Steamboat Pilot & Today

Oak Creek — Thursday’s wrestling triangular at Soroco High School was often an exercise in forfeiture, Soroco, Steamboat Springs and West Grand high school wrestlers rarely matching up in weight classes for actual matches.

When they did butt heads, however, the action was fierce, and by the narrowest of margins — both in the matches won and in the final score — the Sailors came away on top of the heap.

“We got some good matches and had some good wins,” Steamboat coach Shane Yeager said.

Steamboat beat West Grand, 36-12, Dane Koepfer pinning the Mustangs’ Austin Faeth for the only actual win in the match. The Sailors then edged Soroco, 29-28, winning via a tiebreaker that went to the eighth criteria in the rulebook.

The key match of that contest was at 140 pounds, where sophomores Casey Williams, of Steamboat, and Josh Baker, of Soroco, battled through one of the best matches of the night.

Williams took control early and led 6-2 at one point. Baker roared back and tied the match. Williams rebounded and scored a reverse to take a two-point lead. He added three points with a near fall as time expired, winning, 11-6.

“I thought about what I had to do with the time I had left,” Williams said. “I really wanted to win. I focused and didn’t freak out.”

Nathan Parks and Connor O’Brien also picked up wins for Steamboat. Soroco’s Cody Constine squeaked past Brandon Yeager in overtime to win for the Rams at 171 pounds.

Koepfer, O’Brien, Williams and Nick Rossman won exhibition matches against Steamboat.

Soroco’s Josh Baker and Jaden Baker both won exhibition against West Grand, a dual the Rams took 42-18.

“It was a good evening, fun and good for the kids to wrestle here,” Soroco coach Jay Whaley said. “Everyone did good.”