Returning with eyes on the prize

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The combined Newcastle/Upton wrestling team has begun their season and have returned several young men who qualified for the 3A State Tournament last year. Head coach Lee McCoy of Upton is also back, but this year he is joined by Jason Wheeler who has taken on the head coach role in Newcastle. Having two coaches working together this year should prove to ease some logistical issues for the coaching staff.
“I’m excited to have someone on the staff here at Newcastle HS to promote the program and to also take care of the administrative and communication situations that arise which could be difficult for me to do in Upton,” McCoy nodded. “Having another person in the wrestling room, another set of eyes, skills and expertise is also great.”
McCoy and Wheeler are pleased to have 22 young men (three from Upton) out for wrestling this year, which is up five from last season. A large crop of freshmen is responsible for the increase in numbers, and McCoy noted that he is optimistic about the talent these young grapplers are bringing with them.
The top returning athlete from last season is junior Kale Corley who was Regional Champion and finished third at State at 132 pounds. As a freshman, Corley was the State Champion at 120, and is hungry to regain the title in his junior season.
Jory McFarland is another top returner and the only senior on the squad this year. At the Regional Tourney last year, he finished fourth at 113 and went on to take sixth place at State. 
Blake Durfee (106) was third at Regionals and a match away from placing at state, Josh Womack (195) finished seventh at Regionals and was also only a match out of placing at state, while Skylar Jenkins (145) also came close to earning a place at the State Tournament after securing sixth at Regionals. 
“I’m excited to have these guys back, and I’m looking forward to some good things out of them this year,” McCoy smiled. “Josh is down in weight and is really looking good this year. Kale is back to 100% after fighting with injury last season and is focused on taking the title, and the rest of the guys who got close last year are also hungry for another shot.”
Though they didn’t finish with a place at State, a number of other Dogies qualified for the tournament so finished last season with experience and a taste of what it’s like to compete on that stage.
Cael Holmes (106), Aidan Coberly (132) and Weston Simianer (220) all took fifth in their respective weight classes at the Regional Tournament. Coberly and Holmes won two and one match respectively at the State Tournament, but ended out of contention for a state placement. 
“We had a lot of guys do well at Regionals but were just a little short at State,” McCoy began. “That is great for this season, and we are looking to improve our finishes at both tournaments this year.”
Last season, the Dogies’ team scores suffered, especially in duals, due to often competing with four open weight classes. While it is still unlikely that all will be filled this year, McCoy is hoping that number will be cut in half.
“Right now, we are really lumped up in the middle between 138 and 152 as that is where the bulk of our kids are starting out,” he explained. “We’ll probably end up two deep from 106-152, then open at 160 and 170, and then be able to fill the remaining weights.”
However, until the men get down to their optimal fighting weights, McCoy anticipates having about four athletes at 138, 145 and 152. Despite an overload at these weights, there will be opportunities for all to get mat time in both duals and tournaments.
One positive result of having several guys at these middle weights is that it provides a unique training situation during practices that may prove to bode well for the team.
“I’m pretty excited because we have several guys like Jory, Blake and Skylar who have been really close to breaking through to that next level and doing some good things and this is their year,” McCoy grinned. “They are hungry and we’ve got a room full of kids where we have competition at weights which motivates and helps us get better. I’m thinking we will make some noise this year and I like that because no one really sees us coming.”
“I’m also excited because although we’re still pretty young, we’re not inexperienced,” he continued. “Because we’ve been young and now we’re finally aging up a little bit, they have had experience at the varsity level so are coming in with that. We have some veterans who have taken their knocks and are ready to reach their goals.” 
The squad will see their first competition of the season this Thursday when they travel to Custer for a quadrangular. Though Bennett County and Newell will also be in attendance, the Dogies will only be taking on the Wildcats. Then on Friday, the whole squad will head to Lusk for their first tournament of the season where they will see teams from Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and perhaps Colorado.