Two wrestlers make it to the podium

Four Dogie wrestlers headed to Casper Thursday with hopes of bringing home some hardware from the 3A State Wrestling Championships. Two of the four finished on the podium, and head coach Teigen Marchant was very pleased with how his athletes performed in a very tough venue. 
 
“I had really high hopes for the guys, because I know the level of talent they bring to the mat,” Marchant began. “But there’s a lot of very, very good kids at state, and there were even three four-time state champions there, so you know it’s the best of the best.”
 
Charlie Bowles got action under way at 120 pounds, and, according to Marchant, got the raw end of the deal being drawn in against some tough competitors. In first-round action, he faced off against a Rawlins opponent who got the better of him in 51 seconds. The loss sent Bowles into the consolation bracket. Although he fought hard against his Evanston opponent, he fell to him in 2:46, thus ending his season.
 
“I’m so proud of Charlie,” Marchant said. “He has come a long way both mentally and physically, and he has gotten a lot of things figured out. He definitely peaked at the end of the season.”
 
Casey Matthews (132) was faced with a battle right out of the gate as he got his final state tournament under way. Two pretty evenly matched opponents went back and forth, but Pinedale ended up with the 9-4 victory.
 
The loss sent Matthews into the consolation bracket where he came back with a vengeance, winning his next three matches to make his way to the consolation semi-finals. There he went up against a Torrington opponent with the same 29-15 record that Matthews held coming into the tournament. That these two wrestlers were very evenly matched is apparent in the 2-1 decision win. Unfortunately, it was Torrington who held the advantage after three periods of action. 
 
In the fifth-place match, Matthews didn’t allow a pin, but lost the match to Evanston by a major decision of 10-2, giving him sixth place. 
 
“His first match was so tough, and Casey just couldn’t get things going against him,” Marchant said. “From there though, he kind of marched right through until the consolation semis. The only points were scored in the first period. The other guy got a take-down and Casey got an escape, and that was it. I am so impressed with Casey and how strong he was all season long.”
 
Scott Larson (138) began his state tournament in good form with a win against Rawlins in 1:41. Then, in the quarter-finals, he ran into a daunting opponent from Pinedale who came into the tournament with a 49-2 record. Jake Hammer put the hammer down against Larson and got the pin in 1:20. 
 
Scott rebounded in round two of the consolation bracket by notching two back-to-back wins, the first over Rawlins in 2:24 and the second against Torrington by medical forfeit. In the consolation semis, Larson faced off against a familiar opponent in Luke Ewing from Douglas, where Larson fell to him in 1:45. 
 
In the fifth-place match, Powell got the better of Larson just three seconds into the second period, so Larson brought home sixth. 
 
“Scott came out of the gate very strong,” said Marchant. “He ran into some tough kids on his way through the consolation bracket, but I’ve seen so much growth out of him and I look forward to him being a leader for the team next year.”
 
Finally, Dane Crabtree (157) got his first taste of state high school wrestling. In his opening round, Crabtree fell to Douglas in 1:27. Then in round one of the consolation bracket, he battled Riverton through two periods, but fell to him seven seconds into the third, ending his debut season of varsity wrestling. 
 
“Dane had a huge mental awakening,” Marchant said. “He wrestled very tough and in his last match, it could have gone either way. He had him on his back for about two minutes, but it was just little things that got him. I am super proud of him.”
 
The Dogies will graduate Matthews and Thomas Prell, and Marchant is anticipating bringing in up to seven freshmen to the squad next season.
 
“We are going to miss the leadership of those seniors,” Marchant admitted. “But I’m excited to see what next year brings.”
 
Marchant is planning off-season training for his athletes including open mats, clinics, and weight room sessions.