Lady Dogies show up in Casper

The Lady Dogie wrestlers competed in nine matches over two days last weekend, finishing fifth out of 10 teams — and were top three among Wyoming schools — at the Jerry Quinlan Memorial Tournament in Casper on Friday and Saturday. Head coach Shaide Bowthorpe’s squad soundly defeated Wright, Kelly Walsh, Douglas and Thunder Basin on Friday as well as Natrona on Saturday. They lost to Sheridan on Friday and Moffat Co., Colorado, Sturgis and Pinedale on Saturday.

“We put down some really good 4A teams and I think that we are proving that we are a really good team regardless of class,” Bowthorpe said. “We’re pushing hard against these big schools with a really young group of girls, and I couldn’t be more proud of how we wrestled and competed this weekend!”

Five of Newcastle High School’s lady wrestlers made the list for top performers for the weekend by having the second-best record in their respective weight classes.

Ayonna Hunter, who wrestled in the 105- and 110-pound weight classes over the course of the two days, went 9-0 overall and 4-0 at 110, and was Newcastle’s top finisher.

“Ayonna had an outstanding weekend,” Bowthorpe said. “In our first dual against Wright, she had an interesting match where her opponent got disqualified.”

Apparently, the Lady Panther bit Hunter to get disqualified and, according to Bowthorpe, that lit a fire under the rest of her crew, leading to their 57-17 victory over Wright.

Abby Tacy went 5-2 at 110 pounds, Courtney Matthews (120) had a great weekend going 6-3,

Teahlah Stevenson also finished 6-3 at 125 pounds, while Netanya Prell (135) finished with a 6-3 record as well.

“Teahlah also had a great weekend,” Bowthorpe said. “She beat a previous state placer from Wright, as well as a ranked girl from Natrona.”

At the conclusion of the tournament, Prell notched her 20th win of the season.

“We’re seeing a lot of big milestones from the girls,” Bowthorpe said. “We are also seeing some consistency which is great this time of the season.”

Though she didn’t make the list, Brylee Caster had the second-best record, losing only two matches, one to Thunder Basin and one to Natrona, in the 145-pound weight class.

Ruth Rose (135) and Sage Lichtenberger (100) were the other two Lady Dogies to end the weekend with a winning record as each went 4-3.

“I was nervous because I was sick on Thursday, but it turned out to be easier than I expected,” Rose said. “After wrestling girls from South Dakota (who have been wrestling for several years), competing against Wyoming girls was much easier. It was a really exciting weekend though, because we did really well.”

As a team, the Lady Dogies left Casper a little beat up, according to Bowthorpe.

“We had some bite marks, some bruises, some black eyes and quite a few battle scars,” Bowthorpe said, with  chuckle. “Everyone was in good spirits though because it was such a good weekend.”

This week the Lady Dogies will travel to Moorcroft to compete in the Dylan Humes Tournament in Moorcroft on Friday and Saturday. Action will start at 11:30 a.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. on Saturday at the K-6 gymnasium.