A pair of Fremont County wrestlers came home with gold medals over the three days of the All-Class Wyoming Wrestling Championships in Casper.
Shoshoni junior Brody Shepard took the title at 126 pounds, and Wyoming Indian’s Ben Niedo won the first state title in Chiefs’ wrestling history at 285 pounds.
Shepard pinned his way to the championship with four in four matches. He opened with a pin of Moorcroft’s Adam Cuthrell in 1:10, then handled Lingle Ft. Laramie / Southeast Goshen’s Urijah Fish in 1:34. In the semi-finals, he pinned Kipron Guptill of Tongue River 34 seconds into the second period.
Shepard trailed Wyoming Miller of Kemmerer 6-0 after one period, narrowly escaping being pinned. Shepard took the up position in the second round, but Miller escaped for a 7-0 lead.
Shepard scored a takedown on Miller, put him on his back, and pinned him at 3:47 for the state championship.
Ben Niedo scored a pair of quick wins in the opening two matches, pinning Keegan McKee of Wind River in 47 seconds and then Kian Pelham of Big Piney in 25. That set up a familiar semi-final match with fellow teammate Roland Burton. The pair of heavyweights went the distance with Niedo edging Burton 6-2.
In the finals, he pinned Pace Barton in 50 seconds for Wyoming Indian’s first state champion.
The team title rested firmly in Lincoln County, with Kemmerer first with 204 points and Cokeville second with 177.5.
Team Scores: 1 Kemmerer 204, 2. Cokeville 177.5, 3. Moorcroft 164, 4. Greybull/Riverside 149.5, 5. Tongue River 139, 6. Rocky Mountain 127.5, 7. Thermopolis 121.5, 8. Wright 80, 9. Sundance 79.5, 10. Lingle Ft. Laramie / Southeast 63.5, 11. Upton, 12. Wind River 54, 13. Saratoga 53, 14. Big Piney 44, 15. Shoshoni 41, 16. Wyoming Indian 28, 17. Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow 27.5, 18. Niobrara County 23, 19. Hulett 22, 20. Dubois 1
Ben Niedo gets a handshake and his first palce medal at state wrestling in Casper. h/t Carl Cote Ben Niedo, far left, becomes the first state champion wrestler for Wyoming Indian Saturday in Casper. Roland Burton, third from right, becomes the first three-time place for the Chiefs. h/t Carl Cote The referee blows the whistle and slaps the mat as Brody Shepard wins the state title by fall for Shoshoni. h/t Carl Cote Todd Ghormley picks up Ben Niedo after his big win at state in Casper. h/t Carl Cote Ben Niedo and his former coach Todd Ghormley share a moment ringside after Niedo became the first wrestling state champion from Wyoming Indian. h/t Carl Cote Ben Niedo gets hugs from Wyoming Indian staff right after his win at state. h/t Carl Cote The Wyoming Indian coaches corner erupts as Ben Niedo secures the win. h/t Carl Cote Ben Niedo looks to throw his opponent in the heavyweight finals at state. h/t Carl Cote In keeping tradition Brody Shepard gave coach Pehton Truempler a friendly body slam moments after securing the 2A state title. h/t Carl Cote Tryston Truempler encourages Peyton Arnhold before her finals match at state in Casper. h/t Carl Cote Wind River senior Logan Jensen gets a big hug from coach Hunter after his final high school wrestling match. h/t Carl Cote Wyoming Indian head coach Nate Penn, center, cheers on Roland Burton in the 3rd place match. h/t Carl Cote Wind River head coach Kyle Hunter cheers as Logan Jensen wins his 5th palce match by fall. h/t Carl Cote
106: 1. Ace Arnold, SAR, 3. Talon Walker, WR
Third Place – Talon Walker, WR over Dylan Williams, HUL Dec 12-11
113: 1. Cade Thompson, COK, 6. Logan Bacon, SHO
Fifth – Eli Jernigan, KEM over Logan Bacon, SHO Dec 7-3
120: 1. Dylan Myers, THM
126: 1. Brody Shepard, SHO
Championship – Brody Shepard, SHO over Wyatt Miller, KEM Fall 3:47
132: 1. Abel Jimenez, KEM
138: 1. Trey Schneider, UPT
144: 1. Cannon Boren, THM
150: 1. Samuel Ramirez, HEM
157: 1. Loomis Alexander, GRE/RVS
165: 1. Flint Linford, COK
175: 1. Riley DeHaven, MOOR, 6. Isaiah Remacle, WR
Fifth Place – Nikoah /Sorenson, GRE/RVS over Isaiah Remacle, WR Dec 13-6
190: 1. Kashton Walker, COK, 5. Logan Jensen, WR
Fifth Place – Logan Jensen, WR over Truck Lowry, MOOR Fall 2:45
215: 1. Mason Twomey, RM
285: 1. Ben Niedo, WI, 4. Roland Burton, WI
Championship – Ben Niedo, WI over Jace Barton, KEM Fall :50
Third Place – Elyott Gorsuch, MOOR over Roland Burton, WI Fall 4:03