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Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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Valentine’s Day brought the Glenrock Herders visiting on senior night for the Bobcat wrestlers. The team of Bobcats won the dual 33-24. Riley Shaffer was honored for his commitment and effort in the four years he’s devoted his time and effort to the Bobcat wrestling program. He finished the night in the last home match of his career and the last match of the night in a low scoring 4-0 victory that was in no way as close as the score would indicate. Shaffer dominated Herder Cade Griffits for nearly 5 of the 6 minute match, and turned him to his...
I was thinking about what a gift it was to be loved and accepted in spite of my many faults (according to my nest friends) as I neared my eighth decade on this planet, and the many times I had been called on to listen and counsel with those who were having severe problems with those who should have been the closest and dearest. Then I chided myself on the nearly 20 years of no contact with my own brother. I can not really remember why there was such an estrangement, but I realize now how easy it was to blame him for whatever the cause was, and...
Bobcat wrestlers, though few in numbers, scored 61 points at Douglas’ Shane Shotto Tournament last Friday and Saturday, and placed four of their competitors in the top six of their weight class to lead 2A teams. Casper’s Kelly Walsh led all teams with over 200 points, and host Douglas led 3A teams with 189 points, Entering only five wrestlers in the competition, Wyatt McDermott (6th), Roedy Farrell (6th), Cole Christianson, Riley Shaffer (6th), and Logan Cole (2nd), The Bobcats showed their strength in tournament action. Of those listed abo...
One of the great mysteries of all time is the civility of people during the month of December. It almost seems that everyone really thinks Santa does keep a list, or that if not Santa, one titled the Prince of Peace surely does. Whatever the reason, there’s an obvious lessening of tensions amongst those with grudges to lay them aside if for only a bit. Hence, the question: Why for one month of the year do people of “good will” appear to urge their fellow humans to follow their best instincts and reach out to those they often ignore the rest...
Practice began Monday for the 2019/20 edition of Bobcat wrestlers. Head coach Travis McDermott and his assistant Trey Ottley along with volunteers former state champion Chris Ryan and Will Farrell will be faced with the challenge of repeating the seasonal record of last year’s regional champs and 4th place state finishers. Bobcat optimism is borne on the back of returning veterans who accounted for 85 points in Casper last year. State champion Logan Cole (junior) along with runners-up Wyatt McDermott (sophomore) and Remington Ferree (junior) l...
The recent hailstorm and the damage it brought with it brought to mind similar storms I grew up with in the Nebraska Panhandle as a boy. They were a common occurrence, and farmers typically were happy to only lose one out of three crops to hail. But it had been years since I had been in a genuine “window buster.” So as I stood in our home and watched the roof of our garage take a beating, years slipped away and once more I watched baseball size ice balls fall to ground. I visualized the wheat fields with barely the occasional stems still standi...
It took a persistent persuasion to convince my dad that he needed a break from caring for my mother in the nursing home, and that the semi-annual family reunion in Kansas (his born home) would be just the break he needed. Dad was never a talker, but he was unusually tight lipped on the journey to his childhood home, and I knew he was thinking about leaving Mom “unattended” even though it was doubtful that she knew who he was anymore. The family homestead was about ten miles outside what had become in the intervening years a ghost town with an...
During a conversation with a friend a few days ago, we agreed that there were times that it was difficult to tell the truth without hurting the feelings of one you might not want to hurt. The inevitable question, “Honey, does this dress make me look fat?’ for example. There’s really no way to escape from the consequences of whatever your answer might be. As I thought about the difficulty of being truthful in all situations, about how diplomatic one can be and still convey the truth to someone who matters, it occurred to me that the hardest thin...
The trouble with life-changing events is that the change usually comes about after a catastrophic event that is so frightening that one would suffer any difficulty involving change to avoid the reoccurrence of such an event. We would be enormously better off if we could change first and avoid the event altogether. What I mean is husbands and wives, you need to become more loving and lovable before the inevitable divorce. Employees, be more courteous and supportive of your employer before your employer’s business fails and you lose your p...
Every so often without warning, a long ago and far away memory pops up to bring back feelings that have hibernated for decades. That song that reminds you of the first time you fell in love, the time you said the worst possible thing at the worst possible time, meeting the parents of the girl (or boy) you’d like to know better, a teacher that made you think there might be some hope for you after all, and a lot of other things you wish you had done differently…better. The weather lately has brought to mind a picture of Dad welding and ere...
Bobcat wrestlers, their families and fans gathered at the middle school Tuesday, March 12, to celebrate what was one of the most successful campaigns ever. The celebration began with a video of some of the highlights that were examples of the efforts made by team members throughout the season from beginning (Powell Invitational) to end (state tournament). Head coach Travis McDermott rendered his thanks to the families and friends who had been so supportive throughout the season and travelled...
When the Western Regional champion Bobcats headed to Casper for the state tournament Thursday, it was in a procession of several service vehicles with warning sirens sounding the pride of the Thermopolis community added to by nearly twenty more individual vehicles augmenting that sound with their own horns. When action concluded on Friday, the Bobcats with a winning record of 29-12 in individual matches had qualified eleven wrestlers to see action on Saturday, five in the winners bracket and...
Kemmerer was the site for the strongest Bobcat wrestling performance in decades. Fifteen Thermopolis wrestlers made the trip to regional; fifteen Bobcats are qualified for the state tournament this weekend. On the strength of 10 Bobcats finishing in the top four in their weight class, Thermopolis surprised the 2A field and out scored them by more than 15 points with total of 186 to runner-up Kemmerer's 170 followed by Cokeville (158.5), Lovell (140), and Big Piney (120.5). This marks the first...
When I was 4 or 5, we lived in a civilianized army mustering point in Great Bend, Kansas after Dad returned from the war. That development existed during WWII for those with dependents before shipping out to basic training points. It had rows of 5 apartments circled around a small convenience/grocery store. Our row was immediately adjacent (barely 15 feet or so) from a couple of sections planted in wheat. Our back yard was a mixture of weeds and scrub grass, and in late August was so dry the weeds would break off if they were stepped on. For...
Thursday and Friday Bobcat wrestlers proved the sports adage that the scoreboard doesn’t always tell the whole story of any contest. Visiting Worland on Thursday, the Bobcats spotted the Warriors 18 points in forfeits and the scoreboard said Worland 40, Thermopolis 30. Friday saw a similar result against the Glenrock Herders. After spotting the Herders a 12-point advantage, the Bobcats were unable to cut into that lead and finished 12 points down at 48-36. Winning Bobcats against Worland were Wyatt McDermott (6-4), Jeff VanAntwerp (10-8), Jon H...
It's been a while since anyone on a wrestling bus had occasion to shout "We're Number One," but that was the case late Saturday afternoon as the Bobcats departed for home with a winning point total of 175.5 and the championship trophy from the Greybull Memorial Invitational tournament. The 14-team tournament was dominated by two of 2As tougher teams in the Bobcats and Lovell who chased the Bobcats but finished 5.5 points behind them. Four Thermopolis wrestlers - Austin Ireland, Chance Watt,...
With the largest crowd in years looking on, Bobcat wrestlers created a memory no other Thermopolis wrestlers before them could do - they will be able to remember forever defeating the Douglas Bearcat mat men on the home mats. The dual started at the 152 weight class with Hunter Mounts moving up from his usual 145 pounds to take on Bearcat Ty Russel. One minute and four seconds later the referee raised his hand, and he walked off after starting the Bobcats with an unexpected 6-0 lead. Douglas...
Thermopolis wrestlers came back to earth at the Lander Valley Invitational Friday and Saturday. Finishing eighth of 19 teams was not what they had in mind, but on the other hand they were by far the leading 2A team at the tourney, outscoring seven 3A teams in the process. Scoring 73.5 pts. for the Bobcats was Austin Ireland, 21 pts.; Chase White, 10; Jon Harvey, 4; Jon Hagen, 5; Riley Shaffer, 6; Chance Watt, 11.5; and, Logan Cole, 16 pts. Several Bobcats distinguished themselves by winning thei...
Recently I received a Christmas card from Marty (Martin when not in the wrestling room). Marty was assigned to me as a project. He was about 6’2” and weighed in at 185 lbs. He was a senior, and in three years of wrestling, he had won an average of two matches per year. Oh, and by the way, he was the only black student in the reservation school at which his mother taught, and he was in the Special Education program. We worked to provide Marty moves that would be effective for him. Repetition of a few moves helped him to be more successful, and...
Starting a busy week, Thermopolis wrestlers journeyed to Cody on Tuesday for a dual. Though the Broncs started with a lead at 16-9 on a couple of pins and a decision, the dual became much more interesting for the Bobcats when Jon Harvey put a brake on Cody's momentum with a first period pin of his own over the Broncs' Keaton Stone. Riley Shaffer followed that with an 11-1 first period and an early second period pin of Alex Vogt to give the Bobcats their first lead, but Cody quickly took it back...
Thermopolis wrestlers opened 2019 at the Shane Shatto Memorial Invitational in Douglas on Friday with 23 other teams. The Bobcats were in a tight knit group of five teams separated by five points in 15th place with 68 team points. The tournament hosted nearly twenty 3A and 4A schools including two Nebraska schools - Alliance and Chadron - as well as Castle Rock, Colorado. Leading the Bobcats were senior Austin Ireland, finish- ing second in the 113 lb. class and earning 24 team points, and...
A depleted Greybull/Riverside wrestling team had a long ride home after a 62-0 shutout Thursday by the energized Bobcats. Only six of the visitors were available for mat action, and those six went down to defeat – four by way of pins and the remaining two by major decision (eight plus points). After two forfeits, Jon Harvey (170) started the parade of Bobcat victories with a pin at 4:46 over Shawn Erhart after dominating the second period. Following another forfeit, Chance Watt (195) started e...
Thermopolis wrestlers started their season at the Powell Invitational Friday and Saturday on a high note. The twenty-team tournament featured an all-class make-up, and was led by Casper Natrona. The real story for the Bobcats though was leading all class 2A teams with 112 points and nine wrestlers in the top six of their weight bracket. Led by Jon Harvey, champion at 170, and Logan Cole, runner-up at 220, the Bobcats had their best tournament Saturday in a good long while. "I was not encouraged...
Thinking back to long ago Christmas seasons which usually started about the second week of December for most families, I’ve realized that those days were as joyous as they were for more than one reason. I wasn’t quite sure of the Santa Claus thing, but I was sure that my Daddy was on his way home after four long years of prayers that my mother never missed. Though I scarcely remembered him, I knew he was very special because anyone that meant so much to Mom had to be special. His return ran a “close as a whisker” race with that newborn in Beth...
In his first year as HSCHS head wrestling coach, Travis McDermott, brings impressive credentials to the task. The homegrown 1991 graduate of HSCHS was a Wyoming state champion in 1990 and followed that by becoming the only Bobcat ever to win the premier Wyoming wrestling tournament, the Ron Thon, in 1992. He followed these honors by being a three time NAIA and Div. II NCAA All-American at Chadron State. Coach McDermott has been involved in local wrestling programs for many years and most recently at the mid-school level for the last 5 years....
