Wrestling the Best at Ron Thon: Lawrence, Harris, Allen lead Herders at sport’s biggest event in RIverton

For three days, nearly 40 teams and more than 1,000 athletes grappled with a challenge not found anywhere in the state at the prestigious Ron Thon Invitational. The Glenrock High School boys and girls wrestling teams had their share of big wins and tough defeats but it was the experience that mattered most against every team at all classifications.

The challenge is a win-win for everyone but three Herders added extra value to their weekend by capturing limited placements in the varsity division highlight, making another successful journey to Fremont County.

Girls

It was the largest meet ever since Wyoming added girls as an official division with more than 310 this year. Glenrock thrived within those numbers as two of its standouts made the top five of their respective divisions where Star Valley won Ron Thon with 232.5 points. Pinedale was second and Cheyenne East took third.

Newcomer Malorey Lawrence was impressive in her Herder debut at Ron Thon. She won a stunning five matches en route to capturing fourth place in the 120-pound division.

Lawrence, who boasted a record of 15-7, got things started by pinning Bianca Saavedra of Evanston in 1:53. She followed that by defeating Addison Walk from Mountain View by fall at 0:41.

Kinsey Hooper from Rawlins edged Lawrence in the quarterfinals won by a slim 9-5 decision. The sophomore bounced back with authority and beat Courtney Matthews from Newcastle in a 10-1 decision.

Lawrence continued that momentum and scored an 8:1 decision against Viviana Soto of Cheyenne East. She made it three straight by chalking up her final victory via fall over Evelyn Shivers from Pinedale in 1:52.

In the battle of 190s, Danika Harris won two of her four matches on her journey to taking fifth place. The road trip started with a bye, which was followed by her only setback against Joci Davis of Cheyenne East.

Harris bounced right back and pinned Stella Lind from Star Valley at 1:18. After he final defeat, Harris ended on a good note be defeating Charlee Anderson of Rocky Mountain by fall at 2:55.

Lucy Ticknor continued her tradition in collecting  victories at Ron Thon and this time around was no different. The junior won two of her matches at the 115 weight class.

After an opening setback to undefeated Lilly Quintanilla, Ticknor notched her first win by fall over Tatym Washakie of Wyoming Indian at 2:28. She made it two in a row with a convincing 10-0 major decision against Aubree Clifton from Evanston.

Boys

Thunder Basin won the Ron Thon and  with 245.5 points. Kelly Walsh was second, Pinedale took third and Powell was fourth.

Defending State champion Brody Allen led the way for the Herders in the 126 weight ass. The sophomore win three of his matches to captured fifth place and add to his 27:6 overall record.

After an opening-round bye, Allen went to work and started by pinning Brody Shepard of Shoshoni in 2:51. It was a double take as he went into win again with an impressive 13-3 major decision against Santiago Cruz from Rock Springs.

Ryan Nutt of Pinedale scored a tech to give Allen his first defeat. The Herders dropped two straight when he was denied by Landon Rhyne from Wind River at 2:08.

Allen later won the fifth-place match via medical forfeit over Dane Arnoldi from Rock Springs.

Kelton Stewart, who is 22-10 on the season, scored a pair of wins in Riverton in the 144 weight class. He won by a thrilling 12-11 decision over Landon Jones from Lander Valley and won by fall against Darrell Hunting of Star Valley in 1:49.

Preston Sorensen, 19-10 on the year, came close to medal rounds when he won twice at 175 pounds. He pinned a successful start with a win by fall over Kellen Bogle from Campbell County in 0:25.

Braxton Pope from got by Sorensen in the next bout via fall at 5:59.

The standout bounced back in winning fashion. He pinned Anthony Martinez of Rawlins at 2:08 for his final victory. 

Junior varsity

When a tournament the size is Ron Thon, even the junior varsity is packed with talent. That’s where Brady Calmes was the top for Glenrock where he captured the place at 190 pounds.

His debut effort was a pin over Dakota Mair from Mountain View at 0:54. He carried that momentum over to beat Brandon Shaver of Cheyenne East in 1:36.

Calmes made it three in a row when he pinned Taevyn Gruell from Lovell in 2:00. After his only defeat, he rallied back with a win by fall over Brandon Shaver from Cheyenne East at 1:30 and scored a 13-1 major decision against Mason Dehmel from Worland.

At 132 pounds, freshman was impressive in scoring two wins at his first Ron Thon. His successes included a convincing 16-9 decision over Wes a win by fall over Braxton Hinton of Lyman in 0:56 and he later pinned Colton Nielsen from Lander Valley in 0:47.

Kristian Martin collected two wins of his own at 144 pounds. He by fall against McCoy Milek of Lander Valley in 0:33 and won by fall over Carter Peasley from Greybull/Riverside in 1:12.

At 157, Khanan Caston had a good weekend when he bounced back from an opening loss by beating Danner Glanz from Worland by fall at  3:00. He won again by pinning Iker Ramos Garcia of Jackson at 0:55.

The Herder made it three straight by taking down Caleb Timbers from Natrona County in 0:43.