Four Bobcat wrestlers place at state

The Bobcats finished sixth place with five eligible wrestlers competing at the 2A State Championship tournament in Casper last weekend. Senior Roedy Farrell brought home his third state championship title.

“We had four placers with three in the state championship matches and one coming back through the consolations with a fourth place finish. Friday night was a very exciting round with the cats punching three tickets into the state championship matches. We had some very tough matches that we came out on top of and was so much fun for Bobcat wrestlers and fans. Friday night was one of the most incredible moments in wrestling that we as coaches have been associated with,” said coach Travis McDermott.

Farrell at 160 lbs., finished off his high school career with his third state championship, showing his dominance in the first three matches getting pins in all three. Farrell had to work for his final championship this year against Thompson of Cokeville. He won his final match with a 3-1 decision in a well maintained match.

“Roedy had to be smart and took advantage in the third period getting his match winning takedown and holding Thompson down in the third period. Roedy wasn’t feeling the best over the weekend so he managed his championship match perfectly and controlling the match to the finish. He is only the third Bobcat to become a three time state champion. He finished the season with a 42-2 record and a career record of 120-20. Roedy completed four years being an All State wrestler in each of those years. He is one of the greatest Bobcat wrestlers and showed that this weekend pulling through adversity and completing an amazing career,” said coach McDermott.

Sophomore Will Ward completed an incredible season with an All State second place finish at 126 lbs. Ward had some great matches through the tournament winning an amazing come from behind win in the semi-final match Friday night.

“Will started out a bit slow going down 7-2 in the first period. He fought back in the second period tying the match at 7-7 going into the third period. Ward chose down in the third getting an escape but then giving up another takedown with one minute left. He secured an escape and in the last 20 seconds got a takedown to secure the victory and an 11-9 win,” said coach McDermott.

He added, “This was an incredible win by an incredible person. We always say ‘go be Will Ward‘ because we know that when it comes to pressure situations he will perform and come up with something incredible. Will went into the state championship match as a big underdog against Roany Proffit of Kemmerer, a defending state champion. Will never backed down and showed his fearlessness against Proffit. While he lost the match it was no doubt that he established himself as one of Wyoming’s top wrestlers and earned the respect of every person in the state. Will ends his sophomore season with a 35-13 record and All State honors. Will has positioned himself as one of the best in the state and will push everyone that he competes against with a smile.”

At 152 lbs., Brody Sorensen ended a great sophomore season earning a second place at state. He battled illness all season right up to the regional tournament.

“In the state tournament, Brody dominated his first and quarter final matches pinning both opponents. His semi-final match was another barn burner that he was up to the task of completing. With a great game plan in place on our feet, Brody got the first and second takedown as well as back points in the first period putting him up 6-2 in the first period. Brody gave up a reversal in the second as well as a technical violation to make it 6-5 going into the final period. Brody hit two excellent switches in the third period and held on to a 10-7 victory to put him into the state championship. Another tall task taking on defending state champion Walker of Kemmerer Brody didn’t hold back but ended up losing in the championship,” said coach McDermott.

He added, “Brody ended the year with 21-12 record and an All State honor. Brody is a talented wrestler with a bright future that works hard and is dedicated to his craft. He is a very coachable kid that wants to become the best and will be a dominate force for the next two years.”

At 170 lbs., Sam Skelton had an amazing tournament ending with a fourth place finish. He lost his quarter final match to Long of Moorcroft in a tough fought battle.

“Sam fought back to make it Saturday and won a great match in the blood round against a common opponent in Hagler of Kemmerer. Skelton dominated the match eventually pinning him to secure his state placement. In the consolation semi’s Sam battled a highly ranked wrestlers in Moline of Tongue River. Skelton battled from behind to eventually pin Moline in the third period to get into the third place match. Sam went up against Schramm of Kemmerer, another highly ranked wrestler, for third place just coming up short and ended up in fourth place,” said coach McDermott.

He added, “The sophomore ended his season with a 25-10 record and a state placing. No one had Sam on their radar this year but he continually won matches he wasn’t expected to win. It didn’t matter who he wrestled, he was always going to go after them and wear them down. Sam was underweight for where he wrestled but was competitive in every match he was in this year.”

Seth Needham, a junior at 145 lbs., also competed at state but was put in a tough draw situation and could not get going in the tournament. “Seth battled back this season from medical issues to compete in a tough weight. I know that Seth was disappointed with his performance but he is always a hard worker that just had some physical adversity that was difficult for anyone to overcome. Seth has such a great positive attitude that will serve himself through his life. I would love to have a team with Seth’s attitude and effort and appreciate everything he does on this team,” said coach McDermott.

Coach McDermott summed up state and the entire season by saying, “I am incredibly impressed with the finish of these individuals and enjoy the way that they compete. It was amazing that we ended in sixth place with only four wrestlers scoring points. Coach Ryan, Coach Faller, and Coach Carstens all had great impact on our wrestlers and deserve a lot of credit for their dedication to the sport as well as to the Bobcat Wrestling community. I cant thank our incredible program supporters enough for the time that they spend through all of our athletes careers. Our USA program led by Leif Polson, Will Farrell, and Sean Boren push out incredible wrestlers every year and are constantly with the high school wrestlers. Toby Emery and Boone Bowker with our middle school wrestlers continually work with us to make sure that skills are developed so kids are competitive at the high school level. We have the greatest supporters of any sport and I want to thank them for everything they do to promote wrestling in the community and state.”