Central girls shine, boys fall in duals with Sheridan
Feb. 4—CHEYENNE — It was a tale of two duals for Cheyenne Central on Friday night at the Central Fieldhouse.
The girls team ran away with its matches, but a depleted boys roster struggled to contain top-ranked Sheridan.
"We just talked about the team with being intentional when we are doing things wrong," Central coach Kyle Brightman said. "The good news is, we have a month left (in our season).
"We need to get better, and Sheridan has a great program."
The girls had the better night of the two, picking up a 30-12 win over Sheridan. Trona Bates and Kaiana Garlough set the tone early for the for the Lady Indians by picking up consecutive decisive wins. This helped set the tone for the girls, who went on to win all but three of their matches.
"We started with Trona, and it wasn't the prettiest win, but she gutted it out," Brightman said. "It was a good performance for our girls."
Junior Meadow King was one such winner, despite having the deck stacked against her all night. King moved up to the 155-pound weight class to ensure she had a match Friday, and she also was wrestling while sick.
Early on in her match, King and Sheridan's Eva Anderson battled back and forth, and neither were able to truly gain the upper hand. King settled in and took a 4-2 lead heading into the third period. She grabbed an early a 6-2 lead in the final round and never looked back, winning by decision.
"She was a really good wrestler," King said. "She knew I was a leg rider, and as soon as I ran legs, she went for my head and onto her back for a defensive pin.
"That is where some of my jujitsu kicked in, and that's where I knew I was going to be fine, because if I could get out of a defensive pin, then I have nothing to worry about."
Abby Vroman had two of Central's wins on the night as well. Vroman picked up two pinfalls over Sheridan's Emma VanTuyl in the 110- and 115-pound weight divisions.
The boys didn't fair as well. Central entered the night missing four regulars from its lineup and was forced to start some of its junior varsity squad.
The results were as expected with a team that beaten up.
Sheridan picked up 11 wins on the night, including four by pin. Sheridan's Colson Coon had one of the more impressive wins on the night. The senior injured his ankle early in the first round of his match against Jack Miller, but after a few minutes to shake it off, Coon returned and won 12-3 in a major decision.
Central's three wins on the night came from Thomas Berta in the 195-pound weight division, Price Harpstreith (145), and Keagan Bartlett (220).
Berta got the ball rolling for the Indians in the third match of the dual. He controlled most of the opening period, going on to win by pin at 2:22 in the match.
Harpstreith had the more back-and-forth match of the trio, winning via an 11-4 decision. He battled with Sheridan's Cole Hansen deep into the third round, but Harpstreith pulled away late to grab the win.
Central's final win on the boys side came from senior Bartlett, who controlled the pace throughout his match with Sheridan's JonHenry Justice before scoring a pin in 2:28.
"It is just a mentality that you should feel like you got it from the start," he said. "Once I got that first takedown, I felt a lot more comfortable."
Central returns to the mat once again this morning, as the Indians face off against Thunder Basin and Campbell County in a double-header.
CENTRAL GIRLS 30, SHERIDAN 12
100 pounds: Rimmasch, Central, pinned Bauer, 2:28; 110: Bates, Central def. VanTuyl, 5-2; Vroman, Central, pinned VanTuyl, 1:31; 115: Vroman, Central, pinned VanTuyl, 1:32; 120: Garlough, Central, pinned Harrald, 1:01; Harrald, Sheridan, over Kant, 8-6; 135: Covolo, Sheridan, pinned Murray, 1:47; Peterson, Sheridan, def. Murray, 9-3; 145: King, Central, def. Anderson, 6-2.
SHERIDAN BOYS 55, CENTRAL 15
160 pounds: Steel, Sheridan, pinned West, 4:22; 170: Grooms, Sheridan pinned Jones, 2:56; 182: Coon, Sheridan, major dec. Miller, 12-3; 195: Berta, Central, pinned Vela, 2:22; 220: Bartlett, Central, pinned Justice, 2:28; 285: Buchanan, Sheridan, forfeit; 106: Wood, Sheridan, forfeit; 113: Osborne, Sheridan def. Bael, SV-1 7-5; 120: Powers, Sheridan, def. Weiss, 1-0; 126: Wood, Sheridan, pinned Gonzales, 1:49; 132: Rager, Sheridan, pinned Gonzales, 3:52; 138: Goss, Sheridan, forfeit; 145: Harpstreith, Central, def. Hansen, 11-4; 152: Crow, Sheridan, def. Rodriguez, 12-5.
Matt Atencio covers Laramie County prep sports for WyoSports. He can be reached at matencio@wyosports.net. Follow him on Twitter at @MattAtencio5.
