STATE CHAMPS!

At regionals in Riverton, the Hot Springs County High School Bobcats basketball team won their way into the State Championship tournament, which was held in Casper last weekend. The Cats spent much of the season atop the 2A rankings, and finished the regular season in first place in the 2A Northwest quad.

The Bobcats went two for three at regionals, taking home third place after defeating Rocky Mountain in the third place game. That put the team into the State Championships as the number 3 seed from the West, despite their number one standing in the rankings.

To make it into the State Championship game, the Bobcats would first have to win games on Thursday and Friday of the three-day tournament. On day one, the Cats drew the number two seed from the East and number two ranked Wright Panthers. In what could easily have been a Championship game matchup, the two teams played before a large crowd at the Ford Wyoming Center. With the top two 2A teams in the arena, the crowd was large and vocal.

Arriving for the tournament in Bobcat purple blazers, the Cats were looking "fly" and were focused only on taking home "the big trophy." On the down-side, the Bobcats would have to get past that top team to get to the semi-finals, however, on the up-side, being the first opponent of the tournament, the Cats were able to spend the preceding week preparing for the Panthers.

As the game got under way, both teams appeared to recognize the enormity of the situation, and each team took some time to get settled into their respective offense. Neither Cody Bomengen nor Brody Potter were in their grove in the first half, but following a "next man up" philosophy the team had utilized all season, Zak Hastie and Dell Dukes carried the load - putting the Bobcats up by five at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter, however, saw the Panthers begin to hit their grove, and resulted in a twelve-point swing on the scoreboard. The score swung like a pendulum throughout the third quarter, and as they headed into the last period, the Cats were down by two points. But then, things began to gel.

Sparked by three nice dunks by senior Brody Potter and on the heels of scoring runs by Dell Dukes and Zak Hastie, the Cats pulled ahead and never looked back. By games end, the Bobcats had defeated a very good team, by a score of 74-57.

Next up was Wyoming Indian. The Chiefs are a perennially good team, and always bring their A game – evidenced by their delivering the Bobcats only loss the week before at regionals. The Chiefs had won the West Regional Tournament, and were therefore, the number one seed from the West at State.

With Cody Bomengen dropping every shot that had escaped him in the Wright game, and with the Cats winning the battle of the boards in rebounds, the Bobcats were up six at the half and only extended their lead in the second half. It was an all-around superior performance from the Bobcats that sent the Chiefs into the third place game, with a loss of 60-47. Brody Potter, Zak Hastie and Cody Bomengen finished the game with double digits in points.

Saturday night found the Bobcats playing in their first Championship game in more than twenty years. Facing the number three seed from the East, the Pine Bluffs Hornets, it was a final game which featured the two number three seeded teams in the tournament. Both teams were heavily supported by their communities, and the crowd was as large as might be expected.

Thermopolis had not played Pine Bluffs this year, and thus, the Bobcats coaching staff were faced with game-prepping for an opponent they had not yet seen in action. Coach Shane Corpening said, "We had just fifteen hours to prepare for the game, and while that is not a lot of time, we had worked a game plan all year that had proved successful, so maybe the short time kept us from either over-prepping, or under-prepping, for the game. Besides, these guys have played together since they were in the 5th or 6th grade, they know each other's habits and tendencies, and we needed to just let them play our game. And that's what they did."

Dell Dukes and Zak Hastie were locked in and focused throughout the game, epitomizing the skills, which had made the Cats the top defense in 2A this year. Additionally, they joined Cody Bomengen and Brody Potter in putting up double digits in scoring for all four players.

After the high stress game against Wright on Thursday, the Championship game proved to be an easy win for the Cats. In the end, they defeated Pine Bluffs by twenty-two points (61-39). It was a remarkable way for seniors Dell Dukes, Brody Potter, Chris Arends and Ryan Arends, to finish their high school careers, and left the Cats with a record of 25-4 for the season.

Oh yeah – and then there is that State Championship trophy the 2025 Bobcats carried home to Thermopolis. The sixth such title in school history, and the first since 2004. Not a bad year.

Interviewed after the game, coach Corpening said, "We had a great year, and I am really proud of these guys. They proved they are the best. And, we all really appreciated the amazing support the Thermopolis community gave us all year. The people in the stands at every game, and the financial support provided by local businesses, it all contributed toward a great year for this team, and our community."