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Hayden sweeps Routt County wrestling duals

Joel Reichenberger

— Last time we saw Ryan Domson on a wrestling mat, he was making it look fairly easy, charging to fourth place in the 182-pound bracket at the Class 2A state wrestling tournament in Denver.

On Thursday, things didn’t look quite so easy for the Hayden High School senior, but he could only smile after he emerged from a triangular meet with Soroco and Steamboat Springs with a pair of victories.

“I’m not in as good of shape as I thought I was,” he said.



The action left him wheezing, but he had enough to pick up his first two victories of the season. He beat Steamboat’s Brandon Yeager in a tough, close match, 4-2, then beat Soroco’s Cody Constine in an exhibition match.

Domson helped lead the way Thursday as Hayden won both ends of its doubleheader. The Tigers took down Steamboat, 39-15, then Soroco, 54-15.



“I’m very proud of the way they wrestled at home. They came out and showed whose house this is,” Hayden coach Chad Jones said.

The Tigers also got good performances from a pack of sophomores. Kent Miller, at 132 pounds, won twice with one pin and an 11-4 victory against Soroco’s Dillon Koler in another exhibition match. Tanner Guire, meanwhile, also had two wins. He wrestled at 113 pounds and pinned both of his opponents.

“I’m pretty happy,” Guire said.

He’s hoping to earn his first trip to state.

“I think I can go,” he said. “I’ve gotten out of my head, and I’m just wrestling.”

Hayden also got a win from Taylor Lewis at 170 pounds.

Steamboat, meanwhile, won the day’s other matchup, beating Soroco, 36-24. The only contested match in that head-to-head was at 113 pounds, where the Rams’ Andrew Schupner beat Alex Woodfield.

Steamboat’s Nathan Parks picked up a win against Hayden’s Tate Montieth in one of the most exciting matches of the night. Parks maintained a slim lead in a back-and-forth affair, eventually winning, 10-8.

Dane Koepfer also got a win, beating Hayden’s Colton Jensen at 145 pounds, and an exhibition match victory. Steamboat also got another exhibition match victory from Steven Baumgartner.

The Sailors were without a trio of wrestlers, all of whom are expected back when the team next takes the mat, in about 10 days at the regional tournament.

“Going into regionals, we have quite a bit of confidence,” Steamboat coach Shane Yeager said. “We have a few little things here and there we have to put together.”

Soroco, meanwhile, had only four of its six wrestlers. It picked up a victory at 145 pounds against Hayden from Dillon Koler and exhibition match victories from Cody Constine and Colton Martindale.

Soroco will compete along with Hayden this weekend at a duals meet in Meeker before next week’s regional meet.

“We’re just going for some more matches,” Soroco coach Jay Whaley said. “We have a lot to improve on before we head to regionals if anyone is going to make it to state.”

To reach Joel Reichenberger, call 970-871-4253 or email jreichenberger@SteamboatToday.com


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