High school athletes compete at Nationals in Virgina Beach

The Hot Springs County High School Bobcats and Lady Cats wrestlers gained six individual champions at this year's State Championships Tournament. Five of those champions traveled to Virginia Beach last weekend, to ply their trade at the National High School Championships.

Graduating senior Will Ward was not able to attend the event, however, senior Brody Sorensen was joined by junior, Alix Sorensen and by sophomores Lilly Quintanilla, Cannon Boren, and Dyllan Meyers, in making the trip. All of these wrestlers had stand-out seasons this year, however, as in all things, as you progress up the ladder, the competition continually becomes more and more challenging.

The National Tournament drew five thousand high school champion wrestlers from all across the country, including 50 boys and 13 girls, from the State of Wyoming. Battling against highly funded, year-round wrestling programs, the Wyoming grapplers faced the best-of-the-best.

While none of the Thermopolis wrestlers were able to place in their respective weight classes, coach Travis McDermott said, "All of the kids did really well. They were up against some of the finest wrestlers in the nation, and faced a level of competition, which until now, they had not encountered. It was a good learning experience for them, and they all have something to take away from their participation, which they can use to improve their skills."

Lilly Quintanilla and Cannon Boren each had wins in the tournament, but were unable to make it into the placing rounds. Brody Sorenson suffered an extremely unfortunate lower body injury in his first bout, and was unable to proceed. Dyllan Meyers had to wrestle up a weight class, which made his outing even more difficult. Alix Sorensen faced some very accomplished competition, which prevented her from earning a win.

Lilly Quintanilla will compete in Vegas in April, and will then join fellow teammates to compete in Fargo in July.