Wrestlers make strides in the right direction

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Dogies/Bobcats have suffered injury and illness setbacks as a team this season, but the young squad has been working hard to be peaking at the right time as they head into the Regional tournament next weekend.
Last Thursday, they traveled to Douglas for their last regular season competition of the year. Douglas, Rawlins and Wheatland were on hand for the opportunity as well, and the Dogies/Bobcats proved they are indeed headed in the right direction as they went two and one on the night. Though they lost to Douglas, they performed better than they had against them at the Newcastle quad three weeks ago.
“We weren’t super competitive against Douglas, but it wasn’t as big of a loss as it was last time,” head coach Lee McCoy began. “I was very happy to see the guys rebound in the next two duals to beat Wheatland and Rawlins, however.”
The match started well against Douglas in the opening contests, with Blake Durfee (106) and Cael Holmes (113) each defeating their opponents in pretty quick order. Durfee got the pin right out of the gate, and Holmes did the same quickly in the second period of the match.
Kale Corley at 145 was the other Dogie to pick up a win in this dual when he pinned his guy in the final moment of the first period. 
Durfee, Corley and Holmes all finished perfect on the day with the first two pinning each of their opponents and Holmes pinning two and winning by forfeit against Wheatland. 
Unfortunately, those were the only wins against the Bearcats in actual matches, and the squad gave up four forfeits which gifted Douglas 24 points in the match.
“For some reason, our kids don’t perform as well as they could against Douglas,” McCoy sighed. “Part of that, I think, is that when Douglas comes out they expect to win, and we just don’t have that mentality yet.”
The opening loss the Dogies/Bobcats suffered didn’t hold the team down, however. When they met the Bulldogs at the Newcastle quad, Wheatland was able to pull out a three point win against Newcastle/Upton. 
Retribution was evident as NHS/UHS dominated Wheatland 48-18 this time around.
Admittedly, Wheatland gave up several matches due to forfeits, however Durfee (106), Corley (145) and Skylar Jenkins (160) each quickly put their opponents away in the first period. 
Unfortunately, Dillan Wornkey (132) suffered an injury to his ankle in his match, which not only meant a loss for this match, but also having to forfeit his matchup against Rawlins in the next dual of the evening.
The dual that McCoy was most excited about was the final one against Rawlins. The Dogies/Bobcats have gone up against Wheatland and Douglas more than once over the course of the season, but the contest against the Outlaws was their first chance to see the team before the Regional tournament next weekend.
“It was great to get to see them before next week, and we wrestled them tough,” McCoy smiled. “They are about in the same boat with us being young and we matched up with them pretty well.” 
Once again Durfee, Holmes and Corley all did away with their opponents by fall, and Jory McFarland (120) also stuck his guy to nab six points each, contributing to the team’s 48-34 win.
“It was really good to get to see Rawlins before next week,” McCoy nodded. “They are down a little from last year, but their team size and youth was pretty similar to ours so that we were able to get past them was good.”
One downside of the day was that Isabella Spencer was hurt wrestling an exhibition match against Douglas. 
“Isabella got stacked up on her neck and came off the mat saying she couldn’t feel her fingers,” McCoy began. “The trainer and EMT on hand looked at her and sent her to the hospital to get checked out and that was pretty scary.”
Fortunately, Spencer suffered only strained back and neck muscles and no structural damage, however her ability to be ready to compete at the Regional tournament next weekend is questionable.
“What happened to Isabella is something that is a risk when girls wrestle guys,” McCoy admitted. “This is another reason why we need to push sanctioning girls wrestling in Wyoming.”
As the team prepares for the Regional Tournament in Buffalo this weekend, McCoy stressed that the focus will be on getting everyone ready to perform as well as they can and to qualify as many as possible for the state tournament. 
Weigh ins begin at 2:00 on Friday, with a seeding meeting to follow. The first round will begin on Friday at 4 and the quarterfinals as well as two rounds of wrestle-backs will take place on the first day. On Saturday, action will begin at 10 a.m. with semifinals, followed by the third round of wrestle-backs, consolation semis and then the third place and championship rounds to close out the day.