Saratoga High School senior Thatcher Spiering stands on the champion's podium with the belt he earned in the 152 pound weight class last weekend at the Ron Thon Battle for the Belt.
Thatcher Spiering took first place at Ron Thon over the weekend, a feat which head coach Jared Mason described as "almost shocking."
It is not too surprising because Spiering does everything a champion should as far as extra conditioning, wrestling camps, hard workouts and dedication to practice, Mason said.
The huge, well-earned victory comes as a shock because of the position of the Panthers among the others at Ron Thon. Approximately 300 wrestlers show up to the event from 42 schools across Wyoming, and Spiering took first place against the best, even from 4A schools.
"He's not one to be bragging so I'll brag for him," Mason said of the Saratoga High School senior, who is the only one of his team to have ever placed at this event. The path to the championship was not easy, and the first place match was won in overtime, 3-1.
Mason said the extra practice and conditioning made the real difference for Spiering to take the belt, as the final overtime match required physicality and endurance in order to make it through to the end with high caliber performance.
The championship belt is seen as a victory for the whole team, Mason said, because it was so unlikely for a 1A/2A school to take the top spot on the block. It has shown the other boys that they too can rank among the best, even if they are from a small school.
The rest of the grapplers competed well against the tough classes, all of which had several ranked wrestlers. Jaxon King and Bradley Bifano had winning records, a feat in the face of stacked competition. King was knocked out during a very tough, 5-3 overtime match in a "loaded weight class," Mason said.
At this point in the season, Mason said taking care of the boys' health is everything. Thomas Ingraham had a tough time over the weekend, Mason said, as he has been sick for some time now. Daynon Mowry suffered a concussion at Ron Thon and had to be taken out through this upcoming weekend but should recover for regionals, Mason said.
This weekend the boys will be at the Carbon County Invite in Hanna, which is a lot of 2A and 3A competition. Mason said it is a good final invite of the season before regionals, and the grapplers have to work to mentally prepare and keep their physicality up. The invite begins in Hanna at 3 p.m. on Friday.
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