Grapplers take down Panthers

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Editor
 
The Dogies/Bobcats began their week of competition by hosting Wright in Upton on Thursday. The defending 2A state champion Panthers came in with a history of besting head coach Lee McCoy’s squad in tournaments throughout the season, so all were ready to even the score mano-a-mano.
Admittedly Wright had several open weights which gave the Dogies/Bobcats wins via forfeit, however all who did hit the mat, with the exception of two, came away with wins giving Newcastle/Upton the 43-21 victory on the night.
“Of the matches we had, most went our way, given we only lost at 132 and 138 [pounds],” began McCoy. “Cael [Holmes] bumped up a weight class so he could have a go at Pace Garrett who is a really tough kid.” 
The two grapplers have gone at each other a few times in the past, so Holmes wanted another shot. He would end up losing to Garrett in the 132-pound weight class, however it was a close 5-2 decision.
“It was actually a really good match,” McCoy insisted. “It was tied up 2-2 going into the third period and right at the end, he got turned for back points.”
Haven Vrana, who won via forfeit at 106, chose to exhibition the 113-pounder who McCoy said was another pretty tough competitor. 
“Unfortunately, Haven got pinned pretty quickly, but he’s a really tough kid and he was giving up about 15 pounds,” McCoy explained. “Both the 132- and 113-pounders are ranked pretty high in 2A but that’s the kind of competitor Haven is. He wants to get on the mat and test himself all the time.”
Jackson East (120) Aidan Coberly (145), Jacob Prell (160) and Josh Womack (285) also won their matches.
Womack, who usually wrestles in the 220-pound weight class, bumped up to heavyweight and was probably giving up 50 pounds to his Panther competitor. Despite the size disadvantage, Womack was able to pull out a 5-0 win by decision in a pretty exciting fashion.
“He was a big kid and it was a good test for Josh,” McCoy began. “He has been working on being able to get out from the bottom against bigger, stronger kids — which is what he’s going to have to be able to do if he wants to win a state title. The kid is pretty good on top, but Josh was able to get the better of him, which is really something we’ve wanted to see.”
On Friday and Saturday, Newcastle/Upton finished 11th at a 20-team tournament in Belle Fourche. 
“It’s definitely a tough tournament with most if not all of the AA teams in the western part of South Dakota there,” McCoy stated. “It’s great to get the opportunity to see some of those teams that we don’t usually get to, and it was a fun tournament.”
Vrana, though he didn’t place, went 3-2 at 106 and was only one win away from placing. 
“Haven lost to a pretty tough Rapid City kid in the blood round and he had some gutsy wins, and it was great to see him get good matches,” McCoy said. “He’s starting to get more motivated because he is seeing that he is about to get to that next level and that’s exactly what we hope for when we go to these tournaments.” 
East placed sixth at 120. He got things under way by pinning a kid from Stevens, then ran into a tough senior competitor from Harding County who finished second or third at the tournament. He then came through the wrestlebacks to make it to the fifth-place match where he was pinned. 
“Jackson had a great match against a kid from Custer in the blood round on his way to the placing matches,” McCoy described. “It was an exciting match that went back and forth with both kids getting after it. Neither had scored, and with 20 seconds left Jackson hit a good shot and took the kid down for those last second points. The win was a priceless experience for him.”
Prell (160) and Womack (220) placed fourth and second, respectively. 
“If I had to give a wrestler of the week award it would really go to Jacob, because he ramped it up by about three notches this weekend,” McCoy said. “Not only did he beat some really tough kids, he only had one match that ended in a pin. He lost to a Rapid City Stevens kid who is ranked in the state at the AA level 9-0, but boy that was a really good kid and Jacob wrestled him really tough.”
In the third-place match, Prell lost by a tough decision with a score of 6-3. 
“He’s really finding his confidence and his style and it’s really fun watching him develop,” continued McCoy. “He’s on another level from what he started the season
at, so we are really excited
for him.”
In the championship match, Womack ran into another tough competitor from Harding County who came into the tournament with a 24-1 record. 
“It was a tight match that went into overtime where Josh took a desperation shot, and the kid kind of sprawled on him to take the win,” McCoy explained. “For two weeks in a row the same kind of thing has happened to Josh, so we’re going to have to work with him about not taking that shot if he doesn’t have to. It’s better to let the other kid make a mistake, but Josh is such a competitor that he wants to win his way with offense, which is good, but he also needs to recognize that when the shots are not there, don’t take it.”
This week, the Dogies/Bobcats will travel to Newell for a round robin tournament starting at 6 on Tuesday where they should get to compete in four-person pools against six different teams. Then, on Saturday, they will head to Hill City for another good-sized tournament where McCoy is expecting to see about 15 teams.