WORLAND – Forging ahead full steam into week two of competition, the Pinedale High School wrestling team snagged second place in the gold bracket at the annual Battle in the Bighorns at Worland on Dec. 16-17.

The event followed a duel format. Meet organizers divided the teams into four pools on Friday. Pinedale found itself in Pool C, pitted against Cody, Torrington and Greybull.

Pinedale overwhelmed Greybull, 53-21, and went on to crush Thermopolis, 51-24.

The Wranglers fell to Cody, 54-30, to earn second place in Pool C. The team’s performance allowed it to advance to the gold bracket on Saturday, along with other first- and second-place teams from Pools A, B and D.

Pinedale handily defeated Wind River, 55-24, in the gold bracket quarterfinals.

The semifinals against Worland came down to the wire with Pinedale winning, 39-36.

Pinedale once again found itself on the mats against Cody in the first-place duel. Cody pulled out the win, 42-33, and Pinedale took second place in the gold bracket.

Pinedale sophomores Garrett Haley (152 pounds) and Garrett Madole (126 pounds) and freshman Wylee Willson completed the duels with undefeated records and progressed to the Best of the Best Competition on Saturday.

Willson won the Best of the Best in the 113-pound weight bracket.

Junior Fisher Vance (138 pounds) posted a 5-1 record with freshman Kylea Mortensen tallying two wins and one loss. Senior Ethan Kemp (145 pounds), senior Ryker Marshall (160 pounds) and junior Dustin Larsen (152 pounds) each went 4-2.

The Battle in the Bighorns also featured a separate girls’ competition with a bracket format. Three Lady Wranglers earned golds in their respective weight classes – senior Maddox Gehlhausen, junior Katyana Dexter and freshman McKinzie Mortensen.

Girls’ meet

In the 110-115-pound division, Gehlhausen pinned Lily Hill of Wind River 40 seconds into the quarterfinals. She defeated teammate and junior Alexis Thompson by fall in the second period of the semifinals.

Advancing to the finals, Gehlhausen won by forfeit over teammate Rhonda Auradou. Auradou defeated Molly Bornhoft by an 8-4 decision in the semifinals.

Dexter took down Rock Springs’ Hali Witt 22 seconds into the semifinal match in the 190-235-pound bracket. Squaring off against Tera Kraushaar in the first-place match, Dexter pinned her opponent in the second period.

McKinzie Mortensen pinned Yoslin Garcia of Rock Springs in the first period of the 100-105-pound quarterfinals and beat Shoshoni’s Dani Duarle by fall 1 minute, 23 seconds into the semifinal bout.

McKinzie Mortensen defeated teammate and freshman Kaylea Mortensen by a 7-2 decision in the finals.

Kaylea Mortensen pinned Cora Remacle of Wind River with 39 seconds to spare in the first period of the semifinals.

Sophomore Mya Swain achieved second place in the 130-pound weight division after pinning teammate and sophomore Samantha Brannan 24 seconds into the semifinals.

Brannan took third place in the 130-pound bracket and sophomore Sarah Helm earned bronze in the 120-125-pound division.

Senior Morgan Grossman and Thompson placed fourth in their respective brackets.

Pool C results

Pinedale trounced Greybull, 53-21, in the opening duel. Willson pinned Kolton Martinez 35 seconds into the first period. Madole took down Ryker Roberts with 34 seconds remaining in the first period.

Freshman Sergio Duarte-Villa defeated Daniel Blair by fall. Vance took down Reece Whisenant.

Kemp pinned Hunter Massie 1:34 into the bout. Marshall defeated Kayden Sixberry by a 19-3 technical fall.

Senior Tucker Kelly and junior Austin Green won by open forfeit.

The Wranglers showed Torrington no mercy in the subsequent duel, winning, 51-24.

Madole pinned Barrett Eichenberger in the second period. Vance defeated Colby Sandusky by fall with 19 seconds to spare in the second period.

Kemp beat Brendan Woodard by a 12-4 major decision. Larsen took down Kaden Romig 59 seconds into the first period.

Marshall won by a 20-4 technical fall against J.R. Ruiz. Senior Ian Cantu pinned Curtis Miller in the second period. Willson beat Tyler Nicolay by fall 47 seconds in the first period.

Sophomore Nolan Orm won by open forfeit.

The Wranglers fell to Cody, 54-30. Vance pinned Myles Hensley with 5 seconds remaining in the first period. Willson took down William Wood 25 seconds into the bout. Duarte-Villa and Madole won by open forfeit.

Gold Bracket results

Pinedale soundly defeated Wind River, 55-24, in the quarterfinal duel.

Kaylea Mortensen pinned Logan Gardner in the third period. Willson took down Landon Rhyne 2:33 into the match. Freshman Porter Kemp scored a 17-8 major-decision win against AnnaBeth Bornhoft.

Madole beat Aidan Ruby by a 5-2 decision. Vance defeated Camron Wisecup 3:29 into the bout. Ethan Kemp pinned Holden Yeates by fall with more than 1 minute remaining in the first period.

Larsen took down Cooper Frederick 1:43 into the bout. Marshall pinned Isaac Gardner in the third period.

Green beat Kaden Jones by fall at 1:04.

The Wranglers edged ahead of Worland, 39-36, in a close semifinal duel.

Willson pinned Nate Johnson with 1:10 left on the clock in the first period. Madole took down Trey Wagner at 2:52. Ethan Kemp defeated Ross Goncalves by a 6-5 decision.

Larsen scored a 6-2 decision win against Tillman Burns. Marshall beat Dawson Utterback by an 8-5 decision. Cantu pinned Chance Hart with 10 seconds remaining in the first period. Kaylea Mortensen won by open forfeit.

Pinedale fell to Cody, 42-33, in the final duel of the tournament. Vance took down Myles Hensley 15 seconds into the second period. Larsen defeated Alex Sitz by a 10-5 decision. Willson pinned William Wood 1:33 into the match.

Madole and Duarte-Villa won by open forfeit.