Success follows GRHS in 2019

Green River High School athletics experienced seasons of success and heartbreak throughout 2019. Regardless of the records, athletes gave it their all regardless of the sport they played.

Boys swimming

The Wolves swimming team continued to build off of previous successes in 2019, with five swimmers earning all-state honors at the end of the 2019 season. Overall, the team finished fifth at State, but had first and second place finishes in both individual and relay events. Senior Michael Richmond took first in the 200-yard freestyle and the 100-yard butterfly. Senior Dean Leon took second in the 500-yard freestyle, while sophomore Jason Richmond took second in the 100-yard breaststroke and the 200-yard individual medley. The Richmond brothers was on the 200-yard medley relay team, joining junior Trevor Moser and senior Gabe Davis in earning second in the event.

"I don't know that I could ask for much better," head coach Colleen Seiloff said after the state meet in February.

Wrestling

The Wolves wrestling program continued to show its strength to teams throughout the region and earned second place at State. The Wolves were successful at the Thoman tournament, earning second place. The team also took second at Regionals, with four champions crowned at the event. They were Clayson Mele at 106 pounds, Dominic Matrinez at 113 pounds, Kade Flores at 120 pounds and Payton Tucker at 182 pounds. At State, three Wolves earned championships at the event. Mele placed first at 106 pounds, Martinez took first at 113 and Tucker took first at 182 pounds.

"They really came together," head coach Josh Wisniewski said about his team after State.

Girls basketball

The Lady Wolves continued to shine throughout the 2019 basketball season. While the team stumbled early at State, they finished strong by winning every game in their consolation bracket. According to head coach Rick Carroll, it was the first time the girls won a game at state since the 2007 season. The girls took a first-game loss to Thunder Basin in a 65-49 showing that Carroll chalked up to a single bad quarter for the Lady Wolves.

While Thunder Basin went on to win State, the Lady Wolves beat Cheyenne Central 49-38 and Rock Springs Lady Tigers 44-36.

"I think the last two weekends they played their best basketball of the year," Carroll said about his team's performance at Regionals and State.

Boys basketball

Head coach Laurie Ivie and her coaching staff have worked hard to build the Wolves over the past few years. The Wolves have come a long way from a team with a multi-season losing streak and made their first State basketball tournament appearance since 2009 this year. The Wolves entered the tournament seeded No. 2 and faced the No. 3 seed Gillette Camels. The game didn't end in the Wolves' favor, with the team taking a 63-54 loss. The Wolves were then pitted against the Evanston Red Devils in their fourth meeting of the year. Evanston had won two of their previous games, with the Wolves earning a victory during the semifinals at Regionals. Unfortunately for the Wolves, the Red Devils ended the Wolves' State tournament appearance with a 58-44 win over Green River.

Outdoor track

The Wolves and Lady Wolves continued to improve throughout the outdoor track season. A team of five boys and five girls qualified for the State track meet at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper. Many of the competitors set personal best records at the event. At the competition, senior Erika Wilson finished fourth in the high jump with a distance of 5-2. Senior Alex Marius took eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 42-2.75. Senior Marcos Valerio took seventh in the 800 meters with a personal best time of 2:03.23.

Boys Soccer

Despite a decent season, the Wolves soccer team ended the State tournament in Jackson winless. The Wolves lost to Cheyenne East 2-1 and took their second loss to Kelly Walsh 2-0. The boys had a strong showing throughout the season, taking second at Regionals. The tournament forced them into a do-or-die situation against the Rock Springs Tigers, where the loser would have been excluded from a State appearance. Defeating to Tigers 5-0, the boys took on Kelly Walsh and earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory over the team before taking on Star Valley in the championship. The game ended in a tie, forcing a shootout between the two teams. The Wolves lost that shootout 3-2. Three players received All-Conference honors: Haden Counts, Erik Gwaltney, and Chase Stoker, while Gwaltney and Stoeger were listed as All State.

Girls Soccer

The Lady Wolves' soccer season ended at the Regional tournament this year. The Lady Wolves first game at Regionals dictated if they or Jackson would make it to State. The Lady Wolves came up short in an emotional 3-2 loss.

"It didn't go our way," head coach Tracy Wyant said. "It wasn't for lack of effort."

Wyant said if the game had gone into overtime, she thinks the Lady wolves would have been able to rally back, but a successful penalty kick awarded to Jackson gave the Lady Broncs the advantage.

Two Lady Wolves were named All Conference for their work throughout the season. They were Raena Finch and Michaelee Wisniewski.

Football

The Wolves had a rough year on the gridiron. The varsity football team finished the season 2-6, only winning against Torrington and Evanston. The Wolves were unable to compete in the playoffs this year. Throughout the season, the Wolves were unable to score more than two touchdowns in a game, with the team only earning 14 points in three games. A 26-14 loss against the Powell Panthers sealed the deal on the Wolves season, with their final game of the season taking place against the Cody Broncs at home a week later. The team had three All Conference honorees and two All State selections. The All Conference selections were Dylan Taylor, Thomas Harvey and Payton Tucker, while Harvey and Tucker were named All State.

Girls Swimming

The Lady Wolves took second at State in their last season competing in the 4A division.

"Everybody was excited about getting second," head coach Colleen Seiloff said. "We knew we'd have to work hard at it to beat Cheyenne Central and Campbell County."

GRHS ended the meet with 208 points, coming behind a dominating Laramie team that scored 348 points. Individually, Lilly Munoz, Lauren Jensen and Hailey Uhrig earned All State honors. Uhrig finished second in the 100-yard breaststroke, Jensen took third in the 100-yard backstroke, and Munoz took third in the 100-yard breaststroke. The team of Jensen, Uhrig, Munoz and Lauren Lee took second in the 200-yard medley relay, earning Lee All State Honors; while the team of Munoz, Kaycee Olsen, Alexa Lauze and Sydni Sanders took third in the 200-yard freestyle relay, which earned Lauze and Sanders All State recognition.

Tennis

The Green River High School tennis team faced stiff competition from both other teams and the weather at State this year. The boys team took 10th while the girls finished fifth this year in a competition that moved to indoor courts as a result of heavy rain. Prior to State, the team took second at Regionals, with head coach Phil Harder recognizing the effort many players made at the competition and throughout the season.

"Regionals played out like I thought it would based on our season results," Harder said.

All Conference honors were awarded to Connor Friel, Elliott Potter, JonTy Leininger, Camden Nelson, Domenick Kunkle, Megan Counts, Sydney Beutel, and Alicia Harrison. Harder also received his fifth south conference coach of the year award for his work with the Lady Wolves.

Volleyball

The Lady Wolves' season ended after Regionals this year. Despite growth and improvement shown throughout the year, they were unable to make an appearance at State.

"All 14 in that locker room were pretty heartbroken," head volleyball coach Rikki Shantz said. "We wanted more for ourselves."

The tournament started with a match against the Rock Springs Lady Tigers, which ended in three sets.

A second match against Cody the next day ended in the Lady Wolves' favor after five sets, but the third match against Riverton ended any hope the Lady Wolves had of making it to State. They lost in three sets.

Madelyn Heiser was named All Conference at the end of the season.