Wrestlers show strong individual performances

At midweek before his Bobcat wrestlers journeyed to Pavillion for the Don Runner Memorial, Coach C.J. Scholl took time to caution his team in a no uncertain manner that if they thought they were going to have an easy time of it because it was primarily a 2A tournament, they'd better think again. By the time they thought again, they found themselves in the middle of the pack, finishing seventh of the 18 entries.

Roosevelt, Utah, Cokeville, and Big Piney finished as the top three, with the only other 3A entry, Rawlins, finishing one spot above the Bobcats' 127 points. Even Cullen Becher's anticipated 25 team points would have only moved the Bobcats finish up one place, and Becher was sidelined with an injury.

Leading the Bobcats were junior Austin Ireland, senior Koy Myers, and freshman Logan Cole. Myers' aggressive, tough style resulted in three pins to the final where he met highly rated and No. 1 seed Big Piney's Adam Willoughby. Leading 2-1 going into the last 20 seconds, Myers saw the possible upset victory turn into a bitter defeat as his opponent scored 2 points in the last 10 seconds for the win.

Ireland was the beneficiary of a sparsely populated bracket to use two byes to the quarter finals where he scored a quick 33-second pin over his Big Piney opponent followed by a dominating performance over Lovell's Cardon Michelson 12-5. The results reversed themselves in the final as Roosevelt's Will Locke used 6 back points to send Ireland to a 13-7 defeat.

Cole started the tournament wrestling well enough to win, but certainly not to the level he has shown at his best, but after a bye and two humdrum decisions - the second over No. 1 seed TJ Frazier - he turned on the athletic ability people expect of him and dominated Rich Co.'s No. 2 seed with a major decision 13-4 victory. Cole was the only competitor in the tournament to defeat both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on his way to the championship.

Others contributing to the Bobcat cause were Blake Williams (3-2) fourth, Jeffery VanAntwerp (4-2) fourth, Hunter Mounts 1-2, Chase White 2-2, Riley Shaffer 3-3 and Jon Harvey 1-2.

The tournament was down slightly this year with a couple of usual attendees competing at other venues to showcase their wrestlers to a wider audience. The Don Runner gives young Bobcat wrestlers a chance to gain experience in competition meeting other wrestlers on their own level.

The Bobcats will be at the Lander Invite Friday and Saturday, Jan. 19 and 20. This tournament is a genuine 3A tournament, and will help get the Cats ready for the competition of the rest of the season.