Grapplers have a busy week

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
It was a grueling week filled with fierce competition in three different quadrangulars from which the Dogies/Bobcats emerged with a 3-5-1 record. With opponents ranging from 2A to 4A, Newcastle/Upton won against the teams they should have and learned some lessons from those to whom they lost.
“It was a hell week for us, and we faced the toughest teams we are going to see all year, but overall it was a good week and although we ended up losing more than we won, the competition was tough which was good for us as far as gaining a lot throughout the week,” co-head coach Lee McCoy nodded. “Obviously, we’d like to do better, but I saw a lot more from the guys from Tuesday against Douglas to Saturday against Thunder Basin and Natrona as far as the try they were putting forth. There was a lot to be learned from those matches, and I think we did.”
On Tuesday, the squad traveled to Torrington where they faced off against Wheatland, Torrington and Douglas. They got a 41-24 win against Torrington, lost a close one 30-39 against Wheatland and were blown out 12-63 by Douglas.
“We ended up losing the dual against Wheatland, however having more forfeits than the Bulldogs certainly didn’t help the score and we wrestled pretty well,” McCoy insisted. “Torrington was missing quite a few kids and they are down a bit so it wasn’t a really competitive dual, but Douglas was another matter. They are ranked second in the state and they are a solid, tough team from top to bottom.”
Thomas Prell (126-pound weight class), Kale Corley (145) and Skylar Jenkins (170) got a pin against the Bulldogs, Blake Durfee (113), Johnny Carlson (132), Corley and Jenkins stuck their Blazer opponents, but only Aidan Coberly (138) and Corley were able to get the better of the Bearcats in their matchups.
“We were open at 106 and from 182 through 285 so that didn’t help us at all, especially against Douglas who filled up every weight class so we gave up 30 points just in forfeits,” McCoy sighed. “But at the same time, we were pretty flat against Douglas and we weren’t attacking like we needed to be. We weren’t wrestling our match and we were letting them dictate what was happening, but it was good that we got to see that kind of competition.”   
There were more tough matchups on tap for the Dogies/Bobcats on Friday and Saturday in Moorcroft. Friday the squad took on Wright, Shoshoni and Campbell County against whom they lost 24-45, won 51-30 and tied 42-42 respectively.
When Newcastle/Upton saw the Panthers early in the season Wright was missing some wrestlers so they did pretty well against them. However, on Friday they had everyone back and all were down to their fighting weights and wrestling with a little bit of a chip on their shoulder looking for vengeance.
“Wright out-hustled us, they out-wrestled us and it was an eye-opener for our kids,” McCoy admitted. “We bounced back though and went up against Shoshoni next and they are a tough 2A team and we wrestled them really well.” 
Only Corley was able to come away with a win against the Panthers while Durfee and Josh Womack (195) picked up forfeits. Durfee, Cael Holmes (120), Prell (126), Corley and Womack each pinned their Shannon adversary and Coberly won by a 7-0 decision. 
The final dual of the day was against Campbell County and it was a barn burner with every match ending in a pin or a forfeit. 
“I thought it was going to be Campbell County’s junior varsity, but in talking to their coach, all but three or four of the guys were actually their varsity wrestlers,” McCoy claimed. “We were really competitive and though we did lose some matches that we maybe shouldn’t have, overall it was pretty good and it was a fun one to watch!”
Durfee, Holmes, Prell (126), Corley, Jacob Prell (152), Jenkins and Womack all got pins against the Camels so match-wise the Dogies/Bobcats actually got the better of the Gillette squad. Three open forfeits by Newcastle/Upton is what provided the Camels with the points they needed to push the match to a tie.
On Saturday, the squad started off against Greybull and shut them out 54-9 with the only points coming from one win by decision against Carlson and an open forfeit by the Dogies/Bobcats.
Next up, they faced the Thunder Basin varsity squad and Jenkins was the only one who won a match which he did in 1:29. 
“We lost that one 6-71, but the kids looked good. They were going out and getting after it, but they were a good team,” McCoy insisted. “It was another eye-opener for our kids. After facing off against Douglas and then taking on Thunder Basin, the guys realized what they were up against.”
And they were up against it one more time taking on Natrona in which only Jenkins and Durfee were able to pin their opponents leading to another big loss, 12-70. 
“Skylar had a really good week, only losing to his Douglas opponent so he was wrestling well,” McCoy nodded. “Kale wrestled well and had extremely tough competition all week long. His Douglas kid was close and it was a nail-biter, the TB kid is highly ranked in 4A, and he also took on a kid from Natrona who is probably pound for pound one of the best wrestlers in the state. I don’t think Kale and he have ever matched up so this was a first for them.” 
“The kid Blake beat from Natrona is the number two ranked kid in 4A,” he continued. “He just really took it to him and that’s what we’ve been waiting to see from him.” 
This week the squad has only one quad scheduled in Wheatland against Lingle/Southeast, Torrington and Wheatland on Friday.