Balfanz and Walker are the WyoPreps Athletes of the Week 1-23-25 [VIDEO]

A girls’ wrestler and a boys’ basketball player were chosen as the WyoPreps Athlete of the Week winners, presented by Premier Bone and Joint Centers. Campbell County junior Karlie Balfanz won a title at the Thoman Soda Ash Memorial tournament last weekend. Lovell junior Owen Walker led the Bulldogs to a 5-0 record and a tournament title last week. These two honorees were from last week’s nominees for the week of Jan. 13-18, 2025.

WYOPREPS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK WINNERS 1-23-25

Girls Winner

Balfanz won the championship at 145 pounds in the Thoman Soda Ash Memorial Tournament at Green River last Friday and Saturday. The junior won her first match in a 7-3 decision. She pinned her next two opponents in 38 seconds and 1:53. In the title match, Balfanz faced a wrestler from Grantsville, UT, and earned a hard-fought victory with a 5-3 decision. Her effort helped the Camels place third as a team with 105 points, one point back of second place Lyman. Grantsville won the team crown at 286.

WyoPreps spoke with Karlie on Thursday about her performance on the mat last weekend. She assessed how she wrestled, what it took to be successful, what she’s been working on during training, why she loves wrestling, and more.

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Boys Winner

Walker averaged a double-double for the undefeated and top-ranked Lovell Bulldogs on their way to a 5-0 week. In their 3A West Conference opener, Owen had 8 points and 11 rebounds in a hard-fought 39-33 win over No. 2 Cody. Then, last weekend, the Bulldogs went 4-0 and won the Big Horn Basin Classic basketball tournament championship. Walker finished with four double-doubles in the tournament. Last week, the junior averaged 15.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. His efforts included 29 points and 15 rebounds against 2A No. 3 Wyoming Indian. Walker also had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the title game win at No. 3 Powell. He had 13 blocked shots in the four tournament games.

WyoPreps caught up with Walker to visit about his five games last week. He described his play, the team's play, the tough conference win against Cody, winning the tournament, his love for the game, and more.

Congratulations to Karlie and Owen on being selected as the Premier Bone and Joint Centers Athletes of the Week!