Repeat! Allen delivers like a State champion again, Herders pin seven placers at wrestling finals

A little more than 12 short months ago wrestler Brody Allen stepped onto the mats for the first time at Glenrock as a freshman with little varsity experience and not much of a resume. He made immediate waves throughout the sport by capturing the 2A State championship and served notice that there was a new Herder to fear.

What does such a young talent do as an encore? Win it all again and that’s exactly what Allen did March 1 in Casper where he made it clear that the road to a title must go through him as wrestled his way to the 120-pound 3A State championship.

“I was down here getting awards and my whole crowd was just waiting for me up in the hall. And I come running around the corner back here and they’re all just cheering, all happy,” Allen said. “It just reminded me a lot of last year just way more exciting because it’s the second time.”

Glenrock moved up to 3A this year but Allen was unfazed. He set the bar high himself, set some short and long-term goals and let his performance do the rest of the talking.

Allen was on a mission from the start and worked over every opponent in his way of a repeat title. He open the championship drive by pinning LJ Hansen from Burns/Pine Bluffs in 1:11.

The second stop obstacle in Allen’s way was Daniel Casdorph of Worland who took care of immediately in a 16-1 tech fall (TF-1.5 1:47). He advanced to the semifinals where he defeated Chevy Hill from Powell via fall at 2:32 to reach the championship.

Allen faced Hudson Baker of Rawlins in the finale, the same foe he lost to at regionals a week ago. History did not repeat itself, and instead, Allen rewrote it in a thriller of a finish where he got a late take down to secure a 17-11 State championship decision.

“Brody is a special athlete and we are all proud of him. He has terrific team mates that practice with him and push him every day and an amazing coaching staff that is working to make him and every other kid on the team the very best that they can be,” head coach Coley Wondra said. “It was super fun to have such a back and forth match with a kid that had beaten us the prior two weekends and get a win against a very high quality opponent.”

It was sweet revenge for the now two-time defending champ.

“Pretty much all week before state we were just practicing what to do different because he’s beat me twice this year, pinned me twice this year,” Allen said. “We figured out I just had to slow him down, slow the pace of the match down, tie up different, get wrist control before anything else. And then just go slower because he’s a really good fast-paced wrestler.

“One of my coaches is a three-time state champ (Joe Taylor) and he was pretty much my practice partner a lot of the season. He motivated me so much, all my coaches did. But just the thought of how cool it’d be to four-time just drives me to it every year. I push so hard every practice and that’s just the goal.”

For the weekend, Powell won the 3A team crown for the 11th time, while Pinedale finished second and Cody was third. Douglas was seventh overall and Glenrock came in at ninth. 

Preston Sorensen brought his fantastic 38-win season to a close by finishing fourth in the 175 weight class. His string of victories started by pinning Noah Williams Gardner from Newcastle in 1:57.

After dropping his next bout, the Herder bounced back to win by fall against Anthony Martinez of Rawlins at 2:28 and beat Brandt Eichenberger from Torrington in 4:08. He won three straight when followed with a convincing 8-1 decision against Marshall Hatch from Lyman.

At 106, Nick Ticknor brought his successful debut to a close by getting in podium in sixth place. His two victories included a 9-1 major decision against Gabe Hagen of Wheatland and a 6-1 decision over Wesley Morris from Buffalo.

Kelton Stewart scored team points and pinned sixth place at 144 pounds. His journey started with a fall over Joseph Espinoza from Worland at 0:59.

After his first loss, Stewart battled back to win by fall over Jack Noblin of Douglas in 2:56. His final win was via pin against Taiden Hunt from Buffalo at 2:46.

Brady Calmes was solid in the 190 division where he also took home sixth place at State. His start was a success when he beat Darren Calhoun from Pinedale with a fall at 1:31.

Calmes fell short in the second round before scoring an 18-3 tech fall against Boston Busskohl from Lyman (TF-1.5 4:05). His final victory was by fall over Mason Dehmel from Worland at 1:32.

Girls

Gilliam Holman had been a statewide force since the day she arrived in the campus at GHS and that season was no different. The junior won five matches and battled back to capture third place at 125 pounds.

““I’m really happy that I ended up third. I’m proud of myself because I was out for two weeks with a concussion right before now and I had to wrestle all the way from losing that first match (of the tournament),” she said. “So I’m really proud of myself, even though it’s not first, it’s the next best thing.”

Holman was stunned in the opening round where she was denied by Jordan Nielsen from Lander Valley by a narrow 8-6 decision. She responded by never dropping another bout and that started by pinning Josie Raber of Thunder Basin in 2:42.

Holman held strong in the third round to advanced by Gracelynn Allen from Lyman with a 2-0 decision. She followed that by scoring a 12-4 major decision against Rihanna Gaytan from Greybull/Riverside.

Holman remained alive at State when a 7-1 deciding against Jordan Nielsen of Lander to reach the third-place match. There was no stopping her as she went in to pin Searney O`Brien from Sheridan in 2:25 

Danika Harris locked down fifth place in the clash of 190s. She opened with a medical forfeit against Audrey Teasley from Cheyenne Central.

Harris win her next match against Kamia Runyan of Big Piney via fall at 1:11. She dropped two matches but closed successfully with a win by over Kamia Runyan from Big Piney) 29-11 in 3:39.

Malorey Lawrence delivered sixth place at 125 points. Her victories included a win by fall against Corrine Gaby of Wheatland at 1:33 and a thrilling 12-6 decision over Rihanna Gaytan of Greybull/Riverside.

“This team worked especially hard this year. They deserve every bit of credit for being in the practice room and giving everything they have every single day. We had a great season and I could not be more proud of how we did,” Wondra said. “This year we kept the same schedule as we have had in the past. We felt we had a tough schedule as it was and didnt feel it necessary to adapt it much so not much changed for us until Regionals and State. It was certainly a learning experience at the state level wrestling 3A. Team have their tendencies, and I learned a lot this year about what to expect from different teams especially from the west side of the state.”