Carson, Blevins win state championships

Andrew Towne
Posted 3/4/20

CASPER – The Southeast High School wrestling team capped off a historic weekend with senior Tate Carson and junior Brock Blevins winning individual state titles at the Wyoming State Wrestling Championships on Saturday afternoon at the Casper Events Center.

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Carson, Blevins win state championships

Posted

CASPER – The Southeast High School wrestling team capped off a historic weekend with senior Tate Carson and junior Brock Blevins winning individual state titles at the Wyoming State Wrestling Championships on Saturday afternoon at the Casper Events Center.

The pair of individual championships were the first for Southeast since 2008, and the fifth-place finish tied the schools best finish at state, also coming in 2008.

“We could have had one more pin anywhere in the tournament and we could have won ourselves a trophy,” Cyclone coach Mark Bullington said. “That’s the way it goes. That’s why you come to compete.”

At 113 pounds, Blevins pinned his way to the championship, defeating Trevin Beckman, of Rocky Mountain, Mont Haslem, of Kemmerer, and Sean Buckmiller, of Moorcroft to reach the championship.

In Blevins’ final bout of the weekend, he avoided a takedown in the final seconds to secure a 7-5 victory over Kaleb Fila, of Big Piney, to claim an individual state title.

“I knew I had to just get away from him so he couldn’t get a takedown on me,” Blevins said. “He got a shot and got up on me. I knew I had to get out of bounds.”

The Southeast junior was able to do just that to hold on for the win.

Blevins finished the season with a 36-7 record and already has his eyes set on defending his title next season.

“I’m very happy. Very happy to have family and friends here supporting me in the finals,” Blevins said. “I’ve been working a very long time to get this. Last year I feel short, but this year, I ended up getting it.”

In the 195-pound bracket, Carson also pinned his way to the championship with wins over Joseph Bora, of Hanna-Elk Mountain, Gabe Cash, of Shoshoni, and Tate Clutter, of Greybull-Riverside.

In the championship match, Carson tallied four take downs to score an 8-4 win over Wind River’s Colton Befus.

“I knew coming in I was the better wrester,” Carson said. “He was a lot stronger than I am, but I knew if I stayed with my stuff and don’t let him have control, I was going to beat him with my feet.”

The state title capped off Carson’s career as a Cyclone. He finished the 2019-20 season with a 38-11 record.

“It’s amazing. I’ve been doing this for 15 years. It’s the greatest feeling ever,” he said. “It wasn’t the season I was looking for at the start. I started slow. I lost a lot of matches I shouldn’t have, but I finished on top.”

At 285 pounds, Will Baker also reached the championship round for the Cyclones.

After an opening round bye, Baker scored pins over Ethan Dalin, of Greybull-Riverside, and Remington Ferree, of Thermopolis to reach the title bout.

Trailing 14-2 in the third period, Baker was pinned by Lovell’s Coy Trainor, the defending 2A heavyweight champion.

“(Trainor) was tough.Very athletic, big, strong senior. He had been there before,” Bullington said. “Will never quit. The kid knew he was in a match. The score wasn’t indicative of how he wrestled.”

Grant Logsdon and Greg Logsdon also placed for the Cyclones on Saturday.

At 106 pounds, Grant Logsdon went 4-2, reaching the third-place match. He suffered his first loss in the quarterfinal round but rebounded with a pair of pins and a major decision to reach the third-place match.

In his final bout, Grant was pinned by cross-county rival Lingle-Fort Laramie’s Joel Costello to finish fourth.

At 138 pounds, Greg Logsdon finished sixth, getting pinned by Shoshoni’s Pehton Truempler in the fifth-place match.

On Friday, Greg opened the weekend with a pin of Zack Cook, of Tongue River, recording his 100th win of his career. Greg went on to win two more matches on the weekend on Saturday morning.

Kaden Brothwell went 2-2, while Ryan Clapper recorded a win for the Cyclones.

“We had a good turnout,” Bullington said. “The kids wrestled well.”

As a team, Southeast finished fifth with 117.5 points. Moorcroft won the team title with 203.5 points, while Lovell was second with 137 points. Shoshoni was third and Cokeville fourth.