You might see a few buses around Fremont County this weekend as the state’s largest wrestling event unfolds at Riverton High School.
The annual Ron Thon Tournament, named in honor of the late head wrestling coach at Riverton High School and earlier at Wind River High School brings 44 teams to the mats this year.
Thon graduated from Lusk High School in 1964 and was a varsity wrestler for four years at the University of Nebraska Lincon. He was a beloved educator and coach at Riverton.
The two-day event features a varsity and junior varsity boys division and a varsity girls division. There are almost 300 girls registered for this tournament.
The Riverton Middle School gym is the site of the junior varsity tournament.
The Ron Thon is regarded as the best wrestling event in Wyoming, even more popular than the state finals next month in Casper.
In the state championships, Class 2-A, 3-A, and 4-A wrestlers compete only against their own class, at the Ron Thon, it’s everyone no matter the classification competing for the title.
The magic of the meet is the chance to watch a wrestler from a tiny school like Dubois, with fewer than 50 students, make it to the finals and face a wrestler from Casper Natrona with an enrollment over 40 times larger.
The tournament opens on Friday with medal rounds beginning late Saturday morning and extending into the afternoon.