Newcastle grapplers compete at regionals
The Dogie wrestlers traveled to Torrington Friday and Saturday for the 3A East Regional Tournament. Despite qualifying four for the state tournament next weekend, head coach Teigen Marchant was left a little disappointed with how the weekend played out.
“The weekend went pretty well, but I will admit that I am a little disappointed because, even though we got four qualified for state, I was hoping for five,” Marchant admitted. “I think we had some regression over the weekend, especially with some of the big moves that we’ve been making.”
Fortunately, there were some definite highs that Marchant took from the weekend.
Charlie Bowles, in the 120-pound weight class, finished eighth place, thereby punching his ticket to the culminating tournament. He clinched his state berth with his quarter-final win against a Rawlins opponent by pinning him in 4:36. From there, Bowles lost in the semi-finals to Torrington in 34 seconds and to Burns/Pine Bluffs in the consolation semis by fall in 52 seconds.
“Charlie came out with a vengeance in his quarter-final match,” Marchant said. “I was super happy with how he started out, but toward the end, I think he was battling himself a little too much.”
Casey Matthews (132) finished fourth, which grants him seeding for the initial rounds in Casper this weekend. He made quick work of his round one opponent, pinning him in 59 seconds. He then battled a Buffalo competitor in the quarter-finals where he got the narrow 5-3 decision win. In the semi-finals, Matthews lost by a 4-12 major decision to Torrington, then won his consolation semi-final match against Torrington in a four overtime, ultimate tie-breaker 3-2 victory.
In his third-place match, Matthews fell to Wheatland in 3:47. Marchant contributed this loss to fatigue from the consolation semis match.
“Casey came out really strong, then won in a match that was closer than it should have been,” Marchant said. “His consolation semis match was a nail biter to say the least! After three overtimes where neither kid scored any points, it came down to an ultimate tie-breaker situation where Casey was able to get an escape to take the one point win. That was hard on him, though, and I think it took a toll on him in the third-place match.”
Scott Larson also finished fourth at 138 pounds, so he will also be seeded heading into the state tournament on Thursday. He began his regional tournament with a bye in the first round, then got a 2:22 pin in the quarter-final round against Worland. Torrington defeated Larson in the semis with a quick 58 second pin, but Larson rebounded with a 33 second pin over Rawlins in the consolation semis. In the third-place match, Larson lost by a heartbreaking 9-11 decision against Buffalo to take fourth.
“Scott’s loss in the semis was the result of him just getting caught in a weird position,” Marchant said. “The third-place match was tight all the way through. We should have beat the kid, but hopefully we’ll get a chance to see him again at state.”
Dane Crabtree (157) was the final Dogie to secure a state berth. After receiving a bye for the first round, the freshman fell to Torrington in the quarter-finals by a 2:24 pin. He then wrestled against his teammate, CJ Hardy, in the consolation round and got the pin in the second period.
From there Crabtree defeated Torrington by sticking him in 1:40, then lost in the consolation semis to Worland in 1:46.
“Dane had a phenomenal tournament,” Marchant said. “His quarter-final match was so close and could have gone either way. I was really happy with how he performed the whole weekend.”
Thomas Prell (144) and CJ Hardy (157) fell short of punching their tickets to the state meet, so ended their season in Torrington.
“Coming into the weekend, Thomas was doing fantastic and I had high hopes for him to do well. He lost his first match to Torrington after five minutes and then just couldn’t seem to come back from that,” Marchant said. “CJ’s loss to Dane was tough for both of them, but I’m really proud of how CJ did with so little experience this season.”'
The Dogies will get things started at the 3A State Tournament Thursday at noon in the Ford Center in Casper. The championship matches will conclude the tournament on Saturday.