RICHFIELD – The Gunnison Bulldogs placed four wrestlers in the top at the 2A state finals at the Sevier Valley Center in Richfield last weekend.
Will Wescott, a senior, placed fourth in the 215-pound weight class. Wescott defeated by pin Davis Bracken of Enterprise and Cael Day also of Enterprise, but came up short in the semifinals after a hard-fought battle with Callen Burke of San Juan.
Senior Tray Cox, wrestling in the 157-pound weight class, also placed fourth. Cox had a fight to get into placing after losing his first match of the tournament to Tyler Winn of San Juan. Cox battled his way back through the consolation side of the bracket, winning three of his next four matches but losing in the third-place match to Brayden Evans of Beaver.
In the 144-pound weight class, Tezlin Winn, also a senior, placed fifth overall. Winn struggled throughout the season with some injuries but was happy to end up on the podium his senior year. Winn ended his high school wrestling career with a victory over Kelton Langston from Beaver by pinning him in 1:03.
The final Bulldog to reach the state podium was 175-pound wrestler and senior Greg Leifting, who placed sixth. Leifting lost a tough match in the quarterfinals to Millard’s Josh Whitaker, who went on to wrestle in the finals of their weight class. Leifting battled his way back up through the consolations, earning his state placement.
Overall, the Bulldogs placed ninth in 2A with 71 combined team points. The Millard Eagles wrestlers took the team trophy back to Fillmore with an outstanding 308.5 team points.