It was a tight dual match, as all wrestling rivalries should be, Thursday night in Lander with the host Tigers edging the visiting Riverton Wolverines 39-33.
“It was a great match,” Lander head wrestling coach Eric Watson said.
The Tigers won eight of the 11 varsity matches, but Riverton picked up 18 points via forfeit to keep it close on the scoreboard.
There were a couple of outstanding matches. Perhaps the best came at 165 pounds where Lander’s Sawyer Nachazel narrowly edged Travis Hurtado of Riverton by a single point 5-4.
At 144 Wyatt Holloway added three points to the Tiger total with an entertaining 13-8 decision over the Wolverine’s Frankie Strickland.
The wildest match of the night, full of takedowns, near falls, and reverses, came with a combined 34 points in the 132-pound weight class. Henry Quiver took a 22-12 decision over Riverton’s Levi Gale. Gale moved up in weight to create the match.
Earlier in the week, Lander beat Wind River 45-30 in a dual but fell to Greybull/Riverside 39-36. The Lady Cougars edged the Lady Tigers 33-30.
The Tigers and Wolverines are idle the remainder of the weekend as regional tournaments approach.
Riverton hosts the Class 4-A West tournament beginning next Friday, while Lander travels to Cody for the Class 3-A West.
LANDER 39 – RIVERTON 33
106: Zander Weliever, RIV Forfeit
113: Ty McWilliams, LAN over Carrett Withrow, RIV Fall
120: Braden Gromley, LAN over Liam Winters, RIV Technical Fall 17-1
126: Noah Irvine, LAN over Pryce Wiginton, RIV Fall
132: Henry Quiver, LAN over Levi Gale, RIV Major Decision 22-12
138: Jayden Ohlheiser, RIV over Ryan Small, LAN Decision 3-0
144: Wyatt Holloway, LAN over Frankie Strickland, RIV Decision 13-8
150: Devan Clawson, RIV over McCoy Miley, LAN Fall
157: Dennis Thornock, RIV Forfeit
165: Sawyer Nachazel, LAN over Travis Hurtado, RIV Decision 5-4
175: Weston McLaughlin, RIV Forfeit
190: Cody West, LAN over Daniel Lemley, RIV Fall
215: Taj Prine, LAN over Ayden Sanchez, RIV Fall
285: Daniel Clawson, RIV over Hayden St. Clair, LAN Fall