It was a solid weekend of competition for the Evanston High School wrestling teams, as the Red Devils finished third and the Lady Devils 11th at the Lander Valley Invitational Friday and Saturday.

The two teams combined to place 11 wrestlers on the podium, including one individual champion and one runner-up: Tayson Moon won the 106-pound title on the boys’ side, and Marty Dick placed second at 190 pounds for the girls.

The EHS wrestling teams will head back over South Pass this week for the 2025 Ron Thon Memorial Tournament in Riverton. Consistently billed as the toughest wrestling tournament in the state, the Ron Thon pits the top wrestlers in Wyoming in each weight class against each other, regardless of classification – a true “Best of the Best” competition.

Red Devils

For the boys, Powell won the team title in the 27-team field with 180 points, followed by Green River with 166.5  points. Evanston was third with 163.5 points, followed by Cody with 150 points; Rawlins rounded out the Top 5 with 141.5 points.

Eight Red Devils earned a spot on the podium, led by champion Tayson Moon at 106 pounds. Moon posted a 3-0 record for the tournament. After receiving a first-round bye, Moon beat Wyatt Meppen (Thunder Ridge) in the quarterfinals, then won a 9-5 decision over Ace Arnold (Saratoga) in the semifinals to advance to the championship match.

Squaring off against Uinta County rival Treysen Henderson (Lyman) for the title, Moon pinned Henderson in the third round to claim the championship.

Keith Shelton placed third at 120 pounds, opening the tournament with a 12-6 decision over Zach Gregory (South) and a pin over Tyler Nicolay (Torrington) in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Shelton lost by tech fall to Hudson Baker (Rawlins), but battled back in the consolation rounds, pinning Zach Gregory (South) in the consolation semis to advance to the 3rd-place match. That set up a rematch with Tyler Nicolay (Torrington), who Shelton again pinned to finish third.

After losing in the quarterfinals at 132 pounds, Caden Marler rattled off three straight pins in the consolation bracket – over Bryan Aguilar (Thunder Ridge), Caysen Ross (Burns/Pine Bluffs) and Michael Bassett (Greybull/Riverside) – to advance to the 3rd-place match. There, Marler won a 12-0 major decision over Dino De La Cruz (Lovell) to claim the bronze.

Grey Hamilton opened the tournament at 144 pounds with a tech fall over Landon Jones (Lander Valley) and back-to-back pins over Kit Tait (Mountain View) and Michael Symons (Kemmerer) to advance to the semifinals. A loss to Onyx Kunsaitis (Thunder Ridge) dropped Hamilton to the consolation round, but he battled back with a 13-1 major decision over Nate Brown (Big Piney) to advance to the 3rd-place match.

Squaring off against Zachary Dalton (Green River), Hamilton won a close 8-6 decision to place third.

Timber Fitch placed fifth at 132 pounds. After an opening-round loss, the sophomore racked up four straight wins, including back-to-back first-round pins over Weston Green (Green River) and Andrew Schrader (Douglas), and a sudden victory in overtime against Nate Johnson (Worland). A loss to Dino De La Cruz (Lovell) in the consolation semis took Fitch out of the 3rd-place match, but he rebounded with a tech fall over Michael Bassett (Greybull/Riverside) to place fifth.

At 138 pounds, Kolby Hamilton won his first three matches – a tech fall over Joseph Espinoza (Worland), and back-to-back pins over Broc Frank (Powell) and Mason Christenson (Lovell).

A loss to Roany Proffit (Kemmerer) in the semifinals dropped Hamilton to the consolation semis, where he suffered his second setback of the tournament to Barrett Eichenberger (Torrington), by way of a 10-5 decision. Hamilton rebounded in the 5th-place match, pinning Jonah Schulz (Cody) to close out the tournament on a high note.

After a loss in the quarterfinals at 150 pounds, Karter Moore battled back in the consolation rounds, winning a 13-8 decision over teammate Garret Horton (Evanston), then pinning Porter Kemp (Pinedale). A loss in the consolation semis dropped Moore to the 5th-place match, where he lost to Ty Albaugh (Torrington) to finish sixth.

Ian Hunolt finished sixth at 175 pounds, posting a 3-3 record for the tournament. Hunolt’s wins came against Brandt Eichenberger (Torrington), Anthony Martinez (Rawlins) and Jacob Roper (Jackson Hole); he lost a 7-0 decision to Braxton Pope (Kemmerer) in the 5th-place match to finish sixth.

Daniel Watson closed out the placers at 190 pounds, placing sixth with a 3-3 record. After a second-round loss, Watson rattled off three straight pins in the consolation rounds – over Thomas Elizondo (Mountain View), Zack Kuntz (Greybull/Riverside) and Kasey Jaidan (Lovell) – before a loss in the consolation semis dropped him to the 5th-place match. Watson lost to Logan Bauers (Green River) to finish sixth.

Lady Devils

On the girls side, Marty Dick led the charge for the Lady Devils, placing second at 190 pounds, and posting a 2-1 record. Dick pinned Ashley Isom (Thunder Ridge) in just 12 seconds to advance to the semifinals, then pinned Kamia Runyan (Big Piney) to earn a spot in the championship match.

Dick couldn’t find an answer for Shauna Anderson (Thunder Ridge) in the title match, settling for runner-up.

Sidney Liechty placed fourth at 115 pounds, posting a 3-2 record. Liechty opened the tournament with back-to-back pins over Teagan Rakisits (Cody) and Kinsey Hooper (Rawlins), before a loss to Kaylea Mortensen (Pinedale) in the semifinals dropped her to the consolation bracket. Liechty won a close 3-2 decision over Kam Hineman (Douglas) in the consolation semis to advance to the 3rd-place match, but fell to Eleasah Horsley (Powell) to finish fourth.

Shaelyn Larkin rounded out the placers at 115 pounds, placing fifth with a 4-2 record. After a loss in the quarterfinals dropped her to the consolation bracket, Larkin battled back with pins over Hailey Wall (Worland) and Anabelle Andrews (Thunder Ridge). Larkin pinned Kam Hineman (Douglas) to finish fifth.

Other Lady Devils who scored points included Leslie Aldana at 105 pounds (1-2), Aubry Clifton at 110 pounds (1-2), Charlie Bybee at 120 pounds (1-2) and Makinnen Heaps at 130 pounds (2-2).