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Hayden, Steamboat teams shine in Middle Park

Joel Reichenberger

— It was only the first wrestling tournament of the season, but the results for Routt County wrestlers were huge and coaches can only hope it’s a sign of things to come.

Competing against a bevy of 4A and 5A schools at Middle Park High School in Granby, both Hayden and Steamboat Springs posted big results.

The Tigers had one tournament champion. Journey Vreeman won at 170 pounds. But it also had second place finishes from Judd Magee at 106 pounds and Taylor Lewis at 182 and third place finishes from Tyler Hockaday at 115 and Tyler Paxton at 138.



Then Kent Miller, Tate Montieth, Tanner Guire, Garrett Camellitti and Hunter Rummel all were within one win of placing.

All that success placed the Tigers second, behind 5A team Cherokee Trail High School. The 5A team Ralston Valley was third, 4A team Eagle Valley was fourth and 5A Bear Creek was fifth.



“The kids wrestled outstanding,” coach Chad Jones said. “It says a lot about having a full team and great leadership. It was a great team effort.”

Steamboat had a strong day, as well, and had two champions. Both Brandon Yeager and Cole Sittig went undefeated. Yeager won the championship at 195 pounds while Sittig won in the heavyweight division, pinning three of his four opponents.

“They wrestled lights out,” coach Shane Yeager said. “They’ve both been close the last couple of years and they just realized it’s now or never. Instead of being scared, they’re on a mission.”

Connor O’Brien, meanwhile, went 4-1 on the day to place third. His only loss came by one point to the eventual champion in the 182-pound weight class.

“Connor wrestled the best tournament of his life,” Yeager said.

All of Steamboat’s 15 wrestlers won at least one match and Dakopta Thevdt and at 120 pounds, Mathew Hansen, at 138, finished with winning records. Dylan Wallace, at 170, Devin Scanlon, at 220, William Anderson, at 132, Colton Crawford, at 126, and Colton Pasternak, at 106, all went 2-2.

It was encouraging, Yeager said, but he did offer a word of caution.

“It’s early,” he said. “We’re just looking forward to this weekend to see what we can continue to do.”

Soroco, meanwhile, also had several strong showings at the tournament. Cody Constine went 2-1, finishing second in the 195-pound bracket after a championship loss to Brandon Yeager. Both Colton Martindale, at 126, and Lane Martindale, at 106, went 2-2 on the day.

To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 970-871-4253, email jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com or follow him on Twitter @JReich9


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