Four Cheyenne wrestlers win Charlie Lake Invite titles

Dec. 9—CHEYENNE — Trinity Warner's head shake made it abundantly clear she disagreed with the coach who told her to start the third period of the Charlie Lake Invitational girls 100-pound championship on bottom.

Having Kelly Walsh's Michelle Henman slam her back to the mat on her first attempt to clear bottom only reinforced Warner's thoughts on the choice.

The Cheyenne South junior's next attempt to cut into Henman's two-point lead showed why her coaches wanted her to take bottom. Warner evened the score with a reversal just 18 seconds into the final period and turned that into a pin at the 4-minute, 48-second mark.

"I was nervous that I was going to put myself in a bad position and make a mistake that was going to cost me my shot to get first," Warner said of her reluctance to start the third. "I wanted to stay on my feet, work my technique and get a shot.

"I came really close to giving up when she threw me back down, but I told myself I had people here that I needed to make proud. I knew I had to push myself to keep going and show how badly I wanted to win."

Warner was one of four Capital City wrestlers to take home titles from the Charlie Lake Invitational late Saturday night at Storey Gym.

Cheyenne East freshman Kozad Porter turned a 5-2 first-period deficit into a 13-5 major decision victory over Valley, Colorado, senior Cristian Corral at 132 pounds. Porter led 8-5 heading into the third period after notching a pair of three-point near-falls. He added a reversal and another three-point back exposure in the third.

"I wrestled my match, got on top and worked what I was good at," Porter said. "I'm really good on top. I know that's where I'm strong and can score a lot of points."

East junior Liam Fox caught Laramie senior Dakota Ledford in a bad position in the third period and took the 157-pound championship by pin in 5:46. Fox trailed that bout 2-1 heading into the second period. He pulled ahead 4-2 with a three-point near-fall midway through the second.

Fox — a two time Class 4A state champion — pushed his lead to 7-2 with a three-point near-fall early in the third. Ledford cut the lead to 7-4 with a reversal before Fox got a reversal of his own to go up 9-4.

"I rode him out the whole second period, so I felt super comfortable on top," Fox said. "I had the choice in the third period and decided to go back where I was comfortable. ... It got to the point he was trying to get whatever points he could and I just caught him."

Fox advanced to the final with a 3-2 win over Banks Norby of Poudre High in Fort Collins, Colorado. Fox trailed 1-0 heading into the third period. He scored an early escape and then a takedown with 11 seconds remaining to pull ahead.

"That match was really satisfying and probably my favorite of the tournament because (Norby) beat me here last year," Fox said. "That one felt really good."

A shoulder injury he suffered during practice was supposed to keep East senior 285-pounder Charlie Green off the mat this weekend. Instead, Green capped a 3-0 day by pinning senior Landon Hanes of Sidney, Nebraska, in 1:09.

Green used his quickness to scramble behind Hanes for a 2-0 lead midway through the opening frame. He pulled Hanes to his back and seconds later and finished with a pin.

"I can usually get around guys for points because they're a lot slower," Green said. "He wasn't posting, so I was able to snap him back. That's something my coaches have always done to me, and I was able to use it here."

East finished the day as boys runners-up with 175.5 points. Windsor, Colorado, took the title with 184 points. Cheyenne Central was 12th (74 points), Cheyenne South took 23rd (14) and Burns-Pine Bluffs was 24th (13).

East sophomore Sammy Sanchez (113 pounds) and senior Colby Olson (190) also placed second. Central senior Davin Mattimoe was the runner-up at 215 pounds.

Kelly Walsh won the girls team title (147 points), while East was fourth (108) and Central fifth (88.5). Central seniors Kaiana Garlough (120 pounds) and Meadow King (145) both took second place. East sophomore Kaelyn Ronnau (155) and senior Gracin Goff (235) were both runners-up.

Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on X at @jjohnke.