BEAR RIVER HIGH – By Mark Hirschi, Headliner Sports Writer, January 2, 2022
Nine seniors on the Bear River High boys’ wrestling team were honored on Thursday, January 27, for the annual Senior Night event. Kayden Ward, Tyson Hirschi, Daxstin Gines, Zach Gunderson, Dustin Douglas, River Smith, Kaeson Burn, Carson Pond and Ammon Nelson were the seniors honored before the team wrestled against Logan High School for their last home meet of the season.
The night started at 190 pounds with Burn leading off the Bears with a dominating performance as he secured the fall and 6-points for the Bears. Up next was Nelson (215) for the Bears and after a well-wrestled match ended up losing by fall to his opponent from Logan High that tied the match 6-6.
Pond (285) won by forfeit putting the Bears up 12-6. Freshman Daxton Bingham (106) also gained the Bears 6-points as he pinned his opponent. Max Miller (113) then won by forfeit and Ward (120) won by fall giving the Bears a 36-6 lead. Ty Hawkes (126) won by forfeit.
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Hirschi in one of the two competitive matches of the night at 132, was able to win by major decision securing 4-points for the Bears. Braegger Richards (138) made quick work of his opponent winning by fall. Zach Gunderson (144) won by a technical fall which is being up by 15 points, giving the Bears a 51-6 lead.
Kyle Detwiler (150) won by forfeit. Moving up a weight class to get a match for his final match his senior year, Dustin Douglas (157) had the most competitive match of the night but lost 8-5. Sophomore Skyler Yeates (165) also won by fall and River Smith (175) won by forfeit giving the Bears a final 69-9 victory.
The Bears then traveled to South Summit High School for the High-Country Classic on Saturday, January 28, and finished 2nd overall as a team.
Junior Max Miller (113) was the lone Bear River wrestler to make it to the top of the podium on Saturday. Miller faced his teammate Kayden Ward in the finals and took home the win 3-0.
The following Bears were also able to find the podium at the tournament:
· 2nd place: Keaton Smith, Kayden Ward and Kwade Kosoff
· 3rd place: Zach Gunderson, Kyle Detwiler and Carson Pond
· 4th place: Tyson Hirschi and Braegger Richards
· 5th place: Chester Kunzler, Dustin Douglas, Skyler Yeates and Max Anderson
· 6th place: Payton Bowcutt
Next up for the Bear River High boys’ wrestling team is a Region 11 dual with their rival Mountain Crest High on Thursday, February 3, with varsity set to begin at 7 p.m.
Watch it livestreaming, courtesy of Bear River Live, on the link below.
Photos by Melanie Smith
