Starting the year off right

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
After a three week hiatus, the Newcastle/Upton wrestling squad had only one dual to start off the new year, but they hit the ground running and brought home a decisive win. 
The Dogie/Bobcat team traveled to Glenrock Thursday to take on the Herders for the second time this season. The first time was in the opening tournament in Lusk back in December where Newcastle/Upton got the better of the 2A team. Co-head coach Lee McCoy admitted that his squad hadn’t wrestled to their potential in that opening matchup, however, that was not the case last week.
“We wrestled really well this time,” he grinned. “There are a few things that we’ve been working on, and we saw those things executed pretty well so it was a really good win for us.”
One of the items the coaches have been preaching to the kids is that in matches
that they should win, they need to dominate and win the right way and, according to McCoy, that’s exactly what his team did.
“We’ll face tougher teams coming up and we need to keep that same attitude,” he began. “We need to step on the mat and dominate when we compete no matter who the opponent is.”
A standout match of the evening was Jacob Prell at 160 pounds. He was in a battle with his opponent but came back from behind to get the win 30 seconds into the second period.
“That was a good win for Jacob because we’ve been working with him regarding wrestling the entire match no matter what the score is, and always wrestle to win and that’s what he did,” McCoy nodded. “He made some mistakes early, but he recovered and got the pin so that was great.”
Kale Corley also had an outstanding match at 145 pounds. According to McCoy, his challenger was probably the Herder’s best athlete, and though Corley had pinned him previously, there were elements of his approach that he was working on during the match in order to improve.
“It was a fairly easy win for Kale,” McCoy admitted. “But he got some quality mat time and got the opportunity to work on some things he’s been wanting to so that made the win even better.”
Blake Durfee (113) and Johnny Carlson (132) made very quick work of their opponents, pinning them in just 29 seconds and 39 seconds, respectively. Cael Holmes also got a win at 120 pounds, pinning his rival in 4:24 making it the second longest match of the night.
“Cael looked really good,” McCoy exclaimed. “There were some specific issues that he had been working to improve upon, and he had a kid who he should beat and in the process executed some of the positions he’s been focusing on pretty well.”
Skylar Jenkins moved up a weight to 170 where he plans to stay for the duration of the season. Though that is one weight class higher than he wrestled prior to the Christmas break, it appears the senior moved seamlessly given he took care of his foe in just 1:20. 
Josh Womack (195) also wrestled well and won by fall in just 1:24. McCoy noted that he was matched up with a decent opponent and that Womack executed some things he had been working on which made the win even better.
Aidan Coberly (138) lost a close, exciting match with an 8-9 decision. According to McCoy, it was a back and forth match, but he got a little out of position at the end and gave up some points that he didn’t need to which cost him the match. 
“He was pretty upset about it, but it is losses like that which keep him coming back and fighting hard to improve,” McCoy nodded. 
Kiah Miller is in her second year of varsity wrestling, and though she ultimately lost her match at 120 by fall, she wrestled her way into the second quarter before succumbing to her opponent.
“With each of the kids, they have their own personal goals, and it’s not just about winning and losing,” McCoy explained. “It takes a lot of heart to do what she does, and how we measure her success is a little different than the others. I am feeling really good about how Kiah’s doing.”
The 152-pound weight class was an open forfeit for the Dogies/Bobcats, however McCoy expects that to be filled by this weekend when the squad hosts their home opener in Newcastle on Friday and Saturday.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the annual Newcastle Invitational will look a bit different this year with two days of quads instead of one day of a tournament. On Friday, Hulett, Glenrock and Burns will be in town and on Saturday Buffalo, Lusk and Thunder Basin will be on hand to compete. Wrestling will begin on Friday at 1 p.m. and on Saturday at 10.