Grapplers battle at home

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Editor
 
The Dogies/Bobcats came to compete in their home tournament last Friday. Unfortunately, being short-handed four wrestlers left them just 12 points out of first place and having to settle for fourth. 
“I was really happy with Friday because we competed well and did so in positions we’ve been focusing on, like working to score points off the bottom,” head coach Lee McCoy said. “I just wish we could have had our full team, because then we probably could have won the whole thing.” 
McCoy went on to note that the improvements made by his wrestlers went a long way toward helping them win matches, and that not only were they working more effectively off the bottom, they also performed much better on top, holding opponents down and working from the top position. 
Haven Vrana lost only one match on the day to finish second in the 106-pound weight class. According to McCoy, the freshman got past a tough opponent from Newell in a come-from-behind win in the semifinals to advance to the championship round. 
“Haven threw him to his back a few times and had the kid rattled, and then he just took over in the third period and got the pin,” McCoy said. “We’re starting to get into pretty good shape, so in the third period, we can start breaking people. In the finals, he was wrestling a pretty tough kid from Natrona, and Haven only weighs 96 pounds so he was definitely at a size disadvantage.” 
Jackson East, also a freshman, ended up fourth at 120.
“Jackson lost in the semis to a tough kid from Thunder Basin, and then lost to a Sturgis opponent whom he had beaten in the first round earlier in the day,” McCoy explained. “He just made a freshman mistake and it cost him.” 
At 126 pounds, Johnny Carlson wrestled his way to the finals and ended up second. In the title match, he was up against Colton Coffman from Lusk who had finished second at the Shane Shatto Tournament last week and is a tough competitor. 
“Johnny wrestled him well but ended up losing it by decision 4-8,” McCoy said. “He went at him hard and had him a little rattled in the third period, but time just ran out.” 
Cael Holmes finished fifth at 132, ending the day with a 4-2 record. 
“He was hurt early in the season which set him back a little bit, and has been struggling a little bit to find his rhythm and his groove,” McCoy said. “If he was 100%, he would have gotten past some of those tough matches he was in during the day.”
Thomas Prell also competed in the 132-pound weight class, and he finished sixth, losing his final match to Holmes.
As one of two Dogies/Bobcats competing at 152 pounds, Cullen Davis suffered only one loss on the day, but that loss was in the semifinals which put him out of the running for the title. Therefore, Davis finished the day in third place. 
“Cullen wrestled really well and he’s a pretty exciting kid to watch. He’s not one who likes to get guys down and hold them there,” McCoy said. “He likes the art of wrestling and he’s pretty good at it and pretty dangerous with some of the moves he’s able to execute.” 
Walker Simianer was the other 152-pounder, and he finished sixth including a loss to Davis in the consolation semifinals.
Jacob Prell took home first place at 160, going undefeated in three matches, all of
which he won by pinning his opponent. 
“Jacob is really starting to improve and learning to control his hips better and react faster. He’s making the move to being a next-level competitor,” nodded McCoy. “He has some really good stuff, but he lacks a little in confidence. He is starting to find it though and is being really competitive, and what’s really great is that he’s winning the matches he’s supposed to win.”
Ian Simmons at 182 finished fifth, winning all but his semifinal and consolation
semifinal rounds. 
“Ian also lacks a little confidence,” McCoy said. “If he’s dominating a match, he’s pretty much unbeatable, but if not, he’s a little unsure.”
Finally, Josh Womack continued his quest for a state title by winning his weight class at 220. His championship match was against a tough Lusk wrestler whom he beat last week. Womack solidified that win by pinning him in 1:45
but the match was not without its drama. 
“There was a scary moment when Josh took him down with a fireman’s throw. He kind of dropped his head and the kid rolled him through,” McCoy said. “Luckily, he was able to fight off his back to avoid the pin, and then he took him down again, kept his head up and pinned him. He learned pretty quickly from that mistake.”
The Dogies/Bobcats were scheduled to travel to Torrington for the Trailblazer duals on Saturday, however due to illness running through the squad and COVID hitting Torrington as well, McCoy opted to back out to give his team some much needed rest over the weekend. 
“We had a good tournament on Friday, and I wish we could have made it to Torrington because our younger guys need mat time, but it really was for the best that we gave the guys a couple days to rest,” McCoy said. “Also, they were going to implement mask restrictions so we decided it would be better to just give ourselves a weekend off to rest and recuperate.”
This week is another busy one for the team. They went to Douglas for a quad on Tuesday against Douglas, Wheatland and Torrington. Then on Friday and Saturday they’ll be in Moorcroft for a big tournament with teams from Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.
“We will have quite a bit of great competition in Moorcroft which will be great for us,” McCoy stated. “The freshmen also have earned their way into varsity action after competing well in the JV division at Shane Shatto so I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do in Moorcroft.”