Donny Proffit (145) won his fourth state title for the Rangers last weekend. 

Kemmerer Ranger wrestlers Donny Proffit (145), Hayden Walker (195), Dawson Schramm (132) and Colter Julian (126) were champions at the 2A state tournament in Casper last weekend. The Rangers team finished second at state. Proffit is now a four-time champ, and Walker had an undefeated season.

The Kemmerer Rangers earned second place at the 2A state wrestling tournament in Casper on Saturday, Feb. 23.  The Rangers are coached by Darrell Bullington and Cody Hartung.

An action-packed season of hard work paid off for the Kemmerer Rangers wrestling team.

Kemmerer took second place at the 2A state wrestling tournament in Casper last weekend, the best showing by a Ranger team in 30 years. Kemmerer scored 181 points at state, just barely falling to Moorcroft, who took the 2A state title with 185 points. Glenrock came in 3rd place with 155 points.

Four Ranger wrestlers won their weight classes at state: Colter Julian, Dawson Schramm, Donny Proffit and Hayden Walker.

Junior Colter Julian (126) earned his first state title in Casper last weekend. He scored 25 points for the Rangers. Julian was 38-11 this season. At state, Julian won by technical fall over Big Piney’s Creeden Schell. In the quarterfinal, Julian won by fall (1:11) over Wright’s Kaden Tescher. He won by decision over Lovell’s Quinton Hecker in the semifinal, then won by decision over Thermopolis wrestler Wyatt McDermott to claim the state title. Julian was also named to the 2A All-State list.

Junior Dawson Schramm (132) earned his third state title. Schramm scored 29 team points for the Rangers, and was 47-6 this season. Schramm won by fall (1:01) over Chase White from Thermopolis. In the quarterfinal, Schramm won by fall (:29) over Tongue River’s James McKenzie. In the semifinal, Schramm won by major decision over Moorcroft’s Caleb Cook. Schramm won by fall (1:46) over Glenrock’s Brysen Collier to win another state title. Schramm’s performance earned him a third All-State recognition.

Colter Julian (126) won his weight class at the 2A state wrestling tournament last weekend. 

Dawson Schramm (132) won a state title for the third time. 

Senior Donny Proffit (145) earned his fourth state title. Proffit scored 29 team points for the Rangers, and was 50-4 this season. Proffit won by fall (:20) over Tongue River’s Adam Stainbrook. In the quarterfinal, Proffit won by fall (:24) over Sundance’s Oakley Viergets. In the semifinal match, Proffit faced off against Zane Rising from Lingle-Ft. Laramie and won by fall (:27). Proffit won by major decision over Shoshoni’s Tryston Truempler to win his fourth state title and cap off an incredible wrestling career for the Rangers. Proffit was named All-State for the fourth year in a row, and is the first wrestler from Kemmerer ever to earn four state titles.

Senior Hayden Walker (195) earned his third state title in Casper last weekend — the perfect finish to a 46-0 undefeated season. Walker scored 29.5 points for the Rangers at state, and was the only wrestler in Wyoming to finish undefeated this season. Walker won by fall (:56) over David Cruz from Hanna Elk Mountain. In the quarterfinal, Walker won by fall (:22) over Saratoga’s Tristan Gray. Walker won by fall (:59) over Wind River’s Owen McAdams in the semifinal match. Walker faced off against Moorcroft’s Parker Schlater in the championship match and won by technical fall to claim the state title. Walker earned his third All-State recognition.

Donny Proffit and dad Clint celebrate after Donny won the 145 weight class and earned his fourth state title. (COURTESY PHOTO /  Mike Moore / Douglas Budget)

Conner Vickrey, just a freshman on the Ranger team, earned 5th place in the 113 weight class and scored 13 points for Kemmerer. Vickrey was 4-2 at state, beating Moorcroft’s Jacob Anderson, Saratoga’s Jerry Everett, Big Piney’s Arie Kranendonk and Sundance’s Myles Stefanich. Vickrey was 34-18 this season.

Senior Carson Carlson earned third place in the 138 class and scored 20 points for Kemmerer. He finished the season with a 34-14 record. Carlson won by fall over Glenrock’s Adrian Maas, Sundance’s Titus Schelling and Saratoga’s Andrew Everett, and lost to Moorcroft’s Parker Seeley. In the third place match, Carlson won by decision over Rocky Mountain’s Travis Lytle.

Senior Matt Jones earned fifth place at state in the 138 class. He finished the season with a 25-14 record. Jones won by fall over Jonathan Hagen from Thermopolis, Hiissiis Goodnight from Wyoming Indian, and Titus Schelling from Sundance. Jones fell to Moorcroft’s Parker Seeley and Rocky Mountain’s Travis Lytle. In the fifth-place match, Jones won by fall over Saratoga’s Andrew Everett.

Connor Vickrey earned 5th place in the 113 class at the 2A state tournament. 

Senior Matt Jones earned fifth place at state in the 138 weight class. 

Junior Brendan Miller went 1-2 at the state tournament in the 145 class.

Senior Josh Thatcher (152) earned third place at state and scored 16 team points for the Rangers. He finished the season 31-16. Thatcher won by fall over Hannah Elk Mountain’s Dade Thackston, and won by decision over Moorcroft’s Hunter Garoutte. Thatcher fell to Zane Moore of Glenrock in the semifinal, but won by decision over Kyle Breen of Tongue River in the consolation semi-final. Thatcher won by decision over Cokeville’s Wes Teichert to earn third place.

Hayden Julander (170) went 1-2 at state and earned three points for the Rangers. 

Jeydon Boyd (182) earned 5th place at state and scored 13 points for Kemmerer. Boyd beat Cole Christiansen of Thermopolis, Hunter Pattison of Wind River and Kerry Powell of Lovell. In the consolation semifinal, Boyd lost to Cokeville’s Bentley Johnson, but Boyd won by decision over Bryant Davis from Greybull-Riverside to claim fifth place.   

Michael Grimes (195) went 1-2 at the state tournament.

Thomas Archibald went 2-2 at state and scored three team points for the Rangers.

Brendan Miller (145) wrestles a Thermopolis opponent at the 2A state meet in Casper on Saturday, Feb. 23. 

Hayden Julander (170) wrestles a Moorcroft opponent at the 2A state meet in Casper on Saturday, Feb. 23. 

The Ranger wrestlers have been dominant since the start of the season. They have fielded a small team at large tournaments against much bigger schools.

Kemmerer came in third place at the Carbon County Invite, and 9th place in the ultra-competitive Riverton Ron Thon with three wrestlers finishing in the top three. The Rangers also tested their skills at large tournaments like the Rockwell Rumble in Heber, Utah and the Tournament of Champions in Vernal, Utah.

Three Kemmerer wrestlers were crowned champions at the Thoman Invite in Green River, and five Rangers won their divisions at the Joe Aimone Inviational in Kemmerer.

The Rangers also earned second place at the 2A West regional tournament this season, which was hosted in Kemmerer.

Nine seniors completed their final season this year with the Rangers, but Kemmerer will return two state champions in Julian and Schramm and several other talented wrestlers to once again contend for that coveted state title next season.