance to the 3rd-place match; she was unable to find an answer for Bianca Maez (Green River), losing by pin to finish fourth.

Other Lady Devils who contributed team points included Guadalupe Villa at 125 pounds (1-2).