COKEVILLE – Last week the Big Piney Puncher wrestlers started off the week with a dual in Cokeville. The Punchers came out on top of the Panthers in a 34-27 victory.

I really felt that we did a great job of wrestling that day. Judah Farrington had a great performance, bouncing up in weight and came very close to a victory. Zavier Clifford also had a big fall that helped build the lead for the team. It was a great start to the week and the team is now 8-4 on the season in dual competition.

On Friday and Saturday, Jan. 19-20, the Punchers were at the Lander Valley Invitational. This was a 26-team tournament.  It is a great warmup for the upcoming Ron Thon. I really liked that we wrestled a lot better this week than we did last week.

Practice was difficult this week to find the time with a dual and pictures but I really felt we showed improvement. We saw some of the best teams in the state at this meet and were able to hold our own. The boys’ team was 11th and the girls finished 10th. We had four places on the boys’ side and had four girls place as well this week.

Girls’ highlights

Charlie Smith had her best tournament of this year. She went 3-0 with 3 pins to win the Lander Valley tournament. She showed huge improvement this week on her feet. We made huge strides that will help us move forward. Morgan Brown placed fourth this week and she just keeps growing as a wrestler. Addison Statham was fifth and we love her motor and how hard she works in each match. Kaydance Guest placed sixth this week.

Boys’ highlights

In the boys’ tournament, Caleb Brown had an outstanding meet, placing third. We love how aggressive he is and how hard he works each day in the room and on the mat.

Dominic Sanches had his best meet this year. I loved how he did not stop wrestling in each match. He fought til the end and placed fifth.

Jackie Meador had a great week of wrestling as well. He had a very deep bracket and placed sixth. Zef Zuniga just keeps getting better and better each week. He also placed sixth.

On the JV side Rober French had a great tournament and just keeps getting better each week. Kian Pelham had an amazing week of wrestling. He was able to get three takedowns this week and showing huge confidence and improvement on the season.

Challenges

It was a challenge to get in good practice last week but I was really pleased with the improvement that I saw. We now have seen all of our regional competition and there is work that needs to be done on our part to catch several teams. We look forward to that challenge and will continue to improve each day in practice.

We showed huge improvement in moving on bottom last week. We spend a lot of time working on that skill and it is nice to see it pay off on the mat. This week we will work on shoot counters and again focus on the bottom position leading into our busiest week of wrestling and toughest week of wrestling.

On Tuesday, Jan. 23, Big Piney hosted Lyman, Mountain View and Pinedale. Then Friday and Saturday, Jan. 26-27,  the Punchers will be at the Ron Thon, where there will be 40 schools and more than 1,000 wrestlers. It is a barn-burning meet and two very long days.

We are looking forward to seeing and competing against the very best this week in Riverton.