Scroll Down for a Photo Gallery from the Tournament. PHOTOS BY JANET ERICKSON-
The Star Valley Braves battled at the 4A West Regionals in Riverton this past Friday. As a one-day tournament, the day is a long one with a 12-hour day for some. The Braves finished with 195.5 team points, putting them fourth in a fairly close race at the top of the conference. Natrona won the day with 225.5 with Green River second at 208. Kelly Walsh was third with 204.
Individually, the Braves got regional championships from both Tel Parry (144) and Caleb Lawrence (120), while Kimball Parry (132) and Owen Parry made the finals and placed second. Cooper Sessions (113) and Kolbe Merritt (150) earned third-place finishes. A total of 16 Star Valley wrestlers punched their ticket to this weekend’s state tournament.
“It was tight like we thought it would be,” said head coach Eddie Clark. “We’re young and it showed. But it was a balanced region and the points were spread out. Thunder Basin and East are on top on the other side and there are really six teams vying for four trophies this weekend.”
The Braves have fought to overcome injuries all season long but were still able to qualify a good number of wrestlers.
“We defaulted some kids and we were hurt but we did well though and qualified as many as we did a year ago,” Clark added. “When you consider that we’re young that’s pretty good.”
The regional tournament also turned out to be a very tough day.
“For example there are six wrestlers ranked at 165 in the state and five of them are on our side,” Clark explained. “Some of the weights are just loaded. This was the tougher regional by a long shot. It sets up Thunder and East a little better for state but we’ll go see what we can do.”
Parry’s Quest for Four
There’s not a wrestling program in Wyoming with a more illustrious history than Star Valley High School. A total of 26 team championships between 1968 and 2022 intermixed with more state placers than any other program in the state. Yet, no wrestler has ever been a four-time state champion for Star Valley. That could change this weekend as Tel Parry tries to become the first. He has lost just one match this season and claimed titles at the Braves Brawl, the Tiger-Grizz, the Ron Thon as well as this last weekend’s regionals. Currently he is on a short list of three-time state champs for Star Valley that includes Dallas Warren (1973-75), Todd Jensen (1980-82) and Nick Aullman (1995-97). A list that his younger brother Kimball could join as well this weekend after winning as both a freshman and a sophomore. Including the aforementioned champs, there are a total of just 20 SVHS wrestlers who have won two titles in their career. This weekend, Tel Parry will make the attempt to be on a list of just one name.
4A West Regionals (@ Riverton)
Natrona County 225.5
Green River 208
Kelly Walsh 204
Star Valley 195.5
Evanston 108
Rock Springs 104.5
Riverton 79
Jackson 34
SVHS Regional Placers
113 Cooper Sessions (3rd)
120 Caleb Lawrence (1st)
132 Max Jirak (5th)
132 Kimball Parry (2nd)
138 Owen Parry (2nd)
138 Bridger Putnam (8th)
144 Tel Parry (1st)
144 Boone Foreman (8th)
150 Kolbe Merritt (3rd)
150 Calvin Green (5th)
157 Hazen Hess (4th)
165 Cael Hoopes (4th)
175 Tucker Hendricks (6th)
175 Caleb Erickson (4th)
190 Carson Clapp (5th)
215 Elijah Matautia (2nd)
