Dogies send 12 to state tourney

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The combined Newcastle/Upton Wrestling team got an early start to the 3A East Regional Tournament last weekend by leaving on Thursday to avoid potential travel issues. The head start may have proven beneficial as the team qualified 12 grapplers for the state tournament by the end of the weekend, which is four more than last year.
“Leaving early probably did us some good,” head coach Lee McCoy began. “We didn’t have to rush, the guys got to sleep in a little on Friday so we were a little more rested and ready to go by the time the tournament got started.”
Sophomore Kale Corley began his bid for a repeat as state champion being the lone Dogie to bring home a regional championship at 132 pounds. In addition, Corley won the Outstanding Wrestler Award for the tournament.
“Kale is hitting his peak at just the right time,” smiled McCoy. “The kid he wrestled in finals was a rematch from Ron Thon, and when they wrestled there, it was a one-point match, but that kid didn’t stand a chance on Saturday. Kale pinned him pretty early, but he had given him a pretty severe butt kicking before that and it was awesome.”
Corley proved deserving of the number one seeding he enjoyed coming into the tournament, making quick work of his first two opponents in under two minutes. The semi-final match was won by an 8-2 decision, and then Corley finished strong in the championship match pinning his opponent in 2:18.
“He got hit in the eye and it was swelled shut. He was also experiencing cramping in his calves, so he was really just trying to survive the semi-final match,” McCoy laughed. “He was still dominant though and he just wrestled really, really well all weekend.”
Blake Durfee (106) and newcomer Reece Woodard (220) each finished third in their respective weight classes.
Durfee won his way into the semis before he suffered his first loss. However, the freshman fought his way back through the wrestle-backs to earn his third place finish, and according to McCoy he got a pretty good draw for state.
“We had talked earlier about beating people you’re not supposed to beat, and that’s just what he did,” McCoy nodded. “He had a good tournament and wrestled well.”
Woodard blasted his way into the 3A wrestling scene by going four and one on the weekend, with each match decided by a pin. This was Woodard’s debut for the Dogies, and McCoy couldn’t have been more pleased with his performance.
“We were all wondering what he’d be able to do having been with us for such a short period of time,” McCoy chuckled. “He wrestled well and apparently, hasn’t forgotten a whole lot since middle school. I think he’s got some people talking about him, and with the three seed, he also got a pretty good draw for state.”
Jory McFarland (113) and Reid Holmes (120) each placed fourth, and were the two other Dogies to earn a seeded spot for the state tournament next weekend. Both lost in the semifinals, but rebounded in the consolation semis for the chance to compete for third place.
“Jory had a good weekend and set himself up pretty good for state,” McCoy nodded. “Reid was a little rusty from being hurt, but made it through the weekend without exacerbating the injury and still got out of it with seeding for state so that is great.”
Though they didn’t earn a seeding place at Regionals, Cael Holmes (106), Aidan Coberly (132), Gavin Durfee (138), Jacob Rhoades (138), Skylar Jenkins (152), Josh Womack (195) and Weston Simianer (220) all earned their way to join the other five for a chance to compete at the state tournament.
With only two seniors among the 12 advancing, McCoy is excited about the opportunity his freshmen and sophomore athletes will be gaining by getting to experience the culminating event.
As a team, the Dogies finished in sixth place scoring 122 points.
“Our goal is to score above 100 points and we did just that. It was also a bonus that we got the better of Buffalo and Burns in the process,” McCoy stated. “For most of the day on Friday, we bounced between first and second. When semifinals hit, we dropped because we only won one match, but scoring 122 was good for us.”
Looking to the upcoming weekend, McCoy admitted that some of his wrestlers have been handed pretty tough draws in their first round.
“The first round will be hard for some of the guys, but when they drop into the wrestle-backs, we expect them to do some pretty good damage,” he predicted. “They gave themselves the opportunity to be there and extend their season another week. This is the time of year to peak and if last weekend was any indication, we are on the right track to do well this weekend.”