Sugar Salem’s Battle For The Buckle

Last weekend the Grace Grizzlies and the North Gem Cowboys took part in the Battle for the Buckle wrestling tournament in Sugar City.  The tournament had plenty of quality wrestlers in attendance giving many of our local wrestlers a challenge.  Some of the brackets were chock full of tough local competition while others were lacking in numbers but still gave kids some great opportunities.  The Grizzly men had eight wrestlers compete in the tournament.  Gabe Wiegman and Mark Hulse each failed to pick up a win but competed hard.  Douglas Robbins, Jackson Junker, and Talon Boyd each picked up a single win before being eliminated from competition.  Mack Jorgensen put in the most time on the mat of any Grizzly over the weekend.  Jorgensen won his first match then lost his second match putting him on the consolation side of the bracket.  There Jorgensen would win his next two matches before suffering his second loss.  Jorgensen had advanced far enough to earn a spot in the fifth place match.  Jorgensen went on to win that match finishing on the podium in the fifth spot.  The final two Grizzlies that wrestled were Carter Kimball and Cael Newby.  Newby dominated his first two opponents earning a spot in the semi finals.  In that semi final match Newby would have to go to a sudden death tiebreaker.  Newby earned the narrow 5-4 tie breaking win.  Newby then moved on to the championship match which he won by major decision over a wrestler from Idaho Falls High school.  Kimball tore through his first three rounds winning by tech. fall, fall, and major decision.  This earned Kimball a spot in the championship match.  Kimball won that match 7-2 over a wrestler from Teton.

Carter Kimball claims another championship during his historic senior campaign.

 The North Gem Cowboys had just two wrestlers compete in the tournament.  Jaxsyn Welker battled hard for two matches but failed to pick up a win.  Haydn Frandsen on the other hand had a very long tournament.  Frandsen won his first match then lost his second, moving him to the consolation bracket.  Frandsen would then win four in a row before suffering another loss.  This put Frandsen in the fifth place match where he went on to win 7-4 and earn his spot on the podium. 

The Lady Grizzlies also had three wrestlers take part in the tournament.  Adeline Clark earned a championship by way of forfeit due to lack of competitors in her weight class.  Bella Eddins also had low numbers in her weight division.  Bella earned two byes due to her season record then won the championship match by technical fall over a wrestler from Sugar Salem.  Skyla Cloud also received a bye due to her well established season record.  Cloud then went on to pin her semi final opponent to make it to the final match.  Cloud won that match by pin as well and earned the top spot on the podium.