Saratoga’s grapplers place well at their home meet, holding their own against other in the state
Saratoga wrestling hosted the Carbon County Invite last weekend with eleven teams competing. Coach Rusty Arnold felt that the team overall wrestled, ‘pretty well. We made some stupid mistakes and lost some matches we shouldn’t have, but we also won some tough ones.’ The wrestling season is coming down to its final two weeks, as the Panthers head to Tongue River this weekend for Regionals.
Saratoga’s two seniors, Tuker Carricato and Douglass Campbell were recognized on Friday night for their team contributions, and both of them made it to finals in their respective weight classes.
The Panthers currently have three athletes ranked in the top four in the state by wyowrestling.com. Those wrestlers are Ace Arnold who is #4 at 106 pounds, Tuker Carricato ranked #2 at 132 pounds, and Allyster Ingraham, ranked #3 at 144 pounds. All three of those wrestlers placed in the tournament, and Saratoga had another three make it to the podium.
106 pound Ace Arnold beat Cantu from Moorcroft by fall, then won by decision over #3 ranked Sammie Cyrus of Dubois. Arnold’s match in the finals was versus Big Piney’s #1 ranked Caleb Brown, where he lost by fall. Ace placed second.
Anthony Campbell placed sixth at 120, losing in the quarterfinals to Moorcroft’s Haskell and then dropping another decision to Farrington from Big Piney. Campbell had an opportunity for redemption in the 5th place match, but Haskell hit a last-second switch to beat Campbell by points.
Senior Tuker Carricato had three falls as he tore his way through the 126 pound bracket. He first stuck Cantu (Moorcroft), followed by Knigge (Shoshoni), and finally Big Piney’s Clifford, to secure the top spot on the podium.
Ben Miller also wrestled in the 126 pound bracket. He lost to Wyoming Indian’s Aiden Miller in the quarterfinals and then was defeated by Cuthrell (Moorcroft).
Panther Chase Brown began his day at 132 facing Summers from Moorcroft. Brown lost that match by fall before succumbing in his next battle against Cokeville’s Pope. Chase fought well in his rematch against Summers, but eventually lost and was awarded 6th place on the day.
138 pounder Allyster Ingraham began the Invite by pinning Snyder from Wind River before losing to Moorcroft’s Cook in the semifinal. Ingraham next had to compete against his fellow Panther Skyler Wood, and his victory set up a battle for 3rd place versus Horn (Wind River), whom he pinned.
Skyler Wood also represented SMHS at 138 pounds and took 6th place. Wood initially fell to Horn (Wind River), but came back with a decision victory against Fear (Big Piney). Skyler lost his next two matches by fall, first to teammate Ingraham, then to Gleim from Dubois.
Douglass Campbell, the other Saratoga senior, began his tournament by pinning Ellis from Wind River in 19 seconds. Campbell took advantage of a mistake by Truck Lowry (Moorcroft) for his second win. He had to face #2 state ranked Micah Petersen in the finals and lost by technical fall for second place at 157 pounds.
215 pounder Atom Lindsey won his first match by medical forfeit. He then faced Moorcroft’s Oliver Gorsuch in the finals, but lost by fall for a second place finish.
The coaching staff has no intention of letting up as the season comes to a close, and the team should expect to train hard until the final practice. ‘My main goal as a coach is to help make great people and whether we win or lose, to do it with pride and know we did everything we could to have the best outcome possible,’ according to Arnold.
This sentiment was driven home by the news that Jacob Fluty had passed in an accident on Friday. The entire gymnasium held a moment of silence in remembrance before wrestling started Saturday morning. Jake had close ties to the coaching staff, and Coach Arnold stated, ‘I would like to emphasize to them (the boys) that wrestling isn’t everything. We all want to do great, but that’s not the most important thing in life. We lost a very close friend over the weekend and it hit very hard for me, and really brings reality back in check. I want me, my coaches, and athletes to embrace life and be thankful for the moments we get here with our family and friends.’
Team, family, and friends is the mindset as the squad gear up for the final two tournaments. The state tournament has been the ultimate goal for the team all season, and they will hit the mat hard in preparation for the big event.
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