Archive for the 'Wheatland' Category
Friday, February 26th, 2010
More unpublished material: The wrestling edition
Much of the following state wrestling capsules made it into the print edition of today’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle. However, the “About …” section of each team capsule had to be cut so we could fit the remainder of our prep sports coverage into today’s paper. So here are the full state wrestling capsules for Cheyenne Central, Cheyenne East, Cheyenne South, Burns-Pine Bluffs and Wheatland.
Class 4A
Cheyenne Central
Last season: Fourth place
Returning state placers: Six
Regional champs: 130 Leandro Arias, jr.; 145 Austin Breckenridge, jr.; 152 Bob Helmerick, sr.; 171 Hayden Jones, sr.
Other regional placers: Second, 125 Joe Baca, sr.; 160 Matt Spoon, sr.; Third, 103 Austin Vye, so.; 119 Bailey McHenry, fr.; 189 Taelor Prado, sr.; Fourth, 103 Mike Nelson, so.; 130 Logan Guidry, so.; 135 Chris Nelson, sr.; 140 Tucker Collins, sr.; 215 Russ Bowlin, sr.; 285 Ryan Kuster, sr.
Other qualifiers: 112 Alex Brown, fr.; 119 Tim Scherdon, so.; 125 Brayden Sosa, so.; 135 Dillon Karajanis, sr.; 140 Kendall Nuss, jr.; 145 Mike Hughes, jr.; 152 Ethan Birt, sr.; 160 John Beedle, sr.; 189 James Fossett, fr.; 215 Leon Romero, jr.; 285 Ken Rushing, jr.
About the Indians: Arias, Breckenridge and Jones all wrestled for state titles last year. Only Breckenridge walked away a winner, becoming Central’s first state champ since 2001. … Karajanis is wrestling with a broken left hand. He clinched his state berth by winning his first match at the East Regional in Casper. He defaulted the rest of his bouts but will wrestle at state. … Arias has lost just one match this season.
Cheyenne East
Last season: Sixth
Returning state placers: One
Regional champs: 215 Cheyton Vermillion, sr.; 285 Jacob Edwards, jr.
Other regional placers: Second, 103 Blaze Cress, fr.; 119 Jordan Puente, sr.; 189 Taran Triplett, sr.; Third, 112 Lance Kailey, so.; Fourth, 119 Hayes Stone, fr.; 160 Tanner Hinds, jr.
Other qualifiers: 103 Tanner Wickham, fr.; 112 Darien Briggs, fr.; 125 Kyle Rose, jr.; 125 Luis Reyes, fr.; 130 Blake Hanzlik, so.; 130 Trevor Brower, so.; 135 Isaac Gonzalez, fr.; 152 Nick Haller, jr.; 152 Corey Nelson, so.; 160 Christian Robinson, fr.; 171 Blaine Backman, sr.; 171 Brian Schaefer, so.; 189 Gared Krakow, fr.; 285 D.J. Doolin, jr.
About the Thunderbirds: East does not have an entrant in the 140- and 145-pound classes. … Edwards and junior Dalton Nelson are the only Thunderbirds to place at last year’s state. Nelson spent the winter dealing with a shoulder injury that eventually ended his season. … East coach Dan Ley considers senior 119-pounder Jordan Puente one of the most dangerous wrestlers in the tournament. He also thinks sophomore Lance Kailey (112 pounds) could make some noise.
Class 3A
Cheyenne South
Last season: First-ever state tourney
State qualifiers: 119 Erik Fair, fr.; 152 Tyler Colley, fr.; 171 Che Roberts, fr.; 189 R.J. Nelson, fr.
About the Bison: Fair was 2-2 at the Class 3A East Regional while Colley was 1-2. … Fair’s first round opponent is Wheatland’s Shawn Zavala, who was second at the East Regional. … Colley drew top-seeded Jimmy Seckman of Powell in the fist round. … South is the third-smallest team in the tourney. Class 2A Kaycee and Wind River only have three entrants each.
Wheatland
Last season: Fourth
Returning state placers: Four
Regional champs: 145 Tyler Smart, sr.; 160 Dustin Finnerty, sr.
Other regional placers: Second, 119 Shawn Zavala, jr.; Third, 189 Tyler Tillman, sr.; 215 Travis Jenkins, sr.; Fourth, 103 Jhett Eike, fr.; 125 Joel Dappen, jr.; 135 Dillon Cotterman, jr.; 140 Ceasar Zavala, fr.
Other qualifiers: 112 Chaz McAuley, so.; 119 R.J. Schmidl, jr.; 125 Layne Eike, jr.; 130 Andrew Blumer, jr.; 135 Ben Sanderson, jr.; 145 David Chesser, so.; 171 Quinn Zimmerman, jr.; 189 Chase Irvine, fr.; 285 Chuck Maike, sr.
About the Bulldogs: Dappen, Finnerty, Smart and Tillman all medaled last year. Dappen and Tillman were fourth; Finnerty and Smart were sixth.Class 2A
Burns-Pine Bluffs
Last season: 19th
Returning state placers: None
Regional placers: Second, 215 Todd Baker, sr.; Fourth, 160 Frank Vossler, sr.
Other qualifiers: 112 Grady Mikesell, so.; 119 Trenton Culp, so.; Jacob Miller, fr.; 152 Travis Herrington, fr.; 189 Shawn Cole, jr.; 189 Adan Gandara, jr.
About the Broncs: Baker, Cole and Gandara have qualified for the past three state tourneys. … Baker and Gandara won two matches each at last year’s state to account for four of the Broncs’ six wins.
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
State volleyball: Wheatland wins state title
The Lady Bulldogs fought off match point in the fourth game to win their third Class 3A state championship in four seasons, defeating Powell 21-25, 27-29, 25-21, 26-24, 15-9 on Saturday evening at the Casper Events Center.
Senior Paige Hellbaum had 24 digs and 20 kills. Sophomore McKenzie Hellbaum, Paige’s younger sister, added 27 digs and 17 kills.
The title is the fourth of coach Kim Davis’ 12-year tenure in Wheatland. The other titles came in 2000, ‘06 and ‘07. The Dawgs were runners-up in 2003, ‘04 and ‘05.
For more on this match, see Sunday’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Friday, October 30th, 2009
State volleyball: Wheatland returns to 3A title match
Wheatland reached its sixth Class 3A state championship match since 2003 with its 25-21, 25-21, 25-18 win over Mountain View on Friday night in Casper.
The Bulldogs will face reigning champion Powell in the state title match at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.
More information to come after Wheatland coach Kim Davis calls the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Thursday, October 29th, 2009
State volleyball: Wheatland 3, Pinedale 0
The Lady Bulldogs moved to the Class 3A semifinals with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-13 victory Thursday evening at the Casper Events Center.
Senior Paige Hellbaum paced Wheatland with 14 kills, 12 digs and two blocks.
For more on this match, see Friday’s Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
Saturday, October 24th, 2009
Full state volleyball pairings
2009 WYOMING STATE VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT
at Casper Events Center
Seeds in parenthesis
CLASS 4A
Thursday
Match 1: (W1) Green River vs. (E4) Gillette, 3 p.m.
Match 2: (E2) Laramie vs. (W3) Casper Natrona County, 4:30 p.m.
Match 3: (W2) Evanston vs. (E3) Cheyenne Central, 6 p.m.
Match 4: (E1) Casper Kelly Walsh vs. (W4) Star Valley, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 5: Match 1 loser vs. Match 2 loser, 1 p.m., loser out
Match 6: Match 3 loser vs. Match 4 loser, 2:30 p.m., loser out
Winner’s Bracket
Match 7: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Match 8: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 9: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 loser, 9 a.m., loser out
Match 10: Match 5 winner vs. Match 8 loser, 10:30 a.m., loser out
Third place: Match 9 winner vs. Match 10 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Championship: Match 7 winner vs. Match 8 winner, 5 p.m.
CLASS 3A
Thursday
Match 1: (W1) Powell vs. (E4) Buffalo, 3 p.m.
Match 2: (E2) Rawlins vs. (W3) Cody, 4:30 p.m.
Match 3: (W2) Mountain View vs. (E3) Glenrock, 6 p.m.
Match 4: (E1) Wheatland vs. (W4) Pinedale, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 5: Match 1 loser vs. Match 2 loser, 1 p.m., loser out
Match 6: Match 3 loser vs. Match 4 loser, 2:30 p.m., loser out
Winner’s Bracket
Match 7: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Match 8: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 9: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 loser, 9 a.m., loser out
Match 10: Match 5 winner vs. Match 8 loser, 10:30 a.m., loser out
Third place: Match 9 winner vs. Match 10 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Championship: Match 7 winner vs. Match 8 winner, 3:30 p.m.
CLASS 2A
Thursday
Match 1: (W1) Rocky Mountain vs. (E4) Wright, 3 p.m.
Match 2: (E2) Pine Bluffs vs. (W3) Wind River, 4:30 p.m.
Match 3: (W2) Lovell vs. (E3) Sundance, 6 p.m.
Match 4: (E1) Big Horn vs. (W4) Riverside, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 5: Match 1 loser vs. Match 2 loser, 1 p.m., loser out
Match 6: Match 3 loser vs. Match 4 loser, 2:30 p.m., loser out
Winner’s Bracket
Match 7: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Match 8: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 9: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 loser, 9 a.m., loser out
Match 10: Match 5 winner vs. Match 8 loser, 10:30 a.m., loser out
Third place: Match 9 winner vs. Match 10 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Championship: Match 7 winner vs. Match 8 winner, 5 p.m.
CLASS 1A
Thursday
Match 1: (W1) Burlington vs. (E4) Midwest, 3 p.m.
Match 2: (E2) Hulett vs. (W3) Farson-Eden, 4:30 p.m.
Match 3: (W2) Cokeville vs. (E3) Guernsey-Sunrise, 6 p.m.
Match 4: (E1) Kaycee vs. (W4) Meeteetse, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 5: Match 1 loser vs. Match 2 loser, 1 p.m., loser out
Match 6: Match 3 loser vs. Match 4 loser, 2:30 p.m., loser out
Winner’s Bracket
Match 7: Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 4:30 p.m.
Match 8: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Loser’s Bracket
Match 9: Match 6 winner vs. Match 7 loser, 9 a.m., loser out
Match 10: Match 5 winner vs. Match 8 loser, 10:30 a.m., loser out
Third place: Match 9 winner vs. Match 10 winner, 1:30 p.m.
Championship: Match 7 winner vs. Match 8 winner, 3:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Sad realization
I was raised on the Wheatland-Torrington rivalry. I was taught to hate anything wearing maroon and yellow after moving to Wheatland in the fourth grade. Over the years, I met quality people from Torrington and found they weren’t the toothless, sugar beet-harvesting hillbillies I was thought they were. My mistake.
I also mistakenly thought the rivalry was a bit more heated and closely-contested on the gridiron. Of course, I remember the Bulldogs playing Torrington what seemed like every Homecoming. I also remember Wheatland falling in those games more often than not spoiling the pagentry and good feeling associated with Homecoming. Later Riverton became what seemed like a nearly annual Homecoming opponent. The Wolverines were more than happy to sour the event as well. Fortunately for the Dawgs, they were bumped up to what is now Class 5A early this decade.
But I’m getting off point … I knew Torrington was getting the better of Wheatland on the football field more than Wheatland was, but I was astounded the series was so darned lopsided.
A few falls back I decided to scour the Web site wyoming-football.com and document the series between Cheyenne Central and Cheyenne East, Burns and Pine Bluffs and Wheatland and Torrington. The site is the byproduct of hundreds of hours of research – probably tens of thousands — by Casper Star-Tribune prep sports editor Patrick Schmiedt.
Schmiedt – who is a friend of mine from our days at the University of Wyoming student paper — has done a tremendous job of culling the state archives and the morgue of his paper to come up with a great Web site documenting the history of prep football in the Cowboy State. Of course, some of the records are incomplete, but not because Patrick hasn’t tried. The information either isn’t available or Patrick hasn’t been able to find it yet.
Long story short, the Trailblazers own a 46-13 … um … edge in the series. However, Wheatland has downed Torrington eight times since 1998. The series wasn’t nearly as close as I thought in my youth, but maybe — just maybe — the Dawgs are narrowing the gap one win at a time.