Bobcat wrestlers fight illness, injuries

The Bobcat wrestlers were in Lander this last weekend and were short wrestlers due to injuries and illness.  The Cats that were able to attend worked hard and fought for their placements. 

Varsity wrestlers Will Ward at 113 lbs placed 4th and Austin Barral at 182 lbs placed 5th. 

Ward’s first draw was Smith from Cody which Ward ended up losing the match. With his loss Ward had to fight his way through the back side to win two in a row, putting him against another Cody wrestler that he lost to, placing him in 4th. 

“Will is such a tough competitor and one of the hardest workers in the room,” coach Travis McDermott said. 

Barral won his first match against Cleveland from Buffalo. He lost his quarterfinal match to Beck of Star Valley in a close 6-4 match. He then also fought his way back through the consolation bracket winning two in a row to get into a placing position.  He then lost his consolation semi match to Mathews from Douglas.

Sam Skelton at 152 lbs won the JV tournament on Friday.  Having a successful weekend Skelton only lost one match. Skelton was able to win the next two matches. The first match he pulled out a 6-5 win over Neild from Star Valley. His semifinal match he pinned Fincher from Worland.  In his championship match he mounted a come-back to get a 9-8 win over Jensen of Star Valley.

Saturday the Cats that were eliminated Friday were placed in a second chance bracket to get more matches. “Our wrestlers work hard and were excited to have the opportunity to hit the mats,” said coach McDermott.

Most of the Bobcats got two matches and they all battled hard.  “We had a lot of enthusiasm and I was glad to see our perseverance after a tough Friday,” added coach McDermott.

This week the Bobcats have Buffalo on home turf Thursday night for a dual.  Friday and Saturday the Cats will be in Riverton for one of the toughest tournaments of the year with some of the best wrestlers in the state.