Wrestlers grapple their way to gold bracket at Battle in the Big Horns

After kicking off their wrestling season with a win over the Greybull Buffs on Thursday, the Bobcat wrestling team came out grappling even tougher at the Battle in the Big Horns over the weekend.

"They wrestled phenomenally better on Saturday," head wrestling coach CJ Scholl said. "They took the demeanor of a junk yard dog and went after it."

The Cats wrestled their way into the Gold Bracket for the second year in a row, knocking down Wheatland and Lovell before losing to Riverton, Worland and Lander to come out with an 8th place finish.

"That's what we want to be," Scholl said. "We want to be that team that comes from the bottom and keeps fighting. Our losses were all in the third period which shows they are fighting til the end. We want to be a 3A State contender."

In the 106 lb. weight class, Austin Ireland finished with a 3-4 record, taking the win over Worland, Wheatland and a forfeit along with losses to Riverton, two wrestlers from Lander and a loss to Worland.

Also in the 106 was Josh Lackey who came away with a forfeit win and losses to Kelly Walsh, Riverton and Worland.

Blake Williams went 5-3 in the 113 lb. weight class, wining against Riverton, Worland and Lovell, along with a loss to Worland, Lander and Kelly Walsh.

Wrestling in the 120 lb. class, Jonathan Hagen pulled a 2-6 record with wins over Kelly Walsh and Lovell. Losses came from Lander, Riverton, Worland and Wheatland.

Chase White had a 1-4 record in the 126 lb. bracket, his single win over Kelly Walsh with losses to Wheatland, Lander, Worland and Lovell.

Aiden Ozmon and Hunter Mounts wrestled at 132 lbs.

Ozmon went 1-2 for the meet with his single win over Lovell and losses to Lander and Worland.

Mounts had a 0-5 record, losing to Wheatland, Lander, Worland, Kelly Walsh and Riverton.

Jeffery VanAntwerp took the mat eight times in the 138 lb. class, coming away with a 2-6 record. His wins were over Wheatland along with a forfeit while his losses came from Lander, Kelly Walsh, Riverton and Worland.

Koy Myers brought home a 5-2 record in the 145 lb. class with wins over Wheatland, Riverton, Worland, Lovell and Kelly Walsh. His two losses were dropped to Lander.

Eric Bleak had a single match in the 145 lb. weight class, losing to Worland.

The Bobcats have three wrestlers in the 152 lb. class, Riley Shaffer, Tyler Kay and Tanner Boss.

Shaffer had a 2-3 record, winning against Riverton and Worland. Losses came from Lander and Lovell.

Kay's 0-2 record came at the hands of Worland and Lovell.

Boss had losses to Wheatland, Lander and Kelly Walsh to finish with a 0-3 record.

160 pound Jon Harvey went 1-5, his single win over Wheatland. Losses came at the hands of Worland, Lander, Kelly Walsh and Riverton.

Best record of the weekend went to Cullen Becher in the 170 lb. class with a 7-1 record. His only loss was to Riverton, while wins were over Lander, Wheatland, Kelly Walsh, Worland and Lovell.

There are two Bobcats wrestling in the 182 lb. class, Michael Harvey and Tyson Tobar.

Harvey split his matches 4-4, topping Wheatland and Lovell. His losses came from Kelly Walsh, Riverton and Worland.

Tobar's 1-6 record showed a single win over Wheatland, but dropped matches to Worland, Lander, Riverton and Kelly Walsh.

A 2-6 record for Andrew Yarbrough in the 220 lb. weight class finished the weekend. He won over Worland and had a single forfeited match. Losses were against Lander, Kelly Walsh, Riverton, Worland and Lovell.