Wrestlers finish fourth

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
The Dogies/Bobcats went into the 3A East Regional Tournament last weekend determined to qualify as many wrestlers as possible for the State Tournament and vie for a top placing as a team. 
When the dust cleared on Saturday afternoon, 11 of the 17 athletes on the squad had punched their tickets to the Big Dance, and the team claimed fourth place.
“Our goal going in was to finish in the top three. We ended up a little short on that, but we wrestled pretty well,” Newcastle head coach Jason Wheeler began. “We had a couple of tough breaks along the way, but overall we’re pretty happy with the results of the weekend.”
Kale Corley, in his second weekend out after being sidelined for about a month due to torn meniscus, competed at 138 pounds for the first time this season and claimed the Regional Championship title. In addition, he tied for Outstanding Wrestler of the tournament along with Cody Pinkerton from Douglas.
“Kale wrestled tough, especially in the championship match. He cradled the kid a couple of times before actually pinning him and it was really fun to watch,” Wheeler smiled. “It was a great debut for him at 138, and I think he has a pretty good setup going into the state tournament.” 
Blake Durfee finished third at 106, after losing a tough match in the semifinal round by a close 4-2 decision.
“Blake wrestled a little tentatively in that round,” Wheeler frowned. “I think he can get that kid, and he looked good the rest of the tournament, so hopefully he’ll be able to get the win if he sees him again this coming weekend.”
Cael Holmes also competed in the 106 division, and qualified for the state tournament, but was out of the running for a first through fourth seeding. He and Durfee had to go up against each other where Durfee got the better of Holmes.
“Cael gave Blake a good match but one of them had to lose,” Wheeler stated. “He ended up with a pretty good draw for the state tournament, though so that’s good.”
Tristan Wornkey finished third at 152. His one loss on the day came in the quarterfinal round where his opponent from Buffalo managed to stick him with only 45 seconds to go in the match. “Tristan had a really good tournament especially for starting wrestling so late in the season,” Wheeler admitted. “His third place match was really fun to watch. He was down and then got the kid in a headlock and scored five points. He then was able to ride it out to get the W with a slim 8-7 decision.”
Josh Womack (182) also finished in third place. His loss came right out of the gate in the quarterfinal round where he lost to a Douglas opponent by a 16-2 Major Decision.
“After that first loss, Josh finished strong,” Wheeler began. “He’s been fighting a shoulder issue, so that loss was probably due to that.”
Skylar Jenkins took fourth at 160, and according to Wheeler, looked the best he has all season. “Skylar really had a good tournament, and just looked sharp,” he nodded. “He did some moves he’s been working on in practice and took care of business pretty quickly in a few of his matches.”
The final Dogie/Bobcat to place at the tournament was Jonathan Morgan, who placed fourth at 126. 
“Johnny wrestled well and is actually up a weight class from normal,” Wheeler nodded. “He’s a tough kid and surprised some kids so that was fun to see.”
In addition to Holmes, Jory McFarland (120), Aidan Coberly (138), Jacob Rhoades (145) and Weston Simianer (195) also qualified for the state tournament.
Those who place in the top four go into the tournament with their corresponding seeding, however the fifth through eighth places do not. Those athletes draw their opening round opponents, so it is left to chance regarding who they have to go up against to start things off. Fortunately, each of these wrestlers were lucky with a decent first draw, which Wheeler emphasized could give the team a pretty good chance to get into placing rounds at State.
The Dogies/Bobcats will be in action at the 3A State Tournament in Casper starting at around 9 on Friday morning with the first round of wrestling. They will wrestle through the semifinals by the end of the day, then will have wrestle-backs all day on Saturday up to the finals.
“We’re excited to see what the kids can do this weekend,” Wheeler exclaimed. “We feel pretty good about where we landed in the brackets so it could be fun!”
If you are unable to attend the tournament, you can go to the NFHS Network to watch all the action for a small fee.