Eleven Bobcats wrestle at state

Thermopolis sent eleven wrestlers to the 3A State Tournament in Casper, but after the first round of matches, only two remained in the championship brackets, junior Austin Ireland and freshman Logan Cole.

Several came close. Jon Harvey was well ahead when a weak move opened the door for his opponent to turn him to his back for the pin. The Bobcats' only state placer from last year's state tourney, Cullen Becher, had mounted a strong comeback after being down by several points and gained control of his opponents legs on a "double leg shot" at a takedown only to have his opponent roll through the effort to gain back points and a victory. Neither of the 195-pounders who had surprised and stirred the team at regionals were able to gain a victory in first round action. Other Bobcats wrestling in Casper, Blake Williams, Jeff VanAntwerp, Koy Myers, Riley Shaffer, and Andrew Yarbrough all met the same fate in the first round of the tourney.

The Bobcats didn't have time to brood over the first round outcomes, and Ireland started them off with another victory in the quarterfinals in a narrow 3-1 decision followed later by Cole's second pin of the tournament. The two qualified for the semi finals held in the last round of Friday's action.

As the first round of the "wrestle backs" (consolation brackets) began Friday afternoon, nine Bobcats remained in contention, but by the end of the round, that number had been reduced by four as Williams, VanAntwerp, Harvey, and Yarbrough were eliminated from further competition.

Myers had re-established his usual pinning style, joined by Becher, Shaffer, and Weaver who all pinned their opponents while Hyrum Rich dominated

Friday night pitted Ireland against eventual tournament champion Pinedale's Keegan Gehlhausen. A controversial call in the razor thin 5-4 loss led to a two technical point award to Gehlhausen as Ireland went from a 4-3 lead to a 5-4 loss. In the same round, Cole took on No. 2 seed, Newcastle/Upton's Teigan Marchant and while he was competitive lost a 9-5 decision.

On Saturday afternoon, the consolation rounds played out with all four of the remaining Bobcats losing in the consolation semis and subsequently wrestling for 5/6th places. Two Thermopolis competitors, Becher and Cole, both won for fifth place in the tournament. Becher became a rare three-time state placer. Ireland, injured in his last match, and Hyrum Rich both ended their tournaments in sixth place.

The Bobcats finished with 51.5 points. Point earners were Becher (15), Cole (13), Ireland (9), Rich (8), Myers (3.5), and Shaffer (3).

3A champion Star Valley lived up to its advanced billing scoring more than 100 points more than runners-up Cody and Worland who fought it out for second and third with Cody finishing ahead of the Warriors by 11 points.

Coach Scholl expressed appreciation for the leadership the seniors (Myers, Becher, Austin Weaver, and Yarbrough) exhibited throughout the season.

"Big thanks to the seniors for flipping the switch and getting eleven into the state tournament," stated Scholl, adding, " They have set a mark to shoot at for those returning next year. We'll be not only interested in getting there, we'll be interested in placing kids in position to get medals thanks to the leadership this year.

"Coach Trey Ottley has added greatly with new ideas and techniques for the wrestlers, and been great support in the program. We're looking forward to continued progress next year with our returning athletes, and freshmen coming into the program for the middle school."

Special awards will be featured at the end of season banquet on March 6 at an as yet to be arranged time.