Cardinals and Grizzlies Wrestle In Ririe

Last Thursday the Cardinals and Grizzlies traveled to Ririe high school to face a pair of sixth district teams for some duals.  It is becoming more and more common for these duals to feature several forfeit matches due to lack of numbers to fill each weight class.  For that reason I will throw in a small plug here and say that if you have ever wanted your child to take part in a high school sport but are worried that there may not be a spot for them let me assure you there are plenty of spots available on every wrestling team in the county.  It is an incredible sport that can build a ton of character and confidence.  Also not to diminish any of the other sports coaches, our local wrestling coaches are some of the best around.  Ok I’ll get off of my soapbox now.  As I was saying there were plenty of forfeits in last week’s matches but in matches where there was competition the Cardinals especially did well.

Both Caribou County teams faced off with Ririe and North Fremont.  Soda Springs was able to get the better of the Huskies winning a close dual 25 to 21.  When the Cardinals faced off against the Bulldogs numbers definitely became a factor as Soda Springs was forced to forfeit more matches than Ririe did.  In that dual the Cardinals fell short by the score of 28 to 45.

Here is a rundown of how each participating Cardinal did in the duals.  JT Cutler won both of his dual matches by forfeit but did wrestle an exhibition match which he also won this time by fall.  Kellen Garbett was the only Cardinal to lose both of his matches however he went the distance in both matches losing each by decision.  Jace Garbett did well winning his match over North Fremont by decision and his match over Ririe by fall.  Troy Krupp and Elijah Dilworth each dominated their opponents, each picking up a pair of wins by technical fall.  Carson Cook split in the duals.  Cook beat his North Fremont opponent by fall then lost to Ririe by fall in the second round.  Finally Ryker Hemmertt and Simon Krupp each wrestled one exhibition match and unfortunately each lost their one match.

The Grizzlies did not fare as well in the two duals and were missing several wrestlers for this event.  The Grizzlies had to forfeit several matches to the larger teams.  Grace lost both duals going down 42 to 18 to North Fremont and 60 to 12 to Ririe.  Jayden Lunt picked up two wins one by forfeit and one by injury time.  Gabe Weigman, Tate Stoddard, and Jackson Juncker all lost both of their matches.  All three wrestlers are new to wrestling and will improve as they move forward in their careers.  Mark Hulse won his match against North Fremont by forfeit and lost to Ririe by fall.  Hulse also wrestled an exhibition match against Ririe which he also lost by fall.  Like his three teammates above he is young and will improve with time.  Mack Jorgensen ended up wrestling in four matches on the night.  Jorgensen’s two matches that counted towards team points were successful, winning one by forfeit and one by fall.  Jorgensen then wrestled two exhibition matches that he split, winning one by fall and losing one by fall. 

This week is districts for all three of our local teams.  This year’s boys districts will take place on Thursday in Grace.  Wrestling starts at 10 a.m. and there should be a number of local wrestlers that should qualify for state.  The top two to watch are of course Soda Springs Dilworth and Grace’s Kimball but there are plenty of others to keep an eye on.  Jorgensen from Grace, Krupp from Soda Springs, and Frandsen from North Gem all should fare well along with several others.

Girls districts are also taking place this week and will be a two day tournament that will take place Friday and Saturday at Preston.  There is some fierce competition in the district and it is much harder to qualify for state.  That being said, keep an eye on Dodge from Soda Springs as well as Eddins, and Cloud from Grace.  They are a very fun trio of girls to watch as are all the others that will be representing the Cardinals and Grizzlies.

There is plenty of wrestling action to see this week and all of it is fairly local so get out and support these young athletes and cheer them on to state.