Eleven Bobcat wrestlers head to state

by Rex Clothier

The 2A West Regional Wrestling Tournament was held at Rocky Mountain High School in Cowley on Friday. Twelve teams competed to see how many of their wrestlers could qualify for state competition. Qualifying 11 Bobcats for the upcoming Wyoming State Wrestling Tournament on March 26-27 put a smile on Coach CJ Scholl's face, but his words were cautionary.

"We have to wrestle better there than we did at regionals," said Scholl. "It almost seemed that our kids qualified for state and then got really complacent, lost focus and made silly mistakes in losing to competition that I felt they could handle.

"Both Ethan [Becher] and Koy [Meyers] started well at regionals, but they didn't finish the job. I think they'll be more focused and more successful in Casper. The key to how we do as a team, however, isn't how three or four of our kids do. It's really going to depend on the 11 Bobcat wrestlers doing a little bit more than just being there. They'll have to be after those pins instead of decisions, and when they're up against the top seeds, not giving up a pin, or just a regular decision instead of a tech fall or a major decision will have an impact on how we do," added Scholl.

Cokeville at 195.5 points led Rocky Mountain with 175 and Lyman with 148.5 in team competition at regionals. Thermopolis finished down the list with 80 team points.

The lone champion for the Bobcats, Cullen Becher (145), had a tougher time getting to the finals than he did to the championship as Lyman scratched its Terrall Collins for a minor injury, forfeiting the match to Becher for the championship. Becher ended up with a bye, two second period pins, and a forfeit. The Bobcat's grumbling was clearly heard, but he may well recieve a #1 or #2 seed at state from that championship.

Louie Castle (126) lost to Jason Bowen of Cokeville, 5-1, but recorded three pins on his way to third. Four other Thermopolis wrestlers earned fourth place medals including Jon Hagen, Chase White and Colter Hansen who all won their way to the consolation bracket finals only to lose at their final match.

Also headed for the state tourney are Austin Ireland (106), Thomas Severns (113), Jeffery VanAntwerp (126), Ethan Becher (132), Koy Meyers (145) and Tanner Boss.

Class 2A is expected to belong to the Moorcroft Wolves based on returnees from their state championship team of last year. Cokeville wants to be a factor there as usual and there will be some surprises. Thermopolis will be a total success if they can claim a spot in the top ten. Freshmen are still freshmen even when they are a talented lot, and this has been a learning year.

State competition starts at 9 a.m. Friday, March 26 and will continue on Saturday until the new state champions are crowned.