Grapplers hitting their stride
Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Editor
With the season winding down, the Dogie/Bobcat grapplers are making strides in the right direction. Last week, head coach Lee McCoy’s squad finished at the top of the heap at a round robin tournament in Newell on Tuesday, and fifth out of 20 teams at a tournament in Hill City, S.D., on Saturday.
In addition, Kyah Miller (113 pound weight class) had the opportunity to compete in her first, true all-girl tournament on Saturday and took first place going undefeated on the day, and as a one-person team, also finished fifth out of nine squads from South Dakota.
“Kyah did an outstanding job against some tough girls in South Dakota,” McCoy reported. “You can tell a difference where they actually have sanctioned girls’ wrestling. They are tough and competitive, so Kyah wrestled well. The Belle [Fourche] girl she beat in the second round
was really talented, and Kyah just took her down and man-handled her pretty much the entire match.”
Miller also finished first at the round robin tournament on Tuesday, doing so by pinning the same opponent twice on
the night.
“It was a pretty good event for us up in Newell on Tuesday,” McCoy said. “Most of the kids got three matches and we won most of those as well.”
Haven Vrana (106) ended the night going 2-1, only dropping his final match of the night by decision.
Jackson East at 120 went 3-1, losing only to a talented Harding County opponent in his final match of the night.
Cael Holmes (126), Johnny Carlson (132), Aidan Coberly (145), Jacob Prell (160) and Josh Womack (220) all went undefeated.
Holmes made quick work of his two opponents, pinning each in the first period. Carlson went up against some tough competitors, but prevailed over each with wins by decision, Coberly stuck both of his opponents, Jacob Prell got a pin in under a minute in all three of his matches, and Womack cleaned up with three pins of his own.
“Jacob and Josh both wrestled tough, but I was most impressed with Johnny,” McCoy said. “He hasn’t been in the line-up for a few weeks for one reason or another, but we were able to get him three matches and he ended up with three pretty tough kids. Probably the match of the night was against the Lead kid who was rallying late, but Johnny was able to hold on for the 7-6 win.”
The team’s performance made the midweek trip with a late return time worth it for the squad, and then they spent the next couple of days preparing for another South Dakota tournament in Hill City on Saturday.
“Tuesday was a good confidence builder for us,” McCoy said. “Hill City was a pretty tough tournament and this year it was a little bigger than it was in the past. We came out of it with five placers and one champion — and with our group of kids, that’s an outstanding result.”
Womack finished first, going undefeated once again on the day at 220. Coberly (145) and Prell (160) both placed fourth, East at 120 and Carlson at 132 were fifth and Vrana finished sixth at 106.
“I was proud of Haven for placing in a tournament of that quality,” McCoy said. “He was just going after his opponents. He avenged a loss from the Belle Fourche tournament against a kid who tech falled him there, by pinning him in the first period.”
McCoy was also pleased with East’s finish given the 120 pound weight class was one of the more difficult of the tournament.
Though Holmes (126) did not place, he did pin a Rapid City Central opponent then took on the No. 1-seeded wrestler from Custer, S.D. Landon Woodward is ranked in the top four in South Dakota at 126, and though Holmes ended up losing that match 8-2, according to McCoy it was really close up until the end.
“It was 3-2 in the third period, and then Cael got a take-down that was called out of bounds, so the match could have easily gone his way as the other,” McCoy said, frowning. “He’s been getting some tough breaks but he’s getting better every single week and he’s closing the distance against kids who will be competing for a spot on the podium. He’s keeping a great attitude and work ethic, so his time is still coming.”
According to McCoy, Coberly (145) and Prell (160) are really starting to hit their stride just in time for the end of the regular season.
“Aidan is starting to come on and win some tough matches. He had to beat some pretty talented kids to get to the third place match, so I was proud of him for that,” he said. “Jacob has been on a tear for the last three weeks now, and he’s just getting better and better each time he steps on the mat. He’s getting more confidence and I’m looking for big things out of him in the postseason,” McCoy continued. “He’s going to surprise a lot of kids in Wyoming because they haven’t seen much of him this year. He’s a completely different wrestler than he was last year, and even before Christmas.”
Womack, who is currently ranked third in the state, made a statement at the tournament pinning his first three opponents and then prevailing through a grueling match in the championship round by a 3-1 decision.
“Tanner Davis from Hill City looked like Shute from Vision Quest,” McCoy claimed. “He is big and muscular with some pretty good coaches who had scouted Josh. They thought they were ready for him, but they weren’t.”
“Josh is a small 220-pounder but he has good technique and quickness, and was able to execute some of the things we’ve been working on in practice,” he continued. “He picked him apart and won a pretty tight decision, but Josh definitely was in control the entire match.”
This weekend is the final regular season competition of 2022. The Dogies/Bobcats will travel to Wheatland for a quad on Thursday against the Bulldogs as well as Douglas and Rawlins. McCoy also noted that Womack will get a look at the No. 1-ranked Rawlins wrestler at 220 before the 3A East Regional tournament, which is only two weeks away.