Ladies are back at it

The Lady Dogie wrestlers got 2025 off to an early start when they traveled to Spearfish Saturday for a large, all-female tournament. Head coach Shaide Bowthorpe was very pleased with how her team competed, having four individual placers and finishing ninth out of 18 teams.

“Last year, we were a pretty fresh team, the tournament wasn’t as big, and we didn’t finish as well as we did this year,” Bowthorpe explained. “So, given that there were more teams to compete against this year and we finished better, I think we are going in the right direction.”

The Newcastle High School team also finished just four and a half points behind Thunder Basin, which was a great showing for the Lady Dogies.

“They are 4A and we are always checking where we stand against other Wyoming teams. They are the only Wyoming team who finished ahead of us, and it was close so that was great,” Bowthorpe said. “We felt like Thunder Basin and Campbell County were way out of reach for us last year, but that isn’t the case this year, which is exciting.”

Brylee Caster was the top Lady Dogie finisher, placing second in the 145-pound weight class. Caster pinned her way through the first three rounds, but fell in the championship to an opponent from Spearfish in 1:33.

“Brylee wrestles really well and stays calm,” Bowthorpe said. “She works through positions and doesn’t panic, which is great. That is hard to teach, but she does it really well.”

Ayonna Hunter (107) placed fifth, pinning her Rapid City Central opponent in the consolation semi-final round in 1:34, then getting the best of Little Wound in the fifth-place match by pinning her in 4:02.

“Ayonna is just a freshman, so to be able to come into a really tough tournament like this one and place is awesome,” Bowthorpe said.

Netanya Prell (132) also finished in fifth place. After losing her quarter-final match to a Spearfish wrestler, she battled her way back through three matches in the consolation round, then won her fifth-place match with a 2-0 decision.

“The 132 weight class was by far the hardest weight class in the tournament,” Bowthorpe said. “It says a lot about Netanya just to be able to place in that bracket, period.”

The final hardware winner was Courtney Matthews, who placed sixth in the 120-pound weight class. The junior went 3-3 on the day, dropping her fifth-place match by decision.

“Courtney had a really great weekend,” Bowthorpe said. “Her losses were really tough fought, close matches.”

After a disappointing showing at the Sheridan tournament before Christmas, Bowthorpe was pleased to see her team show up to start 2025.

“We worked really hard over Christmas break to come back from the Sheridan tournament where we didn’t do as good as I had hoped,” she said. “I think we are putting in the work, our team is stronger and in this tournament, we were more prepared and it showed.”

Next up for the Lady Dogies is a tournament in Hettinger, North Dakota, on Friday and Saturday.

“This was a great tournament for us last year where we got a lot of matches,” Bowthorpe said. “Some of our girls just need that time on the mat, and I think it’ll be another great weekend for us, especially for our younger girls and those who haven’t gotten wins yet this year.”