BIG PINEY – The Puncher wrestling team competed at Mountain View on Tuesday, Feb. 9, and Kemmerer on Feb. 11.

At Mountain View, officials decided to do a scramble instead of a duel to get additional matches in. The match was an up-and-down night for us. We saw some positive things that we worked on in practice on Monday. It was great to see that we were not giving free releases, but getting returns instead.

We also took a step back in other areas, and Mountain View gave us an idea of the things we need to work on this week.

On Thursday, the team wrestled Kemmerer and lost the duel, 66-18. But I felt we wrestled the best that we have all year. It was a great way to finish up the season on a positive note. We were competitive in most matches against a very solid team. Kemmerer is highly ranked in the 2A Conference, and I loved how well we went after them.

Sophomore Brandon Jones had an amazing week of wrestling. He just keeps getting better and better. The coaches are excited to see what he can do this week at Quads. I love his gas tank and how deep he can go in matches.

It was good to see sophomore Bradley Rodda back on the mat for us this week. He is still recovering from illness, but fought hard in his two matches.

Sophomore Zoey Guerrero had a very solid week of wrestling as well. I love how much she works on her wrestling and how much fun she is having. She never backs down and is always willing to go the extra mile.

Freshman Zach Murphy had a strong week of wrestling as well. For a freshman in the upper weights, he just keeps improving each and every week.

Senior Braxton Smith had probably the best week of wrestling for the Punchers. He won all of his matches and is looking very good going into Quads.

On Saturday, Feb. 20, Big Piney hosts the 2A Regional Quad. Wrestling starts at 11 a.m. Big Piney will compete against Kemmerer, Cokeville, Dubois, Wind River and Wyoming Indian High School. The top four from regionals will qualify for State.

The Punchers will be pushing this week to get everyone into that top four or to perform our best in front of the home crowd.