Busy week for wrestling

In one of the busiest weeks of the year for the Bobcats, they faced Lovell and Worland on their Senior Night at home Thursday, and then on a snowy, windy day journeyed to Glenrock to face arguably the best two 2A teams in the state.

With 24 points in forfeits added to their total against Lovell, Thermopolis won on the mat too for a 52-16 victory before facing Worland in a surprisingly close and interesting match, this time forfeiting 18 points to Worland's total and wrestling them nearly even on the mat in a 40-21 loss.

Winning in both duals were Bobcats Koy Myers, Cullen Becher, and Logan Cole. Myers lived up to his reputation as a "pinner" by ending his matches in 3:27 against Lovell and 1:04 against Worland.

Becher was returning to action after an absence from training, and it showed as he won against Lovell by way of a second period pin, and then hung on for a decision against Worland's tough Luke Goncalves, 9-7, in what turned into a close match in the third period as Becher tired.

Cole's sometimes overly patient defensive style earned him a 12-1 major decision, and nearly cost him the 3-2 victory in a nail-biter against Worland's tough J.R. Hoffman.

Cole's decision to drop to the 182 lb. weight was probably in part responsible for his obvious fatigue at the end of the match. It will be interesting to see what his final decision will be with regards to the upcoming regional and state tournaments.

Another Bobcat winner against Lovell was Austin Ireland who recorded a pin in 5:22. Also scoring against Worland was Andrew Yarbrough who recorded a 27-second pin.

In Friday action against Glenrock, the Bobcats were on the short end of a 51-24 score. The Herders, gifted 24 points from open weights, never looked back in their victory.

Ireland scored a fall in 1:50, Blake Williams followed with a pin in 53 seconds, Jon Harvey scored a second period pin at 3:51 and Riley Shaffer closed out Bobcat scoring with a pin at 1:55.

The score on the mat was 27-24, Glenrock making the following match against Moorcroft indicative of the power of the Wolves in 2A. They battered the Bobcats to a 70-9 result with 30 of those points coming by way of forfeit, but the results on the mat were still a disappointing 40-9.

Only Ireland with a pin in 58 seconds, and Cole with an 8-5 decision over the No. 1 rated 2A 182-pounder Tucker Allison were able to put points on the board for the Bobcats.

Coach C.J. Scholl could hardly mask his enthusiasm for the Thursday performance of his Bobcats.

"They were ready to go and 'up' for the matches. The Worland match was especially a 'main event' for the team, and they wrestled tough. Team leaders, especially Koy (Myers) motivated them with words and by example as he wrestled as well as he has all year. Cullen (Becher) and Logan (Cole) performed well in close matches, and on the mat we were the equal of our 'Northern opponents.'

"Maybe that the team was so hyped up for their last home date and senior night was the cause for a let down on Friday. We didn't wrestle as well and several of our athletes were not there in order to take their college entry tests in Thermopolis. No excuses though, Glenrock and Moorcroft are the best two teams in 2A, and probably could beat all 3A teams with the possible exception of Star Valley."

The season is rapidly coming to the end as only the regionals in Worland, Feb. 16 and 17, and the state tournament in Casper, Feb. 23 and 24 remain. It appears that the Bobcats will be healthy for the remaining action, and several are expected to do well in both tournaments.