WORLAND — The Pinedale Wrangler wrestling teams have had great starts to the 2023-24 season. On the weekend of Dec. 8-9, both the girls and boys competed at the Charlie Lake Invitational in Cheyenne. Both teams did an outstanding job.

Charlie Lake Invitational
On the girls’ side, Pinedale had 13 athletes compete. Seven of them placed in the top four and PHS had four individual champions. McKinzie Mortensen, Kaylea Mortensen, Alexis Thompson and Katyanna Dexter all finished in first place. Alicia Dexter finished in third place, while Matazi Landers and Mya Swain both finished in fourth. The team finished overall in second place out of 18, losing to Kelly Walsh by only 2 points (145 to 147).

On the boys’ side, Pinedale competed in a dual tournament on Friday, followed by an individual tournament on Saturday. In the dual tournament, Pinedale had five weight classes without a wrestler due to injuries and eligibility, but despite entering each dual with a 30-point deficit, the boys battled hard and did a great job. Ryan Nutt, Wylee Willson, Jake Hammer and Landon Fornstrom all went 5-0 for the day. The team finished, 2-3, as a team for the day, losing to Valley, Colorado, 45-33, Cheyenne East, 54-29, and Kelly Walsh, 39-31, and defeating Scottsbluff, Nebraska, 35-27, and Cheyenne Central, 48-36. On Saturday, wrestlers competed in a very competitive individual tournament consisting of 28 teams. Pinedale varsity finished sixth with 112 points. Wylee Willson finished first overall at 126 lbs., while Ryan Nutt placed second at 120 lbs., Landon Fornstrom and Cale Dauwen finished fourth at 157 lbs. and 190 lbs., Jake Hammer placed fifth at 138 lbs. and Porter Kemp finished sixth at 132 lbs. On the JV side, Darren Calhoun and Lincoln Kemp both finished first in their respective weight classes, while Dylan Covert placed fourth and Ash Cooper and Bryken Kelly both placed fifth in their respective pools.
Overall, the weekend was a great start to our wresting season. Athletes showed great determination and wrestled great. We are incredibly proud of how they performed, especially in a tournament that was comprised of much larger schools and communities from Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming. 

Battle in the Big Horns

This past weekend, the Pinedale Wrangler wrestlers competed at the Battle in the Big Horns Invitational in Worland. We again had an incredible tournament. Everyone wrestled well and we looked tough. The tournament consisted of a varsity dual tournament, a varsity girls’ individual tournament, and JV round robin pools.
On the girls’ side of things, Pinedale did amazing. Six girls were in the Best of the Best Championship and all six athletes won their matches and finished in first place, including Maelie Snell at 100 lbs., Kaylea Mortensen at 105 lbs., McKinzie Mortensen at 110 lbs., Alexis Thompson at 120 lbs., Mya Swain at 135 lbs. and Katyanna Dexter at 235 lbs. Also wrestling an incredible tournament and placing were the following athletes: Evelyn Shivers in fourth at 115 lbs., Malari Craig in third at 140 lbs. and Fatima Mata in third at 235 lbs. Alicia Dexter and Makenna Hansen also wrestled great throughout the tournament but fell short of finishing in the top four. Although team scores were not kept, we are confident that Pinedale would have come out on top with six individual champions. All girls wrestled so well and we are so proud of the progress they have made already in the first two competitions of the season. 

On the varsity boys’ side of things, Pinedale won its pool on Friday by defeating Glenrock, 65-6, Torrington, 60-12, Powell, 66-12, and Greybull/Riverside, 42-27. This put the team in the Gold Bracket on Saturday. In the quarterfinals on Saturday, Pinedale defeated Kelly Walsh, 51-30. In the semifinals, Pinedale defeated Rawlins, 51-20. In the finals, Pinedale lost to Rock Springs by 2 points in a very exciting and intense dual, 42-40, finishing the tournament in second place out of 20 teams.
Four athletes qualified for the Best of the Best Dual at the conclusion of the tournament, and Pinedale won three of the four matches. Ryan Nutt, Wylee Willson and Landon Fornstrom all finished in first, while Dustin Larsen finished in second. They all wrestled so well and it was fun to watch and be a part of. 

On the JV side of things, athletes were put in round robin pool and wrestled throughout the weekend. They also did a phenomenal job. Lincoln Kemp went undefeated on Friday, but then joined the varsity duals on Saturday to replace Jake Hammer, who had a family event. Sergio Duarte-Villa also went undefeated for the two days. Bodie Jensen, Bryken Kelly, Darren Calhoun and Noah Richmond all won a few matches and had a great showing.
Also competing in JV and showing some great improvement were Ash Cooper and Dylan Covert. 

Everyone wrestled well; they gave it 100 percent and we are so proud of them and how they wrestled this weekend. Of course there are things that we still need to improve upon, but we have had an incredible start to the 2023-24 season and we hope to carry that momentum and success through the Christmas break and into the heart of the season upon returning.