Grapplers finish out regular season

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Newcastle/Upton grapplers were scheduled to take on Douglas, Rawlins and Wheatland last Thursday in Wheatland, however COVID-19 grounded the Bearcats and Outlaws so the squad had only the Bulldogs to face.
This was the third time these two teams have gone head to head this season, and each was coming in with a win against the other so this one was the rubber match for bragging rights. 
“We are fairly evenly matched and there are a few match-ups that could go either way,” co-head coach Lee McCoy began. “We weren’t on the winning side of too many of those however.”
When the smoke cleared, the Bulldogs bounced back to take the 2-1 advantage over Newcastle/Upton by a score of 35-33. 
Kale Corley, who enjoys the No. 1 ranking in the state in 145-pound class, was up against the No. 6-ranked wrestler in that weight class. Rankings proved to be correct as Corley made quick work
of his opponent, pinning him just before time expired in the first period.
“The kid Kale had was a good kid,” McCoy began. “He took Kale down first, but then Kale got the reversal and got on top, and then did what he does. When Kale gets on top of kids, they really don’t have much of a chance.”
Josh Womack (195) and Johnny Carlson (126) were the only other two Dogies who had matches and won on the day. Womack won by fall in just 57 seconds while Carlson battled it out to the end to take the 7-0 win by decision.
“Josh made quick work of his kid. He pretty much manhandled him and pinned him quickly,” McCoy smiled. “Johnny had a great match! They were fairly evenly matched so it was back and forth, but Johnny had a good win and wrestled a good, tough match.”
Thomas Prell (132), Aidan Coberly (138), Jacob Prell (152) and Skylar Jenkins (170) each found themselves on the losing end of their bouts. While McCoy prefaced that the outcomes of their matches previously may not have gone the other way, he went on to state that they didn’t have to give up pins, and really that was the difference in the final score.
Coberly had his work cut out for him as his opponent was the No 1-ranked 3A wrestler at 138.
One loss by decision instead of pin would have given the Dogies/Bobcats a one-point advantage over the Bulldogs. 
“Even though we might be outgunned, it’s a hard one for me to take when we give up the pin,” McCoy admitted. “It doesn’t matter what the score is, as long as you’re on the mat, you have the opportunity to win, so giving up just isn’t an option.”
This week is the Regional tournament which will look a little different this year. Instead of the traditional eight-team tournament, each quadrant will hold their own tournament, so the Dogies/Bobcats will travel to Douglas on Friday to battle it out with Worland, Buffalo and Douglas for the chance to advance to the state tournament. 
The top four finishers will advance with the top two earning seeding for the culminating event.
The southeast quadrant will hold a tandem regional tournament and the state will apply a formula to determine who will be seeded 1-4 from the east in each weight class. 
Action begins on Friday at 1 p.m. in Douglas.