Dogies/Bobcats show off at home

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Newcastle/Upton wrestlers finally got to show their stuff before their home Newcastle fans last Friday as they hosted 13 teams from Wyoming and South Dakota at the annual Newcastle Invitational Tournament. 
The Dogies/Bobcats gave their fans a glimpse of what they’ve been missing as all but three placed in the tourney and as a team, they claimed fourth place behind Sheridan, Campbell County and Hulett.
“The tournament went really well and I thought that overall, we looked much better than we did even last week in Douglas,” head coach Lee McCoy smiled. “The number of teams that compete is growing and that’s a real feather in Mike Gregory’s [NHS Activities Director] and Keely Anderson’s [responsible for maintaining tournament schedule] caps, because it’s a well run tournament and the fact that it’s a one-day deal where we run a full bracket is pretty attractive to a lot of teams.”
Several of the teams who took advantage of the opportunity were 4A, or the equivalent of that from out of state. There were also several 3A, 2A and 1A teams who made the trip to compete against quality athletes.
“I was really pleased because we got good, quality matches so that was great for our guys and I was also pleased with how most of the kids wrestled,” McCoy nodded. “We still have some confidence issues that we need to work through, but it was good to see that we are showing improvement. However, we still have a long way to go because we aren’t where we can sit back and coast. We have to keep our foot on the gas and keep working to improve.”
McCoy went on to explain that this part of the season is where his team needs to continue making big gains and where individuals want to start peaking. The goal is to back off the physical preparation, and focus on the mental aspect of the sport.
Senior Jory McFarland was the top finisher for the squad as he went undefeated on the day, winning the championship at 120 pounds. McFarland had to get past three 4A wrestlers in order to claim the title which meant he had to put his best foot forward each and every moment of the matches.
“I’m very pleased with how Jory wrestled, and he was definitely an improved wrestler over last week,” McCoy declared. “The kid he beat in the finals from Sheridan is certainly no slouch. Jory had to do some things right to pull off that win. I was happy with him and he needed to see he could do that too.”
In addition to McFarland, other placers for the Dogies/Bobcats were Blake Durfee who finished fifth at 106, Aidan Coberly (138) was fourth, Dylan Drost was sixth at 145, Jacob Rhoades (152) finished fourth, Josh Womack was third at 182 and Weston Simianer (195) ended the day in fourth place.
In the junior varsity division, Jonathan Morgan was third place at 120, Isabella Spencer finished sixth at 132, Jacob Prell won the 152 weight class while Jayden Herring claimed third place in 152. 
All of our other placers had good tournaments and had to battle, and that’s what I like about the one-day tournaments,” McCoy began. “You have to put together up to five good matches, when in the two day ones, you may only have two or three per day.”
Though McCoy was pleased to see his team improve from their previous weekend’s performance, he cautioned that there is still some issues that need to be addressed, not the least of which is developing a winning mentality among his wrestlers.
“We’re trying to develop a predator mindset in all these kids, and not to be a victim out on the mat,” McCoy admitted. “We want to be the one dictating how things go, and we need to learn to start being dominant all the time in every match.”
The Dogies/Bobcats have three opportunities this week to work on getting that mentality. They began competition by hosting a quadrangular meet on Tuesday where they went up against Wheatland, Douglas and Torrington in duals. 
On Friday and Saturday the team will travel to Moorcroft for a large tournament which draws schools from Wyoming, Montana, as well as North and South Dakota. In addition, the Moorcroft tournament also offers a girls’ division which will allow the team’s two females — Isabella Spencer and Kyah Miller — the opportunity to compete against a more level playing field than they’ve had thus far this season.