East puts three in boys finals, Central one

“Going into my third match, I thought, ‘I’ve got to turn this kid right away if I get the chance,’” Green said. “I could have done better in my first two matches. That’s all on me.”

Green wasn’t the only Capital City wrestler to notch a quick pin during Friday night’s semifinals.

Cheyenne Central senior Keagan Bartlett — a two-time state runner-up — stuck Thunder Basin sophomore Kingston Hanson in 47 seconds to advance to the 220-pound championship. He’ll face Sheridan’s Aiden Selcher in the final.

“I only have six more minutes of high school wrestling left,” Bartlett said. “My mentality this weekend has been to relax, have fun and enjoy my final high school tournament.

“But I’m also trying to keep being aggressive and use the same game plan I have all year.”

That game plan has been to score takedowns early and often, and get pins whenever they present themselves.

Friday’s semifinal victory gave Bartlett his family’s career pins record over older brother Tevis, who was a four-time state champ for East.

East junior Colby Olson will wrestle for the 182-pound title tonight after pinning Rock Springs’ Mathew Foster in 5:22. Olson held a 2-0 lead heading into the third period, thanks to an escape and an illegal headlock. He pulled ahead 4-0 with a takedown.

“We watched some film on him, and he was really good,” Olson said. “I knew he was going to be good, but he was even better than I expected.”

Olson will wrestle Sheridan senior Colson Coon — a two-time state champ and one-time runner-up — in the final. Olson is 39-16 on the season, and has used the disappointment of last season as motivation for this winter.

“I was really mad that I got sixth again at state last year,” he said. “That flipped the switch in me and made me decide I couldn’t just wait around for someone to hand me a gold medal. I was going to have to get it.”

Sophomore Liam Fox will try to win his second state title tonight, this one at 145 pounds. He pinned Jackson’s Ayden Gralund in 2:12 in the semis. Fox led 2-0 after the first period, but was able to get a turn early in the second.

“I wasn’t really moving as fast as I should have in the first,” Fox said. “I was able to use my top technique and get a pin, and not let the match last any longer.

“I’ve been working on top a lot this year, and I’m really confident in my ability to turn people. I was pretty confident I could get it done to start that period.”

Fox will wrestle Star Valley’s Joseph Naef in the final. Naef picked up a 10-8 victory over Laramie’s Dakota Ledford, who is a two-time state runner-up.

Sheridan leads the team standings with 231 points. The Broncs have the title all but sewn up, as they have nine finalists competing today. Star Valley is second (168), and Thunder Basin sits in third (161.5).

East is fifth with 131 points. The Thunderbirds had freshman Sammy Sanchez (106), junior Ben Whitright (126) and senior Trevor Eldridge (195) fall in the semis.

Central is seventh in the team race (85.5). Junior Wyatt Weiss (120) and sophomore Andrew Gonzales (126) lost their semifinal bouts.

Burns-Pine Bluffs senior Cale Haws won his first two 220-pound bouts, but lost to Cody’s Jace Grant in the semifinals.